PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The city is still cleaning up the mess left behind by Ida, but the show is on anyway. Thousands of people will pack the Ben Franklin Parkway for the weekend's Made in America festival.
Justin Bieber and Lil Baby are the headliners for this year's two-day festival, topping a lineup curated by founder Jay-Z that also includes Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Roddy Ricch and A$ap Ferg, among others.
Road closures have been in place and security will be tight for the event, like always. But this year, there are added restrictions and screenings for COVID-19.
Concertgoers must upload a copy of their vaccination card or a negative test before arriving or bring it with them to the gate. Jordan Shaffer of North Philadelphia had her vaccination card in hand along with her ticket.
"I've been waiting to go to concerts since we got shut down," she said. "I'm excited to be back outside, for real for real."
Though anxious to get inside, the thought of being in a fenced-in space with tens of thousands of people lingered in the back of her mind.
"I'm definitely gonna keep my distance," she shared, "but when we're in the concert, I guess it's gonna be kinda hard, so that's kinda nervous."
This year's Made in America festival requires proof of vaccination or recent negative COVID-19 test to enter.Hadas Kuznits/KYW Newsradio
Negative tests must come with proof they were taken within 48 hours of the event. Juan Morales of Reading brought a negative test result, in lieu of being vaccinated. Does he think this is the future of concerts?
"I hope not," he answered.
In addition, everyone there must mask up regardless of their vaccination status.
Concertgoers like Aklis Mendez of Binghamton, New York told KYW Newsradio the guidelines didn't stop him from wanting to be on the parkway.
"I feel like I haven't been to one in a long time, and then the lineup of artists is amazing, so I figured why not," he said. "You know, take one chance, one time but this one time could be dangerous, who knows."
"I'm a concert person," said Emily Poulter of Heightstown, New Jersey. She said she felt comfortable attending a large concert because she's vaccinated and masked.
"I'm kind of just used to like everyone touching each other."
Did she feel like she was taking a risk? "Anything's a risk," she said, so it's, like, whatever at this point. "
As for whether Mendez thought going was worth the risk, he said, "Honestly, no — but life's short."
For those who had tickets for last year's canceled festival, MIA officials said they will honor them this year. Poulter was one of those people. "I've had these tickets since before COVID," she said, "so we've been waiting a very long time."
Philadelphia police are onsite to provide security.
"We will have uniform as well as plainclothes officers inside the venue as well as on the outside. We have officers on bikes, officers in cars. Our helicopter will be up. They will be our eyes in the sky," said Deputy Police Commissioner Joel Dales.
"We will have rapid response teams in place as well to respond if necessary, both inside the venue and outside the venue. Some officers are coming in on their days off to supplement the shortage due to make sure we have a police presence at the Made in America event."
Music will be blasting late into Saturday and Sunday nights until 11 p.m. Roads around the parkway are expected to stay closed until Tuesday.
