‘I always like underdog cities’: Sacramento gets stamp of approval after music festival

Lost in Riddim brought together more than 20,000 people to fill the streets of the Railyards District in Sacramento.

Fans from different walks of life and backgrounds were vibing together in anticipation of big-name artists that graced the Lost in Riddim stage this past weekend. People traveled nationally and internationally to get a taste of the energy and culture that is brewing in Sacramento.

They flew in from Los Angeles to Portland, as far east as Miami and New York, and from cities in between. Fans also arrived from the other side of the world, from countries in Africa, such as Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Liberia and more.

The inaugural two-day festival catering to the afrobeats genre was a hypnotizing adventure.

“There were so many beautiful people there and to have that experience to see people smile and enjoy their favorite artists, interact with each other, and be able to just really get lost in the rhythm and have fun,” said Jehu Manny Hunter, Lost In Riddim partner and co-organizer.

The lineup featured top artists, including headlining acts Burna Boy and WizKid. It’s not every day that top-name international acts are brought to Sacramento.

Before the Lost in Riddim festival, it had never been done before.

“We brought artists and fans who have never been to Sacramento. It was an international cultural event,” said Hunter. “A lot of these artists have never played the same space ... for Sacramento to be the first place, it’s breathtaking, it’s amazing.”

Performers enjoy host city

As the fans embraced the artists, the energy was returned as artists in turn embraced the city.

D’Anthony Carlos, better known by his stage name GoldLink, expressed the potential he sees in Sacramento and how he’s been able to pick up on the vibe in a city that is growing its own identity.

“Feels like this (city) could be something. I like that, I always like underdog cities,” GoldLink said. “I’m excited to see (it) because it feels like something exciting is happening.”

He said the last time he felt excited about a city he didn’t know about was when he performed in Johannesburg, South Africa.

GoldLink wasn’t the only artist that gave Sacramento their stamp of approval.

Ama Serwah Genfi is a Ghanian artist who goes by the stage name Amaarae. This was her first time performing in Sacramento; the other time she visited, she simply got her nails done.

She told The Bee that she is appreciative of the city showing love and interest in African music and culture. She mentioned that Sacramento reminds her of her hometown in Ghana, seemingly “quiet, peaceful, and chill.”

Just like Accra, in Ghana, she says Sacramento knows how to have a good time.

“I think that energy was definitely interesting, as far as seeing people starting to now gravitate to the African sound,” Amaarae said. “What was interesting (was) seeing the crowd (and) how many people of color were around, I think that was so dope, coming to a space like this that’s specifically for Black people, for African people, I’m glad to see that it’s opening up in this way.”

Weather, crowds challenge organizers

During the first day of the festival, there were nerves and anticipation all around — from organizers, to artists, to fans, to the production team.

It’s the first time a festival like this has been held in Sacramento, so understandably, there were some hiccups along the way. They were corrected by event organizers after receiving feedback from attendees.

The temperature over the weekend climbed past 90 degrees, and there was a need for water. After coming up short on day one, organizers worked to order pallets of water to hand out for free in anticipation of day two.

Some fans suffered injuries as a result of others, desiring a better view, rushing the stage in anticipation of one of the main acts. Security and emergency medical technician staff had to be increased exponentially for day two.

“We hate that that happened, when putting this all together, the last thing we want is anybody to be unsafe or to be injured in any way,” Hunter said. “We’re all human beings. Our heart goes out to anybody that was injured in that situation.”

Hunter says that this was a learning experience.

The team came together after the first day to make the needed adjustments and provide the best experience, a safe environment for both visitors and Sacramento natives to enjoy.

Looking ahead to 2022

They are going to ensure they keep addressing issues in order to continue to make the event special for years to come.

“It’s definitely something that is going to happen again. I think the main thing is that we realize what it takes to really make this special,” Hunter said. “As you can see there’s a lot of improvements made on day two, I think just seeing that feedback, we know exactly what we can do just to have an even more dynamic experience next year.”

Hunter says that he and his Lost in Riddim partner, Fornati Kumeh, plan to keep the event in their hometown of Sacramento.

This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM.