Since 2008, Diplo’s label Mad Decent has hosted an annual Mad Decent Block Party. It began as a simple installation in Philadelphia, but quickly evolved into a multi-city travelling festival that even reached international markets. Its scale was largely reduced in 2017 and 2018, but it appears that Diplo is intent on bringing it back in a huge way in 2019.
According to reports from local Massachusetts publication The Enterprise, Diplo is teaming up with SGE Worldwide, the same team that helps to produce Lost Lands, Big Adventure, Moonrise, Demon Dayz, Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare and more, to throw “The Super Mega Ultra Giant Mad Decent Block Party Festival.”
Shortened to just “Mad City” on city documents, the event would take place July 20-21 at the Brockton Fairgrounds, with performances beginning around noon and wrapping up by 11 p.m. on both dates, with an estimated 37,000 people. That is… if it gets approved.
“I never seen anything as big in Brockton,” said Hank Tartaglia, chairman of the Brockton License Commission, in a meeting on March 11. “I don’t know if the city can handle all that, to be honest with you.”
The largest event seen at the Brockton Fairgrounds, according to The Enterprise, was Vans Warped Tour festival in 2003, which drew 23,000 guests. It also caused a newsworthy traffic jam.
Today, Police Chief John Crowley issued a letter to Brockton License Commission stating that “his department could not handle the public safety concerns” involved with a 37,000-person music festival. As a result, the License Commission told organizers that the event must be scaled back and denied their initial application.
“We went through the channels we were told to go through and we got nothing in return except a denial,” said John Reese, of SGE. “No negotiations. No discussions. No nothing.”
“In this instance, the event promoters could not satisfy the public safety concerns,” Mayor Bill Carpenter told The Enterprise. “If my chief of police expresses concern that safety cannot be completely guaranteed, as mayor, I must support his decision.”
The festival was slated to announce a large roster of artists including Billie Eilish and Major Lazer on March 25, but that now seems unlikely.
Writes The Enterprise, “[Chairman Henry Tartaglia] said he could not call a vote on the new proposal until it was formally submitted at a later meeting, which he said is unlikely to occur before March 25. However, he suggested that if Crowley, the police chief, approved of the smaller-capacity festival, his board would follow suit.”
Photo via Rukes.com
This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Diplo Looks To Throw 2-Day Mad Decent Block Party With Major Lazer & Billie Eilish
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