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13 Things We Learned at Los Angeles First-Ever Made in America Festival

By Celebrity News Wire on September 1, 2014


This Labor Day weekend, Jay Z proved that he could literally shut down a city by holding Los Angeles’ first-ever Budweiser Made in America Music Festival smacked dab in the middle of its downtown core. Subway stations were closed and streets were blocked off as thousands of concertgoers made the trek to Grand Park to see the likes of Kanye West, Iggy Azalea, John Mayer, Kendrick Lamar, Rita OraImagine Dragons, and Weezer perform.

Like the American flag-clad masses there, the Celebuzz staff was also on hand to risk heatstroke sweat it out, hang out with celebrity talent, and bring you the scoop on what went down at summer’s last musical hurrah.

Here’s what you may (or may not) have seen on and offstage at 2014′s Made in America Festival.

1. The Backstage Area Is Booty Bumping

It was the a battle of the booty when Iggy Azalea and Amber Rose crossed paths backstage on Saturday. Spoiler alert: there was no loser. When two powerful and gorgeous females come together in one room tent like that, the whole world wins. 

iggy azalea amber rose made in america backstage 2014 los angeles
Iggy Azalea and Amber Rose hang out backstage during the Budweiser Made in American Festival in Los Angeles on August 30, 2014. [Getty Images]

2. Kanye West Is a Man of Many Faces

Despite the heat, Kim Kardashian‘s hubby sported not one, but TWO bejeweled masks during his headlining set. Way to suffer for your fashion, Yeezy.

3. Kanye West Loves to Give Shout Outs to His Favs

During his performance, the rapper gave a shout out to his wife and daughter as well as his Watch the Throne partner Jay Z, who was in the audience with Beyonce. West told the crowd that he would keep his rants to a minimum out of respect for Jay seeing how his set was already running overtime.

4. Oh, Beyonce Was There (!!!)

In case you missed what was written in the bullet point above: BEYONCE WAS THERE. We were all graced with the presence of a true queen.

beyonce jay z made in america music festival los angeles 2014 cuddling backstage
Beyonce and Jay Z cuddle backstage during the Budweiser Made in American Festival in Los Angeles on August 31, 2014. [FameFlynet]

5. Love Was in the Air

Aside from Beyonce and Jay Z, other celebrity couples who stopped by the event included Chloe Grace Moretz and Brooklyn Beckham and Jamie Chung and Bryan Greenberg.

6. Basically, A Lot of Celebrities Were There Too

Whether it was backstage or front of house, stars were out in full force. Adrienne Curry was spotted hanging out by the artist lounge, while Kellan Lutz and DallasJosh Henderson were seen roaming the festival grounds with a bunch of pals. Did anyone manage to score an autograph?

7. There Were So. Many. People.

Cell phone reception was at an abysmal low as concertgoers tried to call, text, Snapchat, Instagram or email that one friend who was lost in the crowd. In fact, there were so many people in audience that few clever risk-takers even climbed trees, bus shelters and other pre-existing structures in the park in order to get a better view of headlining acts like Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons.

made in america los angeles music festival grand park downtown audience crowd
Concertgoers climb on bus shelters, trees, and other structures in Grand Park during the Budweiser Made in America Festival. [Getty Images]

8. Iggy Azalea Isn’t Afraid to Get Close to Her Back-Up Dancers

The “Fancy” hitmaker’s amazing dance moves made for a few golden photo moments. See: here, here and here.

9. Rita Ora Is the Queen of the Wardrobe Change

The songstress was spotted in a plethora of outfits this weekend. She sported a crop top with a green train for her “Black Widow” appearance during Iggy Azalea’s set while toned it down in a black bustier and a jacket for her own performance the following day. During her downtime, Ora was also seen in an all-red baseball-inspired ensemble with matching flip-flops.

10. Imagine Dragons Have Really Great Aim

Their drummer was able to hit one of Celebuzz’s editors with his flying drumstick. You can pin point the exact moment the projectile makes contact with our girl in the video below. (Don’t worry, she’s fine.)

11. John Mayer Likes Guitar Solos — A Lot

Mayer is a undoubtedly a gift musician but his flare for lengthy guitar solos struck the wrong chord with the restless crowd, who were mainly there to save a good spot for Kanye West’s set happening later that night. When Mayer started playing his last song, he was met with a collective groan from the audience.

12. Steve Aoki Brought Out the Big Guns (And By “Guns,” We Mean “Cake”)

For those unfamiliar with the Aoki, the DJ has a penchant for throwing cake into the audience during his gigs. Naturally, he went big for the Made in America festival by requesting that nine vanilla sheet cakes be behind his DJ booth ready to be tossed. He also sprayed the crowd with champagne because, well, what’s a party without some bubbly?

steve aoki birthday cake concert made in america backstage
Ready-to-be-thrown cakes sit behind Steve Aoki’s DJ booth at the Budweiser Made in American Festival on August 31, 2014. [Getty Images]

13. Everyone Was Dressed for the Occasion

No, we’re not talking about the celebrities here. Concertgoers were decked out in red, white and blue for Made in America. Seriously, you could not have taken five steps on the festival grounds without seeing someone wearing an American flag. #MURICA.

american flag concert music festival fashion made in america
Fashion at the Budweiser Made in American Festival in Los Angeles. [Getty Images]

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