The Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash presented by SPKRBX is a Chicago-based hip-hop festival that has featured stunning lineups year-after-year since its inaugural year in 2018.
It’s pretty wild to think about the growth from the first lineup to 2023’s lineup, but regardless of how exclusive their acts are, LL and SPKRBX know how to put on a wonderfully crafted festival from top-to-bottom.
Day one of Summer Smash ‘22 started off with a bang as local talent in Roy French, Warhol, and Lucki put on memorable sets at Lenny’s Tent Stage throughout the afternoon. Summer Smash has featured Chicago-based acts in their lineups since the fest’s inception; Lyrical Lemonade clearly doesn’t want to lose sight of the artists that were a large part of their growth over the years.
D Savage was undoubtedly one of my favorite sets of the weekend as he introduced me to a range of his newer music that I wasn’t familiar with prior to his set. Uptempo beats and diverse song structures made for a jubilant and wildly entertaining set. His confidence resonated through his performance at Lenny’s Tent Stage. Although the main stages are fun, I’ve found that the tent stage features some unbelievable upcoming talent in an intimate setting unlike any other stage at this festival.
AG Club also brought the energy early in the afternoon, the PoD team was thoroughly impressed by how effortlessly the young group commanded the main stage crowd as well as the sheer amount of energy they produced. Keep an eye out for this ‘avant-garde’ group, they’ll surely be headlining fests of the same size in no time.
Witnessing Wiz Khalifa and Lil Uzi Vert close out the first night of Summer Smash ‘22 was an absolute treat as both of these critically acclaimed artists put on sets that were immensely enjoyable from start to finish. Wiz Khalifa ran through a dope variety of oldies and new cuts; I felt honored to see such this legend perform for the first time in my life. Hearing cuts off of ‘Kush & OJ’ was a special experience for so many in the crowd as Wiz’s 2010 mixtape completely embodies the beauty and sound of the blog era.
Similar to his 2021 set, Uzi brought their live experience to the photo pit as they climbed down speakers on the ‘Lyrical Lemonade Stage’ to get closer to the die-hard Uzi fans who had spent hours waiting for the superstar artist. Uzi never fails to give massive festival crowds a full experience, and his set at Summer Smash ’22 was no exception. Lil Uzi Vert was the immaculate closing artist for day one that left festival-goers hungry for more. Much more was in store for day two and three.
