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Mostly Cloudy DJ Khaled, Marshmello and more perform at Jones Beach
Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival hosts popular acts and rising artists
Some of the biggest names in popular music appeared at the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater as part of the Billboard Hot 100 Festival on Aug. 19 and 20. Hundreds of people packed into the Wantagh music venue for the annual event.
Throughout the weekend, millennial-aged crowd splashed photos across Snapchat and Instagram of Demi Lovato’s set, rapper Rick Ross and Major Lazer with his assortment of celebrity guests. The festival featured about 50 performances across four stages, including one by DJ Khaled, who received a chorus of “awws” when he brought out his son, Asahd Tuck Khaled.
“That’s all we’ve been here for so far,” said Mia Pappas, 14, of Long Beach, referring to the music producer’s set.
While the festival drew thousands of local residents to check out a star-studded line-up, a number of independent and up-and-coming acts performed as well. Artists who are either unsigned or rising in popularity, according to Billboard officials, played their music on the Heatseekers Stage.
One of these acts was pop singer Cari Fletcher, known by her moniker FLETCHER.
“It’s definitely an exciting time to be an independent artist,” FLETCHER said. The New Jersey native started gaining attention after her hit “War Paint” became the most viral song on Spotify in 2015. She said that streaming services are giving “artists a voice we never had before.”
FLETCHER is not signed to a record label and said that she is in no rush to change that. She said that she has had the freedom to make decisions independently.
One of these decisions, she said, included the spontaneous production of a music video for her song “Wasted Youth.” The singer was on a Los Angeles beach with friends when one began taking video. Ryan Hutchins, a New Jersey filmmaker, directed her most popular music video that night.
Another act that drew local folks to the Heatseekers Stage was pronoun, led by Alyse Venturo, of Brooklyn. Signed under Rhyme and Reason Records, which prides itself on being “non-traditional,” according to its website, pronoun plays moody indie pop that Venturo likened to Day Wave, Julien Baker and the Japanese House.
Venturo said that she is used to playing intimate venues with her friends in Brooklyn. However, she said that she couldn’t differentiate between such shows and the Billboard festival “because a lot of my friends are playing this.” After a laugh, Venturo referred to acts like Yoke Lore and Frances Cone.
The Heatseekers Stage also featured Handsome Ghost, who wrote his debut single, “Blood Stutter,” in his bedroom. He said that he was shocked when it went viral on Spotify. SHAED, a trio from D.C. who have recently toured with indie acts Bishop Briggs, Marian Hill and Sir Sly, also performed at the festival.
Major Lazer, the trio of DJs known for their reggae-infused electronica, closed the festival on Aug. 20 with a bass-heavy set that included guests Camila Cabello and J. Balvin.
