Rolling Loud Survives Last-Minute Vote

Miami city officials unanimously approved an already signed agreement to allow Rolling Loud festival to use Bayfront Park next month. Today’s vote comes two weeks after the venue’s executive director resigned following criticism from the board.
Kendrick Lamar
AP Photo / Kathy Kmonicek – Kendrick Lamar
Global Citizen Festival, Great Lawn @ Central Park, New York City
The Bayfront Park Management Trust voted to uphold the festival’s right to use of the park, as the promoters, Dope Entertainment, and the venue’s executive director already inked a deal, tickets were being sold and advertising was in full swing.
The board’s chairman, Miami’s District 3 Commissioner Frank Carollo, called for the vote and threatened to cancel the estimated 40,000-person event because he said executive director Timothy Schmand did not have the authority to sign agreements without the Trust’s consent.
While Schmand did regularly sign agreements for festivals, often without board approval the Miami Herald reported, Carollo was angered after he didn’t get word about the masses to flood the park until less than a month before the event. Schmand ended up resigning in late March, effective April 12.
Rolling Loud organizers posted a celebratory video to Twitter after the April 11 vote, no doubt breathing a sigh of relief that it has a confirmed venue for its May 5-7 festival to feature Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, Future, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Run The Jewels and many more rap and hip hop acts. The event was previously held in Miami’s Wynwood Art District, but announced it was moving to Bayfront eight months ago.
Wynwood Art District, the destination EDM event, was held at Bayfront Park March 24-26 and though attendance hasn’t been released yet, it has drawn more than 150,000 for several years running.
Neither Carollo or Schmand could be reached at publication time.
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