Foreword
This article was written as a precursor to my actual review of the festival. Despite this article not being subject to the examination and critique of the organizers of Tough Luvv Fest, I believe it is still important to extend my apology to this article. On March 16, 2024, the organizers of Tough Luvv Fest came to me expressing their deep disappointment on my commentary specifically regarding the comments made towards Bayymack. In my reviews, I strive to be honest about my opinions however, in this case I did it in a way that was hurtful, unconstructive, and disrespectful to Bayymack, other performers, and Tough Luvv Fest. My commentary is my own solely and does not reflect the values of Kamp Student Radio. I retract my comments and deeply regret the harm I have caused. This article has been edited to be constructive and considerate to the performers. I sincerely apologize and wish to mend our relationship moving forward.
My sincerest apologies,
Lamley Andrews
Thank you to Ximena for getting me a press pass! Holy moly these tickets were expensive, so they mean a lot <3
This is a pre-review since this is such a big show and I already have a lot of thoughts. There will be a part 2 which will be linked in this later:
[Link]
Show Lineup
Three 6 Mafia, City Morgue, Jesus Piece, Lil Tracy, Joeyy, Puzzle, Glare, Trauma Ray, 2SDXRT3ALL, Bayymack, Pink Michigan, Unity
Genre(s)
Three 6 Mafia: Classic hip hop, club bouncer, the auditory manifestation of a lowrider. If you don't know who they are that's on you. #hiphop #classichiphop
City Morgue: Very 2016 SoundCloud rapper rap. A la XXXtentacion and Lil Peep. #soundcloudrap #trap
Jesus Piece: Metalcore more sludge metal. #metalcore #sludgemetal
Lil Tracy: Very 2016 SoundCloud rapper rap. More lo-fi than City Morgue actually collabed with Lil Peep #lofirap #soundcloudrap
Joeyy: SHADOW WIZARD MONEY GANG! Still in the same vein as SoundCloud rap. In a way a parody of SoundCloud rap. The Weird Al of SoundCloud??? #parodyrap #ironicrap #soundcoudrap
Puzzle: If you look up the genre of Puzzle it is VadaVada. You have to listen to the rest of the label's music to get what I mean; they all have the same sound. Puzzle specifically is like really deconstructed post-punk x mid 2010s indie #vadavada #postpunk #indie
Glare: Dark shoegaze like if My Bloody Valentine was 20% more emo #shoegaze #darkshoegaze
2SDXRT3ALL: We got a lot of SoundCloud rap but get ready for YouTube rap. Very self made, almost a passion project style. #youtuberap
Bayymack: Hyperpop like the manefestation of a studded bling belt rap. Music for scene kids #hyperpop #blingbelt #scenekid
Pink Michigan: Metalcore group more deathcore. A grittier and less refined Kublai Khan if you catch my drift. #metalcore #deathmetal
Unity: Hyperpop rap, closer to SoundCloud in flavor almost like a less bubbly Bladee #hyperpop #rap #bladee
Venue
Mesa Amphitheater: You can purchase tickets here https://mesaamp.com/Online/default.asp
Date
3/9/2024
This is a little different form my typical reviews, this is a pre-show review circa 2/29/2024
Going into this I'm not really sure what to expect. First off, this is my first music festival ever so I'm a bit nervous about that especially because I'm going by myself. I did a bit of research, so I feel a bit better about not going into this totally blind.
I'm not the craziest fan of the setup since it is an amphitheater with only so much viewing space (literally it looks like the performers are performing in a cage).
Now onto what really prompted this review - the lineup. I really think it's random. Why is Three 6 performing next to Joeyy who is performing next to Glare??? I'm not the biggest fan of the lineup because a third of them are SoundCloud rappers. I think the genre is really same-sy in their sound and they tend to be lax in how they perform.
I'm mainly going for Puzzle, but I am excited for Three 6 Mafia and Joeyy. Three 6 is a top tier group that has been performing for a really long time so I'm glad to see such a pivotal group live. Also, I know Joeyy as the TikTok rapper so I look forward to seeing what he can do at a live performance. I also am aware of Glare, Trauma Ray, and Jesus piece all because Spotify has suggested one song from each to me. So, I am aware of who they are but I'm not an avid listener.
I'm not excited for the crowd because it is such a random mix of genres that I feel like each group will dampen the mood for other groups. Like I don't know how polite Pink Michigan fans will be to Trauma Ray or their fans. The disrespect towards Rico Nasty by Playboi Carti fans comes to mind. Not saying there will be fight or straight disrespect like in the Rico case, but I think it's not a great idea to force wildly different fandoms into one space for 10 hours together.
Also, no schedule??? Do festivals typically not release a schedule prior to the show? I don't know if I have the mental fortitude to wait around for 10 hours to see Three 6 and Puzzle in the same day. I think my inexperience is showing.
Anyways those are my pre-show thoughts. Keep an eye out for my complete review!