A change of tune for Mayor Jim Kenney. A week after it was announced that the ‘Made in America’ festival would be moved from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway after this year, the Kenney administration and Roc Nation reached an agreement to keep the festival on the Parkway for “years to come.” The decision drew both praise and criticism from local…
What to Know
- Only a week after it was announced it would move, Mayor Kenney and Roc Nation agreed to keep Made in America on the Parkway.
- The reverse decision came after a productive meeting between the Mayor and Roc Nation.
- Mayor Kenney said the festival will remain on the Parkway for "years to come."
Made in America is here to stay.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney met with Roc Nation chief operating officer Desiree Perez during a "productive meeting" Monday to hash out the details of keeping Jay-Z's music festival on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The meeting came less than one week after Roc Nation, a music and promotion company founded by Jay-Z, learned through a Billy Penn story that Made in America would not return to the Parkway after 2018's event.
Jay-Z lashed out at Kenney when he heard the news. In a scathing editorial, published in The Philadelphia Inquirer last week, the rapper-turned-entrepreneur called the ordeal a "failure on the mayor's part" and touted the millions of dollars of revenue generated by his festival.
He wrote:
"Is this an accurate representation of how he and his administration treat partners that economically benefit his city? Do they regularly reject minority-owned businesses that want to continue to thrive and grow alongside his city’s people?”
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Kenney jumped on the defensive, telling reporters that he "loves Jay-Z."
"We love the concert and we want to keep it," he said, adding that his administration was committed to finding alternative location.
In the end, no alternative was necessary.
"The Made in America festival belongs in Philadelphia – the birthplace of our country – and I’m optimistic that we can turn an unfortunate misunderstanding into a positive outcome and even stronger event," Kenney said in an emailed statement. "I look forward to working with Roc Nation and Live Nation, and maintaining this Philadelphia tradition for years to come."
