Fvded in the Park
Holland Park, Surrey, BC
07.05.19 – 07.06.19

Along with sunscreen and lemonade, our PNW summers are fortunate enough to be blessed with all kind of music festivals every year. These past few years have been rough, it seems like one by one these festivals that have been around for years are announcing the end of their era as they lose popularity. However, just a little north of Seattle, in Vancouver, BC, Fvded in the Park holds strong. A 2-day lineup of primarily hip-hop and EDM music in the beautiful Holland Park, Fvded makes the commute across the border well worth those wait times.

When you first walk into the park, the festival is laid out in a way that makes it feel way bigger than it is, in the best way possible. The festival grounds are big and spread around enough that you don’t get bored after spending two whole days there, but also not so big that there are too many stages to keep up with and you get lost every time you turn around. The lineup was also pretty well laid out, with the main stage staying pretty hip-hop and mainstream-focused, while the Northwest Tent was more geared towards those who chose to dive a bit deeper into the EDM scene.

Our Day 1 kicked off with someone who just stopped in Seattle on tour with Blackbear, Elohim. Dressed in all black with a spookier vibe hidden behind big sunglasses, Elohim is always a really fun set. She does a lot of bright, summery electronic tracks, and was a nice easy way to get the weekend rolling.

One thing that I was not prepared for was just how much Vancouver LOVES Lil Mosey. A baby in the rap game, young Lil Mosey grew up in Seattle before launching his rap career and quickly gaining popularity, only to feature on the 2019 XXL freshman list recently. And as much love as Seattle has for him, Vancouver is almost even more dedicated. It seemed everyone that was pushing the front just wanted to see Mosey, not really mentioning later headliners who were thought to have a bigger appeal. But Mosey more than pulled through for his Northern fans as everyone sang along to “Noticed” and “G Walk.”

Switching gears to some rappers with slightly longer lasting fame so far, the afternoon on main stage featured A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Lil Yachty. Boogie was a pretty surprising act of the weekend for me. Though he really blew up a couple years ago, he’s come back in full force with “Look Back at it,” and continues to be a great performer with tracks old and new. Yachty’s set was really just happy. He comes off as a super chill dude, and the crowd was ready to take a break from the hard-hitters to just lean back and smile with Lil Boat for a while.

Finally, the night finished off with some hits from French Montana, and everyone jumped and partied until the end with Zedd’s high-energy EDM tracks.

Day 2 started off in a very classic PNW way—it was raining at a July music festival. Nonetheless, the bad weather almost added to the energy of the afternoon as Anders opened up main stage with an energy matched by the carefree crowd that was there for the music, no matter the weather.

Next to take main stage was probably one of my favorite performances all weekend, Saint Jhn. A hip-hop artist with a really dark and emotional sound, Saint Jhn’s voice is so unique compared to what you normally hear that he really stuck out from the weekend. Similar to Mosey on Day 1, Saint Jhn had a pretty dedicated following that was more than willing to jump through the rain to make his set feel even more dramatic and intense than normal.

The afternoon then switched up to some EDM as Loud Luxury took the stage with some nice dance beats before 6LACK walked on confidently in his Balenciaga jacket for some more emotional R&B songs.

Louis the Child was one of the more hyped-up acts of the weekend and they definitely pulled through. Just as the sun started to peek back through the clouds and the plastic bags were taken off the stage lights, the young EDM duo came out with “Love is Alive” and “Better Not” to really make it feel like a summer festival weekend.

Tory Lanez was easily the most shocking act I saw all weekend. I knew a few songs and figured he would be a good performer, but this man really went crazy. His songs were perfectly received by the crowd, who were happy to dance and twerk along at the tail end of the festival. And Tory had so much energy, running laps on the stage, you’d have thought he chugged a gallon of Red Bull before he came out. All his tracks are crazy fun live, and it only gets better when he’s launching himself into the crowd and truly having fun during his performance.

And finally, Khalid, the perfect headliner to top off a wonderful weekend. Khalid is no stranger to the PNW after years of touring since his debut album came out, and he continuously is one of the most stunning and fully joyful performers out there.

All in all, Fvded in the Park proved that Canadians really know how to do music festivals. The perfect size festival with a killer lineup without feeling overwhelming, not even the rain could dampen the mood.

Review and photos by Lulu Dawson

Fvded in the Park