Written By: Qazi Tariq
Photos: David Dalley
Another year, another review, for another incredible weekend.
This is the second annual summer Breakout Festival and the third event produced by Timbre Concerts & Crescendo1, following Winter Breakout last December. Like the previous two instalments, the weekend featured Vancouver talent like Ankle God and Illyminiachi sharing the stage with International stars A$ap Rocky, Young Thug, Rae Sremmurd, Gunna and cant forget to mention Rich The Kid! Sheeeeeshhhh…what a line up.
Once again it was an all ages event that made it fun for everyone in the city except for the dudes that thought shorties were legal. Like many large events of this scale, there were long lineups, issues at the ticket booth and rude security. It resulted in us missing Illyminiachi but we managed to catch most of Saweetie’s set. Her energy, the back-up dancers and the overall vibe of the performance couldn’t help but make you feel like a bad ass ***** and happy (and get you a dude with 8 figures…that’s your type). When we arrived she was just ending “Tip Toes” featuring her boo Quavo. Following two other singles with him as well; “Emotional” and “Lose it” which also featured one of Breakouts headliners Rich The Kid. She also played her hottest single “My Type” but I’m sure you all assumed that already. Overall, one of my favorite performances of the day, especially since she brought a fan on stage for a lap dance (I wonder how Quavo felt about that one)! Keep doing your thing Saweetie; you’re onto something.
Next up, Rich The Kid had everyone rushing to the stage from all corners of the Amphitheatre. He started his set off with “Plug” featuring Kodak Black and Cash Carti, followed by his hit feature “Talk to Me” with Tory Lanez. Continuing the same trend of features being performed he had “Girls Have Fun”. It’s crazy to witness a whole crowd knowing every lyric to a song; I can only imagine what Rich the Kid was feeling while on that stage. Next thing up was his major hit “Plug Walk” and when I say everyone knew the words to his performance, I mean EVERYONE knew all the words.
Gunna followed with a spectacular performance and not a moment went by where it didn’t make you want to dance. Just picture if Lil Baby hadn’t cancelled last minute; the type of vibe and aura we would’ve had with the master duo. Nonetheless Gunna gave one of his best performances performing “Oh Okay”, and “Drip too Hard”. High key wishing it could’ve been longer but more than satisfied with whatever time we had with his presence.
Young Thug finally came through Vancouver or was it “Bank Uber”??? on a last minute addition, which made up for Lil Baby being absent. His set really held the night together even though I’m assuming with the last minute extra he may not have had much time to rehearse; but if that were the case he definitely did not allow it to show. Giving us a spectacular performance with such songs as “With That”, “Digits”, and “The London”. SLAAT.
The night ended with Rae Sremmurd. I’ve never seen a performance show as much love to the city as the boys did that night. They brought a young man named Paulo onto the stage after being pushed off his wheelchair in the crowd. If concertgoers weren’t already a fan, they would be by the end of the night as the entire crowd sway back and fourth, arm over shoulder with each other. They had everyone off the bleachers and joining all together with classics like “Unforgettable”, “Black Beatles”, “Sunflower”, and “Come Get Her” (and switching up the lyrics to rep Vancouver). To say I haven’t seen a set of people show more love to Vancouver during a performance, is an understatement. It was one of those you had to be there experiences with an ambience that captured the entire audience. They ended the night the only way they know how; by bringing some local baddies on stage with them. Shout out to Paulo.
We are grateful to Timbre Concerts, Crescendo 1 & Breakout for delivering another unforgettable weekend.
Until next time Vancouver.