Veteran Sound Project

This past week controversy stirred when Philadelphia’s mayor Jim Kenney expressed to media outlets that Made in America’s labor day weekend festival needs to find a new venue in the city for next year. Jay Z responded the next day condemning the mayor saying,

“We are disappointed that the mayor of the city of Philadelphia would evict us from the heart of the city, through a media outlet, without a sit-down meeting, notice, dialogue or proper communication,”

The mayor’s office declines this citing the matter already being discussed with festival organizers Live Nation and Roc Nation. The city does not have an issue with the festival itself, it is the congestion that comes with the roadblocks on the holiday weekend. The Ben Franklin Parkway has been the site of many recent events in the city, including the Eagles recent Super Bowl Parade. The problem is the proximity to center city, and the city is tired of the logistical nightmare of holding events there.

The festival is estimated to have brought around $100 million economic impact to the city. Jay Z stated that the festival will be paying around $3.5 million dollars to rent the grounds this year alone. The tourism industry in Philly does not want to see the festival leave. In fact, Milwaukee’s city leaders have already publicly announced the festival is welcome in their city for next year. For now, no public comments about the future location of the festival have been made by Roc Nation, Livenation, or Jay Z.