Red Bull has long been a committed supporter of the arts community, particularly in the realm of music. For years, it hosted Red Bull Music Academy, a travelling music workshop experience that enlisted innovative artists to teach and perform in various cities around the world. Unfortunately, Red Bull announced back in April that this program was being discontinued due to the termination of its partnership with consultancy company, Yadastar.
However, Red Bull will continue to sponsor events that spotlight up-and-coming creatives across the globe. It has just announced that it will be hosting music festivals in Atlanta and Chicago, which will each span two weeks in November and feature over 50 artists across 15 events.
Atlanta is up first, starting November 1st and lasting until the 14th. The festival will kick off with an exhibition of Gunner Stahl's work, who has made waves for photographing hip hop's biggest stars in his singular style. He will be doing a DJ set and bringing out his industry friends to perform and, considering it's in Atlanta, one can expect some of the best. On November 3rd, attendees can see Joey Bada$$ and Denzel Curry go head-to-head - whatever that means. Quality Control will host a lecture and concert. Teyana Taylor, Ari Lennox and Yung Baby Tate will all have their own shows.
Chicago will be blessed second, from the 17th to the 30th. On the 21st, Chicago-native, Lupe Fiasco, will perform his classic debut album, Food & Liquor, in its entirety. On the 23rd, the Zero Fatigue collective - primarily known through the incredibly talented Smino - will throw a show. Monte Booker will perform a DJ set there, who is the producer of futuristic bent behind most of Zero Fatigue's output. Tierra Whack and Jamila Woods will have concerts, on the 26th and 27th respectively. Pivot Gang, which released their great You Can't Sit With Us album this year, will close out the festival with back-to-back days of shows in honour of Saba's late cousin, John Walt.
Tickets for Red Bull Music Festival Atlanta can be bought here and, for Red Bull Music Festival Chicago, here.