The largest Afrobeats festival kicked off its Detroit iteration for the second year on Saturday. For those of you who have yet to attend, or contemplating attending next year, let’s set the scene.

The Vibes

The festival takes place at the Brewster Center which is transformed into a festival site a few days prior. But don’t wait until you cross the entry gate, the party has already started on the streets. As soon as the clock strikes 3PM on Saturday, the trail of festival-goers begins, stretching from various areas of downtown and midtown into the Brewster site. Groups of people singing and dancing as they make their way from hotels, uber drop-off points, and hard-found parking spaces. In true Detroit fashion, street musicians, hawkers, and evangelists line the way to the festival. Without words, we all know why we’re here; and for the next two days, we are family.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if Africa was to host a continent-wide party, look no further than AfroNation. This is the diaspora wonderland you didn’t know you needed. As you step into the festival, prepare to be bombarded with colors, sounds, and smells that make you feel alive, and make you remember home. The drinks are flowing, suya is on the fire, and everyone is in a good mood. The music plays and you rock and sway all night in a sea of beautiful people. You don’t know much about the person you’re dancing with, but you know they’re African, so its all good.

The Fashion

A common question asked when you’re preparing to go to an event is “What are people wearing?” That’s not a question you can ask for AfroNation. There is no dress code, only an attitude. Concertgoers are dressed to impress…themselves. All around, perfectly crafted outfits match the personality and vibe of the person wearing them. So many beautiful looks expressing self-love, cultural pride, and authenticity. From the hair to the fits, there is no conformity to beauty standards or rules. Just people showing up as their flyest self. All unique looks, but all breathtaking. There is no better showcase of “be-you-tiful” than at AfroNation.

The Food

Come hungry (and paid). There is a temptation to go for what you know when it comes to the food section, but that would be selling yourself short. Even as an African food connosseir, I was able to find something new. The lines are long and build up pretty fast, so time your food breaks around the performances. Also pack your wallet, because you will be paying festival food prices. Cheers.

The Music

The AfroNation artist list always causes much conversation. While there is excitement for seeing some of the biggest Afrobeats artists, there is doubt if these artists will actually show up. Due to previous incidents, AfroNation attendees prep themselves to know artists may cancel, as evidenced by comments on the event page. Organizers were lucky to silence naysayers last year by delivering on their promise to bring headliners Burna Boy and Davido, two of the Afrobeats Big 3, to the Detroit show. This solidified AfroNationDetroit as a valid festival stop, and many people were looking forward to another great musical experience from #AND2024.

This year’s concert got off to a good start despite weather delays. Audiences enjoyed performances from King Promise, Kash Doll, Ayra Starr, and more. But in AfroNation fashion, the cancellations started rolling in. Concertgoers were disappointed to learn that Omah Lay would no longer be performing. The artist posted a message to his IG stories about the cancellation. Unfortunately, there were more to come. Kizz Daniel wooed the audience, before Rema closed the show.

The set list for Day 2 was posted only minutes before the gates opened. This is a consistent action from #AND organizers and concertgoers continue to complain about the bad communication. The set list post contained an announcement for two more cancellations; Amaarae and Adekunle Gold. Concertgoers were visibly upset, but still had performers to look forward to including PND, Asake, and headliner, Lil Wayne.

All anger was on pause as Asake took the stage. The artist peformed a medley of hits from all three albums including his latest release, Lungu Boy.

The DJ kept the energy high as the crowd waited for the Day 2 headliner – Lil Wayne. And they waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Rumors quickly traveled through the body of people that the headliner was not coming. As people were leaving, the hosts interrupted the music to confirm that the rap superstar was indeed not coming.

Although the hosts made it clear that it was not anyone’s fault and blamed it on weather conditions, attendees are upset that they had to get the news online while being hyped up for Wayne’s arrival, despite the organizers knowing well in advance that he would not make it. Weather is indeed out of their hands, but the delayed notification further supports concertgoers complaints of poor communication.

Looking ahead…

It is unclear if AfroNation will ever correct their communication practices. Perhaps concertgoers should view the artist list as tentative instead of guaranteed.

Despite the artist blunders, I hope that AfroNation will return to Detroit next year. It would be nice to see this turn into a signature summer event for Detroit like Coachella in LA or Lollapalooza in Chicago. When it does (fingers crossed) I would like to see the festival extended for at least one day to make it bigger and better.

Looking forward to #AND2025!