SXSW: Fader Fort Day 2

Just when you think that SXSW can’t get any better, The Fader Fort presented by Converse takes things to a whole new level.  With free drinks being poured up and multiple stands with food, the Fort is it’s own secluded party.  Not only do they add live music to the list, but on Thursday, the list of performers was unmatchable.

A little after 5:00 pm, the one and only Skepta took the stage, coming all the way from the U.K..  His genre of grime rap took the listeners by surprise and put on an insane performance for his first SXSW.  He performed tracks like “#ThatsNotMe” and “Castles” and got the whole venue jammin’.

The next performers up were BADBADNOTGOOD, who performed along side Ghostface Killah.  It was a great set getting to see the collaboration of such a hip hop legend and the young jazz trio.  To top it off, Ghostface Killah even brought out Raekwon, which was a wonderful surprise.

Bleachers were up next and gave the crowd a break from the hip hop they had just been served.  Front man Jack Antonoff was electric and had everyone in the Fort singing along.  The Fort was only getting more and more packed as the acts rolled on.

The headliner for the evening was Mike Will Made It and “Friends.”  It wasn’t clear what was meant by “Friends,” but Mike Will didn’t take long to start revealing them.  First out was Two-9, and as if that wasn’t enough Riff Raff came out followed by Rae Sremmurd.  At his point the crowd was more hyped than any crowd I have been in.  Things didn’t stop there, Future took the stage and knocked out a few hits.  The crowd went crazy for everyone that had come out already, but nothing like the response that the last performer got.  The song “23” started playing and out came Miley Cyrus.  The crowd exploded.  I have never seen more camera phones pop out to snap some pics than at that moment.  She performed a song with Rae Sremmurd and almost as quickly as it had started, the show was over.  Attendees left with the SXSW experience of a lifetime.

By Jeff Gower