Yesterday it announced that hip-hop superstar Kendrick Lamar is coming to the LC Outdoors, and coming in hot, for what I assume will be the last show of the outdoor season, on October 24th. First of all, wow, good for Promowest Productions and 106.7 the Beat who are presenting the show. Kendrick was one of the most sought after festival headliners this year (albeit he received some pretty mixed reviews for those performances) and is arguably the biggest name in rap music at the moment, certainly in the top five.
When I was first told the show was taking place I was struck by how soon the show would be following the announcement, just over three weeks, and I also incorrectly assumed the show would be at the LC Indoor stage. There’s no doubt Kendrick can fill the outdoor setting handily, but I can only speculate on how the weather might be a factor and attendees can only hope that it won’t be one. As someone who has organized an event (Columbus Zombie Pub Crawl) over the last 6 years that took place in that same weekend before Halloween time frame, I can tell you that the weather has ranged from mild and almost summer-like to raining and downright cold. You just never know in Ohio. No matter, I doubt it discourages any of Lamar’s fans from showing up in full force as it is Columbus’ first chance to see the rapper since his performance at the short lived Breakaway Festival, and when he was slated to open for Kanye West on the Yeezus tour two years ago, a show that sadly was cancelled and never rescheduled.
Speaking of which, as an avid rap fan but primarily rock concert attendee, I’m always fascinated by manner in which rap shows take place. Shows are often announced not very far in advance, and I’ve personally witnessed a few where artists were late, heard about others where rappers were no shows (the Ghostface/Raekwon show at Park Street this summer, where Ghostface Killah supposedly no showed), etc. Perhaps it’s just the current rock star status that rappers themselves occupy more so than say your average indie rock act that allows them to announce late and still sell the thing out, but I digress. I’m not sure if Kendrick is doing other dates around this time or what got him out on the road on such short notice, and if anyone has any insight I’d love to hear it. I’ll sadly be missing this one as I’m planning a road trip to Detroit that very same night to see another rap group, Run the Jewels, so I’d love to hear about this show from those of you who attend. Tickets are on-sale Tuesday through Ticketmaster and at the LC Box Office and is presented by 106.7 the Beat. I’m guessing even with the short notice this one is still a sell out, and Kendrick will likely begin dominating year end album lists with his latest album, To Pimp a Butterfly, soon after his Columbus appearance. Your move, Columbus.
