Rolling Loud New York Canceled as Organizers Cite ‘Logistical Factors Beyond Our Control’
Rolling Loud will not return to New York City this year, with festival organizers citing “logistical factors beyond our control” in an Instagram post shared Friday, March 17.
The NYC iteration of the festival (which started in Miami) began in 2019, setting up shop at Citi Field in Queens. Though 2020 was skipped because of the pandemic, Rolling Loud New York returned in 2021 and 2022.
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Despite calling off this year’s festival, organizers seemed hopeful that Rolling Loud New York would return at some point, writing: “But Don’t worry, this isn’t ‘Goodbye.’ More like ‘See you later.’ We’ll be back in New York when the time is right.” (Rolling Loud is still scheduled to go ahead as planned in Miami, the weekend of July 21 through 23.)
In their post, Rolling Loud organizers highlighted some of New York festival’s biggest moments: “We saw the beginning of the King Vamp era, Travis power through his full set through the pain, Parti and Uzi reuniting on stage, Nicki, 50 Cent, and A$AP Rocky putting on iconic headlining performances in their hometown, [and] Juice WRLD’s final festival performance.”
But Rolling Loud New York has also been the site of some not-so-memorable moments, especially when it comes to the festival’s relationship with the New York Police Department. Days before the first Rolling Loud New York in 2019, the festival dropped five rappers — including Brooklyn’s then-burgeoning drill hero Pop Smoke — following a request from the NYPD, which claimed: “if these individuals are allowed to perform, there will be a higher risk of violence.” One of the other artists pulled from the 2019 lineup, 22gz, was again yanked from Rolling Loud New York at the behest of the NYPD last year (along with two other MCs, Sha Ek and Ron Suno).
Rolling Stone’s review of Rolling Loud New York 2021 noted the “excessive police presence,” especially compared to Governors Ball, which had occurred in the same location a few weeks prior. That same year, Fetty Wap was infamously arrested at Rolling Loud by FBI agents on federal drug charges, to which he later pleaded guilty.
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