Lovers & Friends Festival Plays on 2000s Nostalgia with Mariah Carey, Missy Elliott

Lovers & Friends festival is taking things back to the ’00s with their 2023 line-up. Slated for Saturday, May 6, the Las Vegas fest features headliners Missy Elliott, Mariah Carey and Usher.

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The festival is in its second year with more than 45 artists scattered across the one-day event. Elsewhere on the line-up are Christina Aguilera, Nelly, Busta Rhymes, Lil Kim, Bow Wow, Omarion, Sean Paul, Remy Ma, JoJo, Jagged Edge, Shaggy, Chingy, Petey Pablo, Dem Franchize Boyz, Yung Joc, Soulja Boy, Eve, Boyz II Men, Flo Rida, Beenie Man, Ginuwine, En Vogue, Da Brat, and more.

The festival has also booked Summer Walker, Jhené Eiko, Miguel, PartyNextDoor and Bryson Tiller for a taste of the 2010s and 2020s. Find the full lineup below.

The inaugural Lovers & Friends got off to a rocky start when the line-up was announced in 2020. Helmed by Coachella promoter Goldenvoice, artists like Lil Kim claimed the line-up flyer was fake and requested to be removed from the poster.

Snoop Dogg, who was one of the festival’s bookers last year, posted a video on Instagram saying he thought he was talking to her reps. “Lil Kim, get at me on the DM, so we can get at you about this money,” he wrote. “We were talking to some of your peoples. Or we thought we were talking to some of your peoples. Get at me on the DM, so we can try to get you this money, see if you with this thing or not. As far as everybody else on the show, 100% confirmed. So make sure you get your tickets when that shit comes out because they gonna go fast. I mean real fast. You seen the list.”

When the festival finally saw the light of day, it was met with a gun threat that cleared out the Las Vegas festival grounds. Three people were hospitalized with minor injuries. Performances eventually resumed.

The second annual fest is currently helmed by a new promoter, C3, which also produces Austin City Limits Music Festival and Lollapalooza.

Tickets go on sale Friday, January 20 via the Lovers & Friends website.

(Photo by NDZ/Star Max/GC Images)

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