This past SXSW was the biggest and best year yet in ILLMORE history. Not only did we nearly tear the house down, but performances from Baauer, Macklemore, Kendrick Lamar, Waka Flocka, Zedd and more led to a line-up most festivals would be jealous of. And it all went down in the living room. Check out the recap video above, and a special thanks goes out to ScoreMore Shows and everyone that helped make this event happen. See you next year!
Posts Tagged ‘The ILLMORE’
The NY hip-hop scene is in a very unique place right now, with Flatbush Zombies undeniably leading the way. Fresh off the release of D.R.U.G.S., The Zombies are heading full gear into a new tour with Joey Bada$$ and The Underachievers. They stopped by The ILLMORE last Wednesday for an in-depth sit-down where we discussed their new project Better Off Dead, SXSW essentials and why house parties are the most fun.
Like we said before, Thursday night’s at The ILLMORE are always pretty legendary. On top of the infamous Kendrick Lamar performance, our friend Travi$ Scott brought out Trinidad Jame$ during his set for a spontaneous performance of ‘All Gold Everything’. Easily one of the hottest songs from the past 6 months, Trinidad had the crowd going hammer. Check out the performance above.
The homie Casey Veggies is definitely making waves right now. Fresh off the release of Life Changes, SXSW was the place to be after dropping his new project. When we threw the first party at The ILLMORE, Casey and the Peas & Carrots family were of the first to arrive at the house. Back then, our entire operation was simply a test and we truly had no idea what we were doing. One of the coolest parts of the first ILLMORE was a pop-up recording studio we built in a closet of the house. That’s where Mac Miller and Casey first collaborated on a track in which Casey elaborates in the video above, as well as his post-SXSW plans.
If you’re an active visitor of the site, you already know who Travi$ Scott is. With the buzz for Owl Pharaoh through the roof, Travi$ had a ton of huge shows at SXSW this year including a performance at the MTV Woodies. Joining him onstage for all these performances was the legendary Mike Dean, who we were able to sit-down with alongside Trav in this very rare interview on The ILLMORE lawn where we talk about SXSW goals, necessities and what’s next.
SXSW is one of the best weeks in music hands down. Every buzzing artist is in town looking to jump on a random show and perform for the most loyal and dedicated fans around. One of the artists we’ve been supporting heavily over the past year is Chance The Rapper from Chicago, who dropped an amazing mixtape called 10 Day last year that received nothing but positive vibes. Since the release, Chance has grown tremendously as an artist, while still remaining true to his roots. After shutting it down at The ILLMORE on Thursday night and before hitting the road on Friday, we managed to drag him out of the party for an interview in the back of the ILLROOTS van where he talks about SXSW and his upcoming project Acid Rap.
Action Bronson is one of the most entertaining rappers in hip-hop right now. After building an organic following over the past few years, Action has become an extremely recognizable face in the rap game. Due to his unique personality, throwing him in any situation is guaranteed hilarity. He stopped by The ILLMORE during off hours to say what’s up to our Evil Dead/Complex Media family, and we were fortunate enough to chop it up with him on his SXSW goals, favorite food spots and his Austin, Texas necessities.
The last night at this years ILLMORE will go down in history. Prior to Waka Flocka taking the stage with G-Eazy, we got an impromptu performance from Macklemore, one of the hottest artists in music right now. When Blueprint Group curates an evening, you never know who’s gonna show up. Check out his performance of ‘Thrift Shop’ above with Wanz and his trumpeter on deck. Legendary.
Our friends at ScoreMore Shows have had a long running relationship with the Top Dawg Entertainment family, and over the past three years Kendrick and his crew have all been familiar faces at The ILLMORE. It seems as though every Thursday night turns into something special, with performances last year from Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky and more. This year, Kendrick was the star of our show, rocking a legendary performance in the living room of our house that was presented by Boost Mobile. We chopped it up with him before he took the stage on why he supports The ILLMORE and his post-SXSW plans. Check out the interview above and an extended edit of ‘MADD City’ and ‘Backseat Freestyle’, which almost made the house collapse. Literally.
If you would’ve told us two years ago that Waka Flocka would perform at The ILLMORE, none of us would have believed you. On Saturday night when Blueprint Group took over the house, they brought in an All-Star lineup of performers like Young Guru, Just Blaze, Hit-Boy and more. At around 1AM, we kept hearing rumors that Waka Flocka was in the house. The next thing we know, he jumps on stage with G-Eazy and performs a rare set of classics and mixtape tracks. UZi was on hand to capture the entire performance on VHS. Check it out above.
