Kid Cudi, seen here performing in California, brought his Moon Man's Landing festival to Cleveland on Saturday, Sept. 17. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)Getty Images
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Kid Cudi’s Moon Man’s Landing festival on Saturday wasn’t just a music event. It was a mind-altering vibe.
The event held in the Flats West Bank is estimated to have drawn around 18,000 people (it felt like more) -- a diverse crowd of all ages and races, some dressed to impress others possibly wearing what they may have woke up in that morning.
But everyone -- whether they looked like the cool kids from high school or the self-proclaimed misfits at the corner lunch table – was shaped in the mode of Cudi. The Cleveland-born music star, producer and actor has always been a charismatic enigma, with art that expresses emotions such as loneliness, alienation, love and spirituality to music that is spaced out and euphoric.
Saturday’s festival featuring an all-star lineup was Cudi’s gift to Cleveland, a city he broke out of in the 2000s to rub elbows with the likes of Jay-Z and friend-turned-foe Kanye West. But, like most big events in Cleveland, attendees had to battle early parking woes.
“Moon Man’s Landing” took place at the Nautica Entertainment Complex across two stages. With the parking lot closed off, you either had to get dropped off or were lucky if you found a parking spot a half-mile away.
Those who did make it to the venue early got to see Chip tha Ripper make his long-awaited return to Cleveland as the festival’s opener. He was followed by rap star Pusha T, who was only on at the early time of 4 p.m. because he had to headline the Motor City Roots Festival in Detroit later in the night.
The middle portion of the festival provided a bit of a lull that saw fans flocking to food lines. But those who made their way to Jacobs Pavilion, which housed the festival’s “Bose Stage,” experienced Jaden – aka Jaden Smith, the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Jaden wasn’t performing his Daddy’s music. His bass-heavy emo rap – fueled with an abundance of curse words – whipped the packed crowd into a frenzy.
“I’m f***ing with this!” Jaden proclaimed as he pointed to the crowd. “I’m f***ing with this!”
The hundreds of energetic fans pressed up against the stage’s guard rail were enamored with Jaden, who knew how to rile them up. The sounds of “Plastic” set off a mosh pit that never stopped before “Icon” brought things to another level.
Jaden worked the stage with the swagger and physicality of a mini-Travis Scott. The reaction might make you believe he was the biggest star of the day. But there were bigger things to come.
As the young crowd that populated Jaden’s set filtered out, an older set moved in. Anticipation was building for Cleveland hip-hop legends Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, who did not disappoint.
The group – Krayzie Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone and Flesh-n-Bone (sans the ever-flaky Bizzy Bone) -- arrived on stage just after 7:30 p.m. and began with a celebration of their classic songs, from “Thuggish Ruggish Bone” (fans recited the song’s intro, “We’re not against rap. We’re not against rappers. But we are against those thugs...” verbatim) to “Cleveland is the City.” Even Kid Cudi made an appearance on stage, fanboying out with his cell phone in hand.
The group sprinkled in snippets of classic hip-hop songs like The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy” and their late mentor Eazy-E’s “Boyz-n-the-Hood.” The older the song, the bigger the reaction and the more substances filled the air.
One fan apologized to the man next to her for the smoke coming from her blunt. He merely signaled for her to keep it coming. Indeed, you couldn’t be anywhere on the floor without getting a powerful contact high.
Meanwhile, it was a completely different vibe on the festival’s “Entergalactic Stage” (named for Cudi’s forthcoming animated series). Pop-leaning California band Haim was putting on a rock show befitting a major festival like Lollapalooza.
If Haim seems like an odd addition to “Moon Man’s Landing,” the band is certainly part of the Cudi universe. Haim appeared on the track “Red Eye” from his third studio album “Indicud.”
“One of the first people who ever believed in us was Kid Cudi,” Alana Haim proclaimed. “We’re so happy to be here.” It showed. The band’s set ranged from the bombastic “Now I’m In It” to the sensually playful “3 AM” to big hits like “The Wire” and “The Steps.”
From there, things got intense. While New Jersey artist 070 Shake led singalongs to her ambient hip-hop songs in front of an excited crowd on the Bose Stage, a huge crowd gathered at the “Entergalactic Stage” for hip-hop phenom Playboi Carti. But they would have to wait.
Carti began his set 30 minutes late. By that time 070 Shake had finished performing (which might have been the point). Once Carti arrived, it felt like a tsunami might arise from the Cuyahoga River.
Regarded as one of the most dynamic performers in music today, Carti transforms his trap and cloud rap songs into full-on rock anthems in a live setting. His guitarist shreds away as the bass-heavy tracks shake the ground.
Thousands of fans raged along to Carti’s every song, from “Stop Breathing” to his guest spot on Kanye West’s “Off the Grid.” Carti even broke out “Pull Up,” a song he hasn’t performed live since 2019.
The center of the crowd was as terrifying as it was exhilarating, like a highway crash you couldn’t turn away from. A string of young women holding hands emerged a mosh pit: “Guys, we almost died,” one said. They couldn’t have seemed more excited about the experience.
And Kid Cudi was still to come. Cudi’s concerts have taken on religious-like experiences for quite some time now. And Saturday was no different if not more so given the setting.
“I figured, this is the last stop on the U.S. tour. It’s in my hometown. I gotta do something special for y’all,” Cudi said.
And special it was. Cudi managed to put together the first major, mainstream music festival in downtown Cleveland in four years (and it went a lot better than the last one).
Cudi kicked things off by performing his early track “Cleveland Is the City” for the first time in over six years. “Dive” pushed the crowd to its liveliest peak before Cudi brought out Chip tha Ripper for three songs. That was just he early portion of a complete set, equipped with an encore that was a mix of songs Cudi hasn’t performed on tour (“Soundtrack 2 My Life” and “Solo Dolo”) and oldies, including Haim making an appearance on “Red Eye.”
The night closed out with Cudi performing his new song “love.” a fitting conclusion given the vibe of an evening that mixed intense performances with lighter moments of joy. You could see the happiness beaming on the kid from Cleveland’s face. It was absolutely magnetic.
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