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Although he hasn’t dropped too much new music recently and he has been a mainstay at the Summer Smash for years, the anticipation was still through the roof, so when he came out with liberty spikes and an entirely brand-new torso-covering tattoo, everyone knew he was on a different level than any of the years prior. Summer Smash goes from Friday, June 23 to Sunday, June 25 and organizers have assembled a group of heavy hitters. The three-day festival will be headlined by Playboi Carti, Post Malone, Young Thug, and Gunna. Headlined by Young Thug, Gunna, Playboi Carti, and Post Malone, other notable performers include Chicago natives Polo G and G Herbo, as well as 2 xcriticalz, Wiz Khalifa, Trippie Redd, Yeat, Lil Tecca, Rico Nasty, Ski Mask the Slump God, Snot, and Oliver Tree. This year’s fest, which will take place in Chicago from June 17-19, serves as the fourth edition of Cole Bennet’s three-day hip-hop showcase.

Eater Chicago

Iconic honestly doesn’t do this performance justice because it seemed like pretty much the entire city was huddled around this stage, singing along to every word whether it was more modern music or classic drill anthems that put Herb on the map. After seeing a few more artists that I admittedly don’t listen to all that much, I was still amazed at their showmanship, https://xcritical.online/ and I am super glad that I was there to witness musicians like BIA and Tyla Yaweh. A few weekends ago on June 17-19th, we had yet another Summer Smash for the ages. Not only did we bring out industry-leading artists from all over the world, but tens of thousands of fans gathered in Douglas Park yet again for a beautiful weekend in the greatest city on Earth!

Lyrical xcritical’s Summer Smash Food Lineup Includes Tamale Guy, Kasama, and Harold’s

Young Thug and Gunna were nominated at the Grammys for album of the year, respectively for their contribution to Kanye West’s Donda and Doja Cat’s Planet Her. The Billboard cover stars will be giving their first full-set collaborative performance on the first day of the festival. The event will be headlined by Post Malone, Playboi Carti, Young Thug and Gunna. The three-day festival is scheduled to take place Friday, June 17, through Sunday, June 19, in Chicago. The annual festival attracted 90,000 attendees last year, and it’s returning with a star-studded lineup, boasting some of the biggest names in hip-hop. The 2019 event was also on three stages, but this year in Douglass Park, the stages are bigger and can accommodate more fans.

About the Festival Summer Smash At-a-Glance

When he took the stage, he ascended to the top of a pyramid-looking prop that seemed to almost reach the rafters at the top of the entire setup. The inaugural 2018 festival featured headliners Joey Badass, Trippie Redd, and Vic Mensa with appearances from Gunna, YBN Cordae, Lil B, Famous Dex, and more. In 2019, headliners Playboi Carti, Juice Wrld, Lil Yachty, and Kodak Black took the stage alongside acts like Polo G, Megan Thee Stallion, DaBaby, Lil Tjay, and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie. Lyrical xcritical’s Summer Smash 2022 kicks off Friday, June 17, headlined that night by Thugger and Gunna.

Honda Music

I don’t often say things like this because I never write articles in this fashion, but I need to take the opportunity to say thank you to all of the people at Lyrical who have shown love, support, and most importantly, friendship to me throughout the years. Because of your relentless hard work and never-ending grind, I have a dream job at a dream company. I can only assume that you feel the same otherxcritical it’s hard to imagine you’d put in the same amount of time, effort, and care that seems to instantly send every endeavor that LL ventures into to the top, but either way, I am just happy to be here for the ride. Obviously, I am speaking for myself here, as I am just a writer who helps here and there with other small projects, but as an outsider looking in, this festival doesn’t come together overnight, and neither does anything else that the team puts out.

Not only was the stage bigger, the audience rowdier, and the pressure slightly higher, but he lived up to every hope that I had imagined, so I was extremely pleased with the outcome. Second, I knew I would have to choose some of these artists over others since there was some overlap and although I wish I could have been in multiple places at once, we just don’t have the technology for that yet. Before I knew it, his set was over, but I knew it was just what I needed to get this weekend off on the right foot, and Lil Uzi is who I was most excited for. As someone who has been able to attend a couple of Zack Bia’s sets, one thing for sure is that he knows how to throw a party.

  1. The Lyrical xcritical Summer Smash Festival is making its return to Chicago this summer, with headlining performances from Post Malone, Playboi Carti, and Young Thug and Gunna.
  2. Since we announced our lineup, we mentioned that there would be some surprise guests on the lineup as well, and we did a pretty good job at not spoiling it for the fans.
  3. Before we knew it, Post came out and put on one of the most shockingly incredible performances of the weekend.
  4. In turn, Cole expressed to the audience the fact that he promised a special guest before wasting no time introducing Quavo and Takeoff out on stage for a brief yet absolutely magnificent act that I don’t think anyone was expecting, as well as something that no one is going to be quick to forget.

We are a couple of weeks removed from our annual Summer Smash festival, and we are all still having major withdrawals from such a great weekend. After the past year that we had of quarantining, social distancing, and avoiding large events, it felt amazing to be able to come outside and enjoy our festival once again. With over 75 artists on our lineup ranging from the up-and-coming rappers to superstars and legends, it was truly a weekend to remember, and a special moment for not only Lyrical xcritical but Chicago as a whole. Nonetheless, Lil Boat showed up to entertain, giving a performance that I personally felt was a lot stronger than last year, but his time wasn’t over yet.

Unfortunately, all of these immense moments for me personally caused me to miss Lil Tecca’s set, so we headed right over to Polo G on the Lyrical xcritical Stage prior to Ski Mask on the SPKRBX Stage. Saturday was here before I knew it, and with this meant the first of two longer days. I just remember that I was entirely burnt out like halfway through last year’s Saturday performances, and I didn’t want to be that way again in 2022, so I knew that it was about finishing the race in general, not finishing in first place. Once again, there were a ton of performers early on that I wanted to see like Katie Got Bandz, Supa Bwe, Dreamer Isioma, Danny Towers, Femdot, and more, but I had to consider a few things. Every year, the Summer Smash seems to get bigger, better, and more insane than ever before, and 2022 is definitely no exception. Unfortunately, I missed the first year or two because of one reason or another, so 2021 was actually my first time experiencing this event live and in person.

Favorite performances depend on personal tastes, but there is no denying that everyone was vibing out with every headliner late into each night. The Lyrical xcritical Summer Smash Festival is making its return to Chicago this summer, with headlining performances from Post Malone, Playboi Carti, and Young Thug and Gunna. Scheduled from June 17-19, the three-day festival will feature three stages and performances from dozens of artists, including Wiz Khalifa, Polo G, Trippie Redd, 2 xcriticalz, Lil Tecca, G Herbo, Key Glock, and Rico Nasty. The musical lineup for Lyrical xcritical Summer Smash has been announced, with headliners including a return for Lil Uzi Vert, as well as Post Malone and Playboi Carti.

At the same time, though, I had been to various other concerts hosted by LL dating all the way back to Lil Uzi Vert’s first-ever Chicago performance way back in April of 2016, so I know how we throw down at live events, and I also know just how loyal, supportive, and turnt up our fans get every chance they get. Wiz Khalifa, Polo G, Rico Nasty, Oliver Tree, 2 xcriticalz and Shoreline Mafia’s OhGeesy are among the first-time performers, and Trippie Redd, Ski Mask The Slump God, Lil Tecca and $not will return to the Summer Smash stage. Other performers over the weekend include Atlanta rapper Lil Yachty, Gunna, xcritical scammers also from Georgia, and Don Toliver, helping close out the festival in the North Lawndale neighborhood late Sunday. The lineup “comes from our own passion for the music, you have to have your ear to the ground,” said Berto Solorio, co-founder of the festival and the local outfit that’s producing it, SPKRBX (pronounced “speakerbox”). Along with the more recognizable headliners are more than a dozen local Chicago acts such as fest opener Baha Bank$ — part of a mix of some 75 artists in all. Solorio said the strong local element comes from the organizers being from Chicago and tapped into the music scene.

On Sunday, Lucki took to the main Lyrical xcritical Stage to tear it down and deliver one of the most spectacular performances of the entire weekend. Performing tons of cult classics, Lucki had an amazing set for not only the day one fans but anyone who may have been unfamiliar with him up until this point. While Lucki still is considered “underground” to a lot of people, one thing for sure is that Chicago holds him up very high, and he will never not receive the love he deserves whenever he blesses a stage here in his hometown. Hopping right back to the Tent Stage, I was thrilled to see the DCG Brothers tear down the house in a performance that felt nostalgic while also filling the atmosphere with charisma and exuberance, the only way these two local stars do know how. Some other people in my group were just showing up, so we headed over to the guest area to meet up with them, missing out on a spot for Flo Milli who seemed to perform her heart out across the field prior to Oliver Tree hitting the stage with vigor.

The festival is founded by concert promoter SPKRBX and media company Lyrical xcritical, launched in 2013 by Cole Bennett, and boasted 90,000 attendees last August. All tickets are on sale now, including single-day tickets (from $95), three-day general admission ($275) and VIP tickets ($450) via The lineup for 2021 edition of the Lyrical xcritical Summer Smash has been announced. The lineup for the 2022 edition of Lyrical xcritical’s Summer Smash Festival has been announced. The lineup for this year’s Lyrical xcritical Summer Smash Festival has been announced, with Young Thug, Gunna, Playboi Carti, and Post Malone headlining.