On August 13th & 14th, in the middle of the summer heat, the Observatory in Orange County, CA decided to throw their first Day N’ Night Festival. The venue for the festival was the Oaks Canyon Park in the middle of the OC Hills. Once you enter the venue, you lose all cell reception and are forced to be fully amerced within the music, food and non stop partying.

Since this was the first Day N Night Festival, I had no idea what to expect but right from the get go I knew it was going to be a memorable experience. The lineup for both day 1 and 2 were stacked with headlines. Everyone from A$AP Rocky, YG, Young Thug to Bryson Tiller, Vic Mensa and Post Malone.

Every single act got the crowd jumpin’. The crowd was packed in so tight that the heat started to have its effects on the fans. Several people had to be pulled from the crowd due to heat exhaustion but for the most part everyone partied hard, danced and just enjoyed life.

Out of all the performances at the Day N Night Festival, two acts shined a little brighter than the rest. When Vic Mensa came out you just knew it was going to be amazing. He came running onto stage and got the crowd screaming, but his biggest moment was when he performed “16 Shots”. He stopped the DJ a few moments into the track and talked to the crowd for a moment about the current state of police violence against the African American community. Then he dropped the track and the crowd went nuts! By the end of the song Vic Mensa fell to the ground and laid there for over 5 minutes. It was by far the most political and moving moments of the weekend.

The other performer that killed it was Lil’ Uzi Vert. His energy from the start had everyone in the entire event jumping. After his second track he jumped off the stage and walked up the center isle and performed the rest of his set in the middle of the crowd. No one knew what he had in store for his final track. Once his final track hit the speakers Lil’ Uzi Vert took off running across the event which immediately led to a massive mob of fans chasing after him. After running through the entire venue, he finally got back to the stage where he finished his set and had the crowd screaming for more.

All the headlines; YG, A$AP Rocky, Post Malone, Young Thug, and Bryson Tiller did what they do best, leave everything on the stage and give the fans a memory they’ll never forget. With Young Thug closing out the Day N Night Festival with a flawless set, it left everyone there wanting more. Next year is going to be amazing! But what I took away from the two day lineup was to keep your eyes on Vic Mensa because he is on his way to running the game.

Photos by Jim Ewing www.jimewingartistry.com | Instagram.com/ewingphotos