With festival season in full lilt , it ’s easy to get get up in the Bonnaroos and the Coachellas of the humanity . But overlooking the smaller urban center festivals would leave you missing some of the coolest lineups the summertime has to extend . One such city fest is Made In America , located justly on the bound of Center City in Philadelphia .
Because a medicine festival is adequate parts music and experience , here ’s the breakdown of everything you could maybe ask to get it on in and around this northeast cam stroke - down . We ’ll continue everything from how to get there , which artist to see , and what to do , rust , and see when you ’re outside the gates .
Made in America is locate in the beating , hustle heart of Philadelphia ( urban center of brotherly love life and unbrotherly fandom ) , so before you’re able to even get to the good clobber , you need to devote some metre to getting there , get around when you ’re there , and all that jazz . Here ’s all your research legwork done for you right here .
Made in America/Facebook
MIA takes place every yr at Philly ’s iconic Benjamin Franklin Parkway , in the straightaway area directly palisade the Philadelphia art museum . ( Rockysteps , yo ! ) The most convenient path to get there via public transportation system is into the Amtrak 30th Street station , which lands service from NY , DC , and more . From there it ’s just a 10 - minute of arc - or so walk . Pro - tip : apply the John F. Kennedy bridge and hit the walking way along the Schuylkill River .
If you ’re come from Philly proper , the SEPTA train and bus system is fairly reliable , but can be a minuscule knotty to navigate for outsiders , and it does n’t stop extremely nigh to the fete . Your best bet is to repel , cycle ( Philly ’s got a great bikeshare system of rules ) , or beguile a hack to / from your hotel .
WHAT TO BRING
As with any music fete , bringing sunscreen , shades , cash , and comfortable shoe is a given . For this fest , the water refilling stations are pretty legion , so a refillable bottleful will go a long room toward saving money on hydration . you could either bring in an empty nursing bottle or a sealed piss feeding bottle ( max size on both : 1 litre ) , but nothing exposed or season ( they ’re essay to prevent you from bringing in alcoholic beverage ) .
Also make certain you impart a small rucksack to adjudge all your stuff . There ’s no re - entry here , so add everything you desire for the whole Clarence Shepard Day Jr. will be key .
WHERE TO STAY FOR MADE IN AMERICA
MIA draw medicine fans from NYC , DC , and even Boston , so the hotel selection gets pretty slight on festival weekend . Luckily , the greater Center City area is badly stacked with hotel options . All the major range are repped , but the Sheraton Downtown is the closest pick to the festival priming .
If you want to get a little culture up in you , opt for a hotel over in Old City ( all the agency on the eastern side Center City ) , and you ’ll be just a ( cobble)stone ’s cam stroke from Liberty Square , Independence Hall , and a long ton of dudes clothe in screaming powdered wig .
TICKETS TO MADE IN AMERICA
ticket for the full weekend are $ 162 ( plus a $ 22 service fee per ticket … so your material cost is $ 184 ) and arepurchased through Ticketmaster . There ’s a limit of eight tag per purchase . very important person ticket were on sales event at the end of July , but seem to have vanished . There ’s no re - launching , and exclusive - day tickets do n’t come along to be uncommitted : if you ’re in at all , you ’re all in at Made in America .
This fest ’s footprint is pretty tiny – it ’s located , like in good order in front of the Rocky steps ! And consider they sell around 70,000 slate for each mean solar day of the show , you ’ll have to give up yourself to being pretty packed in , especially hanging at and moving to / from the main stages .
Aside from Rihanna and Coldplay ( because obviously you ’ll see them ) , the first nine - or - so artists on the MIA lineup will scratch whatever melodic itchiness you ’ve got , from the frilly kinfolk flavors of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes to female - fronted electro pop brainiac colly to pink ace - duo 2 Chainz and Lil ' Wayne ( perform Chainz ’s latest recordColleGrove ) . It ’s all going to make it pretty heavy to not camp the main stages . But you in all likelihood should n’t because …
Flame Lux Creative LLC
SOME OF THE BEST ACTS ARE OPENERS
The name of the secret plan this class for the MIA batting order is " profoundness . " What is in the first place a hip - hops fest ( it ’s curated by Jay - Z for crying out loud ) is always pepper with other genres to keep you on your toes . But this year , the " holy sh*t " response follow you all the way down the lineup posting . Here are just a few can’t - misses from further down the list : A$ AP Ferg , Gary Clark Jr. , St. Lucia ( mad ' 80s way , guy cable ) , Tchami , Kevin Garrett ( dude ’s got writing citation on Beyonce’sLemonade ! ) , Gallant , Car Seat Headrest , Into It . Over It . ( to get your rock on ) , Basement , and way more .
Donotneglect the small stage . Because this is principally a rosehip - record hop fest , it ’ll pull most fan from the hip - hop category . And they ’re here to see 2Chainz , Rihanna , DJ Khaled , etc . And let ’s be honest , so are you . But a decent interruption during the daylight is check out the smaller indie stage . The crowds will be petite and the banding are in earnest awesome ( see : two sections up there ) . The best secret microscope stage ? The one right field at the main entry that most patrons blow correct past .
Made In America has n’t announced the prescribed nutrient batting order just yet , but if last yr is any indication , you ’ll be sating your hunger with Philly staple fiber like the Philly Pretzel Factory , tons of motortruck slinging cheesesteaks , a Ben & Jerry ’s popup , and even more . check over back at the website as they announce their specific food for thought bed cover . But , as we ’ll get to later , you may definitely get your food on outside the fest , too .
But we ’ve get some tips for you to aid make the most of your clock time . First off , attain the food for thought truck early in the mean solar day , before the hungry headliner crowds descend on them . Obviously line will be most unruly between sets , but if you snap up a pungency mid - to - later afternoon during a curing , you ’ll miss some of the herds . Plus , because this fest is so humble , you ’ll be able to hear whatever act is on while you wait in pretzel lines .
Because this fest is only Saturday / Sunday , that go away a all-fired in force choice to head to Philly a day early and get acclimatize the Friday before . And in ordering to do that , you ’re gon na call for the dead on target Philly experience . Here ’s what to do metropolis wide ( and beyond ) if you want to make a daytime out of exploring .
STREET FOOD IN PHILADELPHIA
Philly has a bit of a whorl on street nutrient staple , so if you really want to , you could spend an integral twenty-four hour period thrust greasy deliciousness into your side while moseying around .
Philly Pretzel Company has the grocery cornered on the city ’s odd figure - eight look pretzels . Are they regular pretzel bod ? No . Are they buttery and indulgently delicious ? Hell yes .
A slice of pizza here does n’t occupy nearly the market that a place like NYC does , but a few notable options are Lorenzo & Sons on South and John ’s Place up nigher to the festival .
And of course , we ca n’t write about walk - and - scarf grub without talking cheesesteaks . If you want to get into the great argument , hit up both origin contenders : Pat ’s King of Steaks and Geno ’s Steaks . local will speedily tell you where to incur their thecity ’s factual best cheesesteaks , but you have to at least equate the two most famous ones before you pass ( presumably of meat disease ) .
PHILADELPHIA HISTORY
Just like Boston , one of Philly ’s main claim to renown is its seat as one of the establish political centre for our country . And while many diachronic attractions can seem too touristy ( the dudes in period dress will tip you off ) , that does n’t mean walking the old city neighborhoods wo n’t sate an afternoon nicely .
Independence Mall and its monumental visitant center do hold the original Liberty Bell , but to avoid the lines trying to chirrup the thing itself , either get there other Friday morning or promontory to City Hall and take hold of ticket for a guided tour up to the bell tugboat in Independence Hall ( which now house a replacement ship’s bell ) . It offer ridiculous views of the cityandwill give you the chance to do your best Nic CageNational Treasureimpression .
If you want to do it all though , there are plenty of routes through Old Town you may take yourself – the Constitutional Walking Tours guide recommends the self - guided 3 - statute mile route . Just think back to save some shoe leather for rip it up at the show .
Flame Lux Creative LLC
PHILADELPHIA ARTS & CULTURE
As you bed , MIA fest takes place mighty in the complex outside the Philadelphia Art Museum , and believe or not , much of the museum remains open during the fest ( though that could change year - to - year , so make trusted to check before planning to visit ) . And that ’s a slap-up thing because this spot ’s obtain art from Van Gogh , Monet , Picasso , and more .
But do n’t overlook other museum throughout the city , include the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts , the Penn Museum ( just across the river at … U of Penn ) , the nearby Rodin Museum , and the Mutter Museum that highlight feats of Physics strength and uncanny - piece of tail body oddities from Pennsylvania ’s most noted scientists .
You ca n’t have playfulness if you do n’t stay hydrated , and you ’re go to require every oz. of Energy Department to shake out with the best of them . Fuel your thirst for adventure with VitaminWater .
Made in America/Facebook
PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES IN PHILADELPHIA
If you ’re looking to get your stock pump in preparation for two days of bangin ' beats , then Philly and its surrounding domain has you track . First off , the jogging paths within the metropolis boundary can be spectacles unto themselves . The Schuykill River prevue is friendly to joggers , bikers , or Walker and it ’s real close to the fete itself . swing out up toward Fairmont Park for a whole wad of trail to follow with more reclusive metropolis vies .
If hiking is more your thing , there are a net ton of province Mungo Park within a couple hours of Philly , but we recommend heading an hour and a have northwest ( just west of Allentown ) to the Hawk River Sanctuary for a falcon - filled afternoon ( why ? Because snort of fair game are badass ) .
Whatever you do , consider of MIA as a way to get to know one of America ’s cool cities . If a Rihanna set is n’t the best exculpation to visit anywhere , then we do n’t know what is .
A. Ricardo/Shutterstock
MIA fest is singular in that they do n’t tolerate re - entry for the day ( they do n’t give you wristbands ) . So , that does n’t give you much of a chance during the factual day to hit up the surround area . But if for some reason you want to skip a daylight ( or have the full Friday useable to you ) , Philly is a vivacious city to explore . These vagabondage offer plenitude of haps outside the gates . skilful stakes : the area properly around MIA , Fishtown , and Center City .
Because MIA goes down passably much on the Rocky steps , you ca n’t run up and down them like a lunatic . But , thankfully , that ’s not all the area just east of Benjamin Franklin Parkway has to offer . In the morning , hit up Mugshots Coffeehouse for local roasts or Rybrew for bangin ' beigel sandwiches . For the evening , lilt by Jack ’s Firehouse , a saloon located in a 19th century firehouse that serve up comfortableness foods . Brewerytown Beats is a funk - focalise record shop for your post - fest vinyl fix , and you may conclude the night out with rotating local drafts at Prohibition Taproom .
FISHTOWNFishtown is one of the youngest - experience sections in Philly ( despite the neighborhood ’s work class root word as a fisherman ’s ' toughie ) , and it shows with flyspeck deep brown shops and even tinier eatery . And that makes it totally worth travel crosstown for .
Mark Makela/Getty Images
CENTER CITYLocated close to between the festival area and Fishtown , Center City is fittingly right in the middle of town . And while it ’s a vast area that encompasses too much to drip into the same bucket , a few dinner spots worth their salt are Honey ’s Sit ' N Eat ( quilt food , BBQ , the works ) , Village Whiskey ( house pickles , duck adipose tissue fries , whisky flights ) and The Ranstead Room ( a speakeasy right next to killer Mexican spot El Rey ) .
If you ’re looking for a morning outing to get the blood flowing before you shoot the crowd , Rittenhouse Row contains around 200 local shop and businesses , and leads right to the chill - worthy Rittenhouse Square .
in the south STREETWant to get a picayune weirder for recent night ? South Street has a bedspread of bar and venues that get seriously zany after hours . Head over to Tattooed Mom for Indian corn hot dog , barren dollar bill - store goodie grip plaything , and a paloma with a ice lolly chock up in it .
Mandritoiu/Shutterstock
If you want a more beer - point slur , shoot for for Brauhaus Schmitz for around 30 taps take out straight from the female parent body politic . Now that you ’ve tasted Pat ’s vs. Geno ’s , the wise pick is Jim ’s Steaks for some OG cheesesteak sandwich ( take care the line , though ) .
And if , after all that concert , you want to charm a abide by - up circle , head to the Theater of the Living Arts for touring dance orchestra in a cool - looking space .
Made in America/Facebook
Made in America/Facebook
