Music Midtown Is Back For 2023!
Music Midtown announced its return this past week with the 2023 lineup announcement and presales opening. This festival is near and dear to my heart as Music Midtown 2011, the first one after a many-year hiatus was the first music festival I ever attended. It was a magic moment as it started a journey that has now taken me to 40 different music festivals with the upcoming Bonnaroo being my 41st. I have attended all Music Midtowns since that first one and have worked as media twice. I am very excited to see it come back after a shaky 2022 when a Georgia gun law pushed the festival to cancellation.
There are a couple of changes this year that have been the buzz on festival social media, especially with fans loyal to this particular festival. The festival will be a three-day event with Friday having a shorter duration, leading to speculation that the festival will start after folks get off of work around 5 PM on that Friday. The artists playing Friday make it a worthy extension, with P!NK and Flume as the headliner spots supported by Pitbull and Atlanta’s own J.I.D. There will be a crowd turning up on Friday, which gives both fans and local businesses a chance to make up for the cancellation last year. Hotels, bars, and restaurants can plan for another day of packed service while festival attendees get another day to explore Atlanta nightlife after the festival. This is an overall smart move by the festival to address the forced gap year.
The other change is the price hike in festival tickets. Historically, you could buy a presale Music Midtown ticket for around $150. This year, the price has risen considerably to $350 which is a comparable ticket price to larger festivals such as Bonnaroo or Hangout, but even these larger festivals start their presale pricing lower than $350. This extra cost for a ticket this year will add to the overall burden of travelers who need to purchase hotel rooms as Music Midtown doesn’t have a viable camping option. The rise in ticket pricing is being chalked up to inflation and the increase in costs to run a music festival. I can see the justification for the adjustment if the price remains fixed at $350 moving forward. As there hasn’t been much talk from the festival about changes made to the festival programming including improvements, there is a chance the higher ticket price comes with some added benefit that will be announced at a future date. It would be nice to see prices return to what they used to be, but that has become rare nowadays.
If you haven’t bought your tickets yet and plan to attend, go ahead and purchase your ticket. Also, make sure you book a hotel room or Airbnb soon as there limited options around Piedmont Park where the festival takes place. I hope to see you at Music Midtown this September!