Last year, Dallas became the fastest-growing metropolis in the U.S., and now a new music festival has landed. With this new addition to the entertainment scene, could it put them on the map to eventually compete with New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago?
It’s been a while since North Texas had a grand musical event geared toward Black and brown people, but that changed during Memorial weekend when the TwoGether Land music festival took over the region. On May 25 and 26, Jason “J” Carter, the founder of Atlanta’s recognized ONE Music Festival, Southeast’s largest annual urban progressive music festival, introduced the latest extension of his company to the area in partnership with Live Nation Urban.
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The inaugural event had a stacked lineup of diverse all-stars who brought out Texas residents and tourists to enjoy a fun-filled time in South Dallas’ Fair Park, the same place the State Fair of Texas is consecutively held. Clark shared that the venue was intentionally chosen as it has a strong history of Black culture and people who heavily endured racism, making the festival not just an event for entertainment, but a victory in bringing the essence of Black culture back to a location that has taken so much from it.
“We looked extensively throughout Dallas for possible other areas to host it and we really just couldn’t find anywhere,” Carter told Blavity in an exclusive interview. “And then we visited Fair Park, where I got the backstory on Fair Park, and I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ listening to the backstory. I was like, this is where it needs to be. So, it made a lot of sense to bring a celebration of color and unity to that space. Also, considering the size of the footprint, you can’t outgrow Fair Park. It’s impossible.“
Through the power of music, 30,000 people were in attendance on both days combined. Day one included performances by a few up-and-coming artists like Kenyon Dixon, Josh Levi, 310Babii, Amaarae, along with Shaboozey, Tink, Dru Hill, Three Six Mafia, Gucci Mane, Key Glock, and Summer Walker serenading the crowd to end the night.
“What I love the most are the interactions and seeing all of these Black people together. We out here, we’re having fun, there’s no violence. Everyone’s getting along and it’s just like a whole vibe and I really appreciate that, and seeing all these people come together,” Michelle Curtis, a new transplant from Atlanta, told Blavity about the festival on day one.
Since day passes were available for purchase, even more people showed up on Sunday, which had a delayed start due to windy weather that erupted early that morning. Akeem Ali jumpstarted the day along with Maeta, Amerie, Mariah the Scientist, and The Mexican OT who all hit the stage back to back before the iconic set for Dallasites to see their hometown champs during “Hollywood Bay Bay’s Dallas All-Star” lineup which featured Big Tuck, Chalie Boy, Dorrough, Tum Tum, Lil Ronny MothaF, Fat Pimp, Lil Wil, Yung Nation, GS Boyz, Erica Banks and many more.
“You see the whole city out here. I think this is the first time we ever came together and did this,” Dorrough said about being a part of TwoGether Land’s lineup. “It’s a whole lot of legends out here. I’m amongst a bunch of legends so it feels good right now.”
After the city cut loose to their classic regional songs, The Dream, Jeezy, and Latto performed before Lil Wayne shut the city down with a high-energy performance that matched the amped-up audience who rapped his lyrics word for word his entire set.
“F**k! Man, y’all out here tonight. Make some noise for your motherf**king selves. You’re beautiful tonight man. F**k yeah,” Lil Wayne told the crowd at the beginning of the performance.
In addition to the musical performances, there was a live podcast stage that offered guests the opportunity to see Dear Fathers, Storytime with Legendary Jerry Clark, Lip Service with Angela Yee, Whoreible Decisions and more. On another stage, local DJs performed and attendees could partake in playing Urban Trivia and Karaoke. Furthermore, people could cool off or rest, eat, purchase art, ride a bull, skate and support local Black business vendors inside, and outside, two large automobile buildings.
“I think TwoGether Land was a really cool idea for Dallas to have and I’m excited to see it grow over the course of the years,” Briony Miller, a DFW native, expressed about her experience. “And the AC, that was a good touch. That was heaven. No other festivals I know have that for [the] general population.”
Charles Eugene, also known as “DJ Cmix,” is a transplant who has been living in Dallas for over a year. He agreed with Miller because he believes the festival can only grow and get better after making a great first impression.
“Nobody was doing it on this level for our people. I believe next year is going to be 10 times better based on paying attention to specifically who TwoGether Land brought on to perform [this year],” the Dallas-based DJ said. “I love it! The concept is what we need.”
The last urban music festival was JMBYLA.‘s 2020 concert that featured A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Don Toliver, and more. The yearly hip-hop-focused music festival hosted by Scoremore, the esteemed music production network behind Travis Scott’s former Astroworld Festival, kicked off in 2013. It became a staple in North Texas, which led to its expansion to Austin and Houston. In 2021, JMBLYA. canceled its annual concert and it hasn’t reemerged since. Due to this event going ghost, there was a hole in the music scene again for rap & R&B fans.
This was something that Carter noticed after years of visiting one of his line brothers. Although there were talks about the extension of OMF in LA, Chicago, Houston and Brooklyn, the businessman shared that he and his team ultimately couldn’t shake the thought of Dallas being the perfect “sister city” because it was needed.
“My line brother lives out here and he was also in my ear about Dallas for a while, so I was just kind of exploring the city, seeing what it offered culturally, and honestly, there just was a gap in how I think certain cultural events for Black and brown folks around music just seemed to be missing,” the entrepreneur explained. “Houston gets a good amount of festivals and events like this and Austin has their festivals. And then the more I researched Dallas, I was like, ‘Dallas doesn’t have as many people and diverse as Dallas is? Dallas doesn’t have anything like this.'”
The Dallas-Fort Worth has two airports, many suburbs that feed into it, great food, and “does well on the touring circuit,” so it just made sense geographically and culturally to create something special within city limits. Due to the noticeable “gap,” the reaction from the public, particularly locals, wasn’t a surprise when TwoGether Land was announced earlier this year.
City officials and business leaders have made conscious decisions and partnerships to help grow the economy, business infrastructure, and tourism, making Dallas a desired place to live. As of 2023, North Texas has more than 8.1 million residents, “experiencing the largest population growth of any metropolitan area,” according to NBC DFW. Some proof of this are the investments in the entertainment realm, specifically sports and family activities.
The “Big D” has a multitude of professional athletic teams in the primary sporting leagues, football (Cowboys and Desperados), basketball (Mavericks and Wings), baseball (Texas Rangers), hockey (Stars), soccer (FC Dallas), lacrosse (Panther City Lacrosse), rugby (Jackals) and minor league teams as well. In 2009, Jerry Jones, the owner, president, and general manager of the Cowboys, opened the doors to the AT&T Stadium, a world-class athletic facility that cost $1.2 billion in Arlington, home to Six Flags Over Texas and Hurrican Harbor. Since opening, the building has broken attendance records and has hosted the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, 2010 MLB World Series, 2011 U.S. Women’s Open, 2014 NCAA Final Four, 2011 Super Bowl, 2015 College Football Playoffs National Championship Game, 2016 WrestleMania, 2018 NFL Draft, and the 2015, 2023 and 2024 Country Music Awards.
In 2020, Arlington government leaders and the Rangers agreed that the Globe Life Stadium would become the new home of the team. The multipurpose venue has a retractable roof, can hold 40,300 people, and is connected to Texas Live!, a fairly new entertainment brick-and-mortar with restaurants, bars, and big screens to watch sporting events, that has spiced up the suburb it is located in.
The metroplex is keeping that momentum going as major cities 15 minutes or more outside of downtown each have their own hot spots for shopping, leisure, nightlife, and fun activities. Last January, Universal Studios announced that Frisco would be home to its one-of-a-kind family theme park, Universal Kids Resorts.
Furthermore, Texas is known for having an abundance of places to eat, whether you like fine dining, casual atmospheres, quick pick-ups, bar bites, or whatever else your heart desires. Known for its great Southern cuisine, Tex Mex, and BBQ, Dallas’ restaurant has caught the attention of hospitality groups looking to expand to new markets as restaurants from New York (Sadelle’s and Carbone), Miami (Komodo, Villa Azur, Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, Salty Donut, and Azucar Ice Cream), LA (Drake’s Hollywood) and Chicago (Portillo’s, Bona, and Rainbow Cone) have made their way and are coming to the DFW area.
With additions like these and TwoGether Land, among other developments, this could be exactly what Dallas needs to stake its claim as a budding entertainment and business hub. Clark certainly believes so, which is why he’s happy to play a role in facilitating a “signature” annual music festival city that’s contributing to it becoming an undeniable destination of interest.
“It feels good to kind of see your idea, your concept really roll out. I can’t always say it’s a plan because it’s a festival, so there’s nothing to plan, right?” Carter said about his vision finally coming to life. “I think the win is honestly the comments. We got incredible feedback and everything that we said that we thought the city or the region needed, they echoed.”
He continued, “You know, this is kind of like as one person said, this is a cultural shift for the city and this area and sometimes you just need a special little battery in your back to get supercharged and make things change for the better. And if we could be that catalyst, then I think we’re on the right track.”
TwoGether Land isn’t the only Black-fronted music on the docket as the weather gets warmer and warmer. Blavity’s own Blavity House Party Music festival will hold its inaugural edition in Nashville in June.
