Missy Elliott said the 2000’s was the era of originality and I have to agree with her. This past weekend at the Lovers & Friends music festival in Las Vegas, we were all reminded of a time when artistry and performance skills were king; 106 & Park was where we found our hits and celebrity news, social media was Myspace, AIM, and BlackBerry messenger, and the internet… was still a foreign place.
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Lovers & Friends was a celebration of timeless music and one-of-a-kind grooves that have been replicated but never duplicated. I have FOMO for all that couldn’t attend.
You should have been there. It’s the way that everyone stopped and danced when Bobby Valentino played the first 6 seconds of “Slow Down.”
It was the collective “ahh and ooos” you heard when Busta Rhymes played “I Know What You Want.”
It was the crowd ‘swag surfing’ in between seeing Dem Franchise Boyz and Mannie Fresh.
It was Lil Kim’s entrance and the fan signs for Da Brat.
It was the soulfulness of Christina Aguilera, Miguel and Mariah Carey‘s voices.
It was the hits that Usher played for 50+ minutes straight.
It was the spray-painted outfits and Airforce 1’s on concert-goers.
It was the love and vibes that everyone brought with them to Lovers & Friends.
I know it’s currently 2023, but for one day, Lovers & Friends took us all back to our happiest years. Where all that mattered was having the freshest gear and burning CDs from Limewire and iTunes.
In my opinion, Lovers & Friends is hands down the best festival of the year: perfect weather, incredible line-up, amazing performances … My only wish is for the festival to be two days because it was hell trying to maneuver four stages that felt like they were football fields apart.
I’m going to be talking about this festival for weeks. Can’t wait to see what the festival has planned for the future.
Photos & Words by Asha Moné
