Hands flew up in the air, heads bobbed up and down as a herd of fans collected in Washington DC on September 26th to vibe out to the different bands, singers, and rappers playing at the first Landmark Music Festival. 

Thousands of fans attended the festival in West Potomac Park on Saturday and Sunday, which raised money to restore the National Mall and park grounds. Landmark mailed attendees special wristbands, with bar codes on them, making them easier to scan than standard tickets. With just the flick of their wrist, fans entered the festival.

The festival was a success, but would never have happened in the first place if it were not branded as a charity event. As West Potomac Park is federal property, the government did not want to have a paid event there, preferring for the park to be open to the public. To host the festival, Landmark agreed to give half of their proceeds to restoring the mall and park grounds. 

To draw in a crowd, the festival featured bands from Twin Shadow and the Strokes to the main headliner, Drake. Fans stamped their feet at the front of the Jefferson stage from noon until dark, going without food or even bathrooms. 

One of the biggest hits of the festival was Wale, who rapped his famous songs  “Bad,”,“Love Hate Thing,” and “Slight Work.” The music was bumping, the base was blasting, and the fans were twerking. 

Singer Miguel then joined Wale and performed “Lotus Flower Bomb.” Fans swayed with the music and yelled every word.

But it was Drake who everybody wanted to see. The rapper stole the show; the crowd chanted his social media name “ChampagnePapi” before he came out. 

As soon as the lights dimmed, I knew waiting for nine and a half hours at the festival was worth it. Not eating or using the bathroom all day and paying 105 dollars for a ticket was worth it the moment the beat dropped and he hit the stage. 

Drake performed a set from his recent album, entitled “If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late” which included the hit songs “Energy,” and “Legend.” He brought his fans back to his previous albums as well. 

Drake sang his last song, “Know Yourself” and then expressed his love for the capitol. 

“Washington DC made me feel at home, if I were to close my eyes, I would think I was home,” he said. 

Because of all the love the crowd showed him, he said, “I do not want to leave,” and neither did his fans. Seeing all the smiles on each of the fan’s faces was priceless.