August 08, 2023
Margo Reed/For PhillyVoice
The 2023 Made in America Festival, scheduled for Sept. 2-3 on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, has been canceled. Tickets will be refunded, and organizers expect the music festival to return in 2024. The image above is from the 2018 festival.
Made in America, the annual Labor Day weekend music festival on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, has been canceled due to "severe circumstances outside of production control," organizers said Tuesday.
The festival was scheduled to take place Sept. 2-3, with SZA and Lizzo serving as headliners. The lineup also included Latto, Miguel, Ice Spice, Tems, Coi Leray, Coco Jones and Lil Yachty.
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People who purchased tickets will be refunded at their original points of purchase, according to organizers. The two-day festival is expected to return to Philadelphia in 2024.
"This decision has been difficult and has not been made lightly nor without immense deliberation," organizers wrote on the festival's website. "Made in America has a legacy of delivering exceptional experiences for music fans and concert goers, and it is our commitment to always deliver a top-tier festival experience."
The Made in America Festival has taken place every year in Philadelphia since it debuted in 2012, with the exception of 2020, when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jay-Z and his company, Roc Nation, curate the late-summer festival.
Last year's festival was headlined by Tyler the Creator and Bad Bunny with performances by Lil Uzi Vert and Jazmine Sullivan. The festival has generated more than $180 million in economic impact for Philadelphia since 2012, organizers said.
"I'm disappointed to hear that the 2023 Made in America Festival will no longer be taking place," said Mayor Jim Kenney. "We are grateful for all of the partners and festival goers who have contributed to this event's incredible success over the years, especially our partners at Roc Nation, and we look forward to bringing Made in America back and bigger than ever to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway next year."
Lizzo is at the center of a lawsuit filed earlier this month by three of her former dancers who allege that she and her team created a hostile work environment that featured sexual harassment while the dancers performed on her Special Tour earlier this year. The Made in America Festival was Lizzo's last remaining tour date.
The Grammy Award-winning singer has denied the allegations, tweeting "I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days."
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
