An opportunity for local indie artists in Atlanta to showcase their talent and increase their fanbase is what 750 Music and Art Festival curator, Briyanna Ruff, 24, envisioned for Saturday, June 11. It was the perfect day to support a Black business woman and Black artists with June being Black Music Month. When I asked Ruff why she created the 750 Music and Arts Festival she replied, “I just wanted to make a space for emerging artists and musicians to have a chance to get exposed to an audience that they’ve never been in front of. One artists’ audience may see them and say ’Okay I mess with them too’ and there’s not a lot of opportunities that are easy to get for new artists so I just wanted to be that for them”.
The performers varied from R&B and Hip-Hop artists to spoken word poets. To kick it off Brandon Isaiah hit the stage followed by Stvlks, Red Brain, Idalis Boyd, Onelove A. Young, BRIM4K, Casual Encounters, and THGRT XCAPE closed out the show. In between sets the hosts; Shane Woods and Justin Linton and the DJ; Flock Wav, kept the crowd entertained.
Unfortunately, I only caught the last four acts but, fortunately I was able to see two particular performances that stood out to me…and also get a drink at the bar. I was just in time to see Onelove A. Young take control of the stage with his massive positive energy and message of spreading love. And the last performer of the day, THGRT XCAPE turned the festival up a notch and moved the crowd from their seats to the front of the stage. He completely transformed the stage and took the crowd into his world with pink lights, smoke, and an amazing live band. Brief technical difficulties with the sound didn’t stop the crowd from moving to the beat of the live electric guitar, drums, and piano and it didn’t stop XCAPE from giving his supporters the performance they’d been waiting for.
I was fortunate enough to catch THGRT XCAPE after his special one of a kind performance and talk about his journey as an artist, ”Music means everything go me. I’ve never wanted to be anything else, I’ve never tried to be anything else. I grew up knowing that I would be an artist and it’s just a part of who I am, it’s part of my spirit, it’s part of my soul, it’s part of my heart and it’s something that God blessed me with. One of the greatest gifts we have is the gift to create and I thank God for blessing me with that gift.”
There were multiple vendors around the room including art from Drip-N-Paint, A Minimalist Mood, Art By Cee, and One Edge Art Studio, and jewelry from Adiyah’s Heart Foundation, a charity dedicated to helping babies and children with heart conditions.
You can support 750 Music and Arts Festival by following their Instagram @750maaf, joining their mailing list and giving a donation for next years festival via their website 750maaf.com.
