Music Midtown 2023 Preview

IHG Hotels & Resorts Stage

Flume, 8:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Bringing electronics from the other side of the world is Sydney’s Harley Streten – a.k.a. Flume (QRO photos at a festival). He’s coming off winning the 2017 Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album for Skin, and more recently this year’s mixtape Things Don’t Always Go the Way You Plan, and now comes to Music Midtown (QRO photos at a ’22 festival).

J.I.D, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Praise & success has followed rapper Deston Choice Route, a.k.a. J.I.D (QRO ’23 photos), since his 2017 debut album The Never Story and the following year’s follow-up DiCaprio 2, now coming to Hotlanta.

Also:

Skaiwater, 5:15 PM – 5:45 PM

Venmo Stage

P!nk, 9:30 PM

For the pure pop star experience, you can’t go wrong with P!nk. Alecia Beth Moore hit it big at the start of this century/millennium with her debut, Can’t Take Me Home, and then upped her game with Moulin Rouge! hit “Lady Marmalade”. She’s racked up Grammys, Billboard number ones, and worldwide acclaim ever since, and comes to Atlanta as part of her ginormous stadium tour that includes literal high-wire performing (QRO photos)!

Pitbull, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

If Miami could be a person, it would be famed rapper Pitbull (QRO photos at a Formula One after-party), who pretty much everyone likes. Out this year with Timeless (QRO ’22 photos), he crosses the Florida-Georgia Line for Music Midtown (QRO photos at a ’23 festival).

Leah Kate, 5:15 PM – 6:30 PM

As Music Midtown ’23, fast-rising singer Leah Kate will be celebrating that day’s release of her debut full-length, Super Over.

IHG Hotels & Resorts Stage

The 1975, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM

Manchester’s The 1975 (QRO photos at a festival) turned heads with their Sex EP in 2012, even though it wasn’t very good (QRO review), they have kept that up (QRO photos at a festival) as the second coming of INXS with last year’s Being Funny In a Foreign Language. They come to Music Midtown (QRO photos at a festival) after being in the news for other reasons (getting sued for frontman Matty Healy kissing a guy which closed down their Malaysian festival, not to mention him breaking up with Taylor Swift…).

Niall Horan, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Out of the massively successful boy band One Direction (which was created on The X Factor?!?), each singer has forged their own successful solo careers, such as Ireland’s Niall Horan. He’s had three hit solo records, most recently this year’s The Show, and now brings that Show to Atlanta.

Yung Gravy, 4:15 PM – 5:00 PM

Out of the same Soundcloud rapper scene as Chief Keef and bbno$ (QRO ’22 photos with bbno$) has come hit Yung Gravy, who’s also worked with everyone from fellow Music Midtown ’23 performer Lil Baby (see below) to Martha Stewart.

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Sueco, 2:30 PM – 3:15 PM

Ed Rox, 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM

Gala Music Cotton Club Stage

Destroy Lonely, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

The stylish rapper Destroy Lonely asks, If Looks Could Kill…

UPSAHL, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

That Lady Jesus UPSAHL (QRO ’23 photos) comes to Atlanta for Music Midtown.

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Calder Allen, 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM

GoPuff Great Southeast Music Hall Stage

Louis the Child, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM

While their name & electronica might make you think of France, duo Louis the Child (QRO photos at a festival) actually hails from a high school in suburban Chicago. They head down south for Music Midtown (QRO photos at a festival), now behind 2020’s hit dance debut full-length, Here for Now.

The Rose, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Recently, American festivals have been stretching across the Pacific for K-Pop, and a great pick for ’23 is The Rose (QRO ’22 live review), who have grown from their indie roots to trans-continental success.

The Midnight, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Ride the synthwave of Atlanta’s own The Midnight, who play Music Midtown (QRO photos at a ’22 festival) in this Endless Summer as hometown Heroes.

Also:

Sarah Kinsley, 2:15 PM – 3:00 PM

Venmo Stage

Billie Eilish, 9:30 PM

Just try to catch electro-pop sensation Billie Eilish (QRO photos at a festival), who turned a lot of heads and hips with her debut single “Ocean Eyes” and EP Don’t Smile at Me, and then debuting at #1 in 2019 with the hit “Bad Guy” and WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? (QRO’s #1 Album of 2020, duh). She has since become one of, if not the, biggest stars on the planet (QRO photos), from the No Time To Die Bond theme song (QRO review) to playing the Democratic Convention with “My Future”. “Future”, fellow single “Therefore I Am” (QRO review), and much more came together in 2021 for killer follow-up Happier Than Ever (which also saw Eilish go blonde) (QRO photos at a festival).

COVID canned her massive tour 2020 tour, and in the meantime she did some great livestreams (QRO photos at a taping), but she’s since come back to the road for giant gigs. Just watch out for her hordes of screaming female fans (QRO photos) as she returns to Music Midtown (QRO photos at a festival) to headline.

FLETCHER, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Get “Undrunk” with breakthrough pop singer/songwriter FLETCHER (QRO live review), who comes to Music Midtown (QRO photos at a ’22 festival) behind the raw break-up of 2020’s The S(ex) Tapes and last year’s Girl of My Dreams.

Lizzy McAlpine, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Lizzy McAlpine was a student at Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music before leaving early to pursue her own career, and brings her folk-pop to Atlanta off of last year’s sophomore full-length Five Seconds Flat.

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Maude Latour, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

The Moss, 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM

IHG Hotels & Resorts Stage

Lil Baby, 7:30 PM – 8:45 PM

Apple Music Awards all-genre 2020 Artist of the Year, Atlanta’s own Lil Baby brings his “Freestyle” to Music Midtown (QRO photos at a ‘22 festival), behind hit records such as 2018’s Harder Than Ever, 2020’s My Turn, and last year’s It’s Only Me (though it’s a hometown festival for Baby, so look for some friends of his to turn up to turn it up…).

GloRilla, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Just last year, Memphis’ GloRilla burst onto the scene with the Grammy-nominated “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” and hit with Cardi B, “Tomorrow 2”. Anyway, Life’s Great…

Masego, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

Jamaican-American Micah Davis has been incorporating saxophone into his trap-house-jazz as Masego (QRO ’23 live review), most recently with this year’s self-titled sophomore full-length.

Joy Oladokun, 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

Mixing everything from folk to R&B is Joy Oladokun (QRO photos at a ’22 festival), who comes to Music Midtown (QRO photos at a festival) behind this year’s Proof of Life.

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The National Parks, 11:45 AM – 12:30 PM

Gala Music Cotton Club Stage

Young Nudy, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Atlanta’s Young Nudy has worked with everyone from J. Cole to his cousin 21 Savage, but see him at Music Midtown on his own.

Tove Lo, 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Out of Stockholm, Ebba Tove Lesa Nilsson – a.k.a. Tove Lo (QRO photos at a ’23 festival) – has written for numerous other artists like Icona Pop, Ellie Goulding, and Hilary Duff, but 2013 hit single “Habits” has made her a leading lady all of her own (QRO live review). She comes back to Music Midtown for a third time (QRO photos at a ’22 festival) behind last year’s Dirt Femme and her latest big tour (QRO ’23 live review).

JP Saxe, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

“If the World Was Ending” launched JP Saxe and Julia Michaels (QRO photos together) into fame, and even if they’ve since broken up, Saxe (QRO ’23 photos) has kept going, with sophomore full-length A Grey Area out the Friday after Music Midtown ’23.

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Magic City Hippies, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

GoPuff Great Southeast Music Hall Stage

The Garden, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Twin brothers Wyatt & Fletcher Spears form The Garden.

Big Wild, 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM

After a trip to Big Sur in California, Boston DJ Jackson Stell became Big Wild.

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PJ Morton, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

BIGXTHAPLUG, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

Venmo Stage

Guns n’ Roses, 7:30 PM

G’ N’ F’ N’ R’ – Guns n’ Fuckin’ Roses (QRO photos headlining a festival). You know them – oh yes, you know them. The biggest band to emerge from Los Angeles’ big eighties hard rock scene, G’ N’ R’ took the world by storm behind such mega-records as Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion I and II, and killer singles like “Welcome To the Jungle”, “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, “Paradise City”, “November Rain”, and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”. There wasn’t a bigger star than lead singer Axl Rose – except maybe lead guitarist Slash (QRO live review), along with ‘classic’ line-up members Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan (QRO photos at a festival), and Steven Adler. The band lived the hard rock n’ roll lifestyle to the fullest, especially Rose and his outsized ego, as basically the definition of ‘sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll’…

Of course, this took its toll, with acrimony causing everyone but Rose to leave after 1993’s “The Spaghetti Incident?”. Rose found new members (QRO photos at a festival) and promised follow-up Chinese Democracy – and promised, and promised… It wasn’t until fifteen years and fourteen million dollars later that Democracy finally arrived. But even more awaited was 2018’s ‘Not In This Lifetime…’ Tour, which saw Slash & McKagan rejoin Axl and embark on one of the highest-grossing concert tours on record, grossing north of half a billion dollars. And they’ve managed to keep the reunion going, even just releasing an actual new song, “Perhaps” – catch it all at Music Midtown!

Incubus, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM

A band that’s been more successful than you realize, for longer than you realize, is Incubus (QRO live review). Deftly balancing between styles and scenes (QRO photos at a ’22 festival), acceptable to the mainstream and the indiesphere, Incubus (QRO photos) come behind 2017’s eighth studio album 8. So, catch Incubus (QRO photos at a festival) back at Music Midtown (QRO photos at a ’23 festival) – If Not Now, When? (QRO review).

First Aid Kit, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

Sweden’s woods-y sister act First Aid Kit (QRO live review) come back to Music Midtown (QRO photos at a festival), behind last year’s Palomino (QRO review), because they’re “On the Road Again” (QRO cover review).

Inhaler, 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

Out of the Joycean streets of Dublin strides Inhaler (QRO live review), a number one hit in their native Eire with 2021’s debut full-length It Won’t Always Be Like This (probably helped by being fronted by Elijah Hewson, a.k.a. Bono’s son), now crossing the Atlantic (QRO photos at a ’22 festival) like so many of their countrymen did, with Cuts & Bruises.

Also:

Siwavay, 11:45 AM – 12:30 PM