The festival was founded in 2012 by rapper and business mogul
Jay-Z as a way to bring together music and culture. The inaugural event was held on September 1–2, 2012 on
Benjamin Franklin Parkway in
Philadelphia. It grossed $5 million in ticket sales and attracted about 80,000 people. Philadelphia city officials reported that the festival generated around $10 million in economic impact for the city. In 2012,
Pearl Jam were joined onstage by Jay-Z to perform the song "
99 Problems". For their appearance at the festival, the band earned $2 million. As of 2012, the festival features three stages of live music: Rocky Stage, Liberty Stage, and Freedom Tent (which primarily features electronic music). The festival also features an array of vendors, food trucks, carnival games, refillable water stations, and portable toilets. In Budweiser's 'Makers of Tomorrow' ad, which promoted the theme of the festival, Jay-Z narrated, "Through all the lines and things that are put in place to divide each other, all like-minded people gather together. We're more curious than ever. We create music to express ourselves. And when the world relates, ya know, that's beautiful things. We're all trading off each other's culture. So no matter what lines you put—country, indie rock, rap—we're all somehow gonna find a way to come together cause the lines and the titles can never keep us apart. This is what we've been. To put that on display for the world is, is just being honest. That's it, that's what it's all about. We are finally living out our creed." The festival was the subject of the 2013 documentary
Made in America, directed by
Ron Howard and produced by
Brian Grazer and Jay-Z. In a statement to the press, Howard called the documentary "a reflection of the fabric of what it means to be 'Made in America'—what the festival represents, why Jay is doing it and how he relates to each artist." On April 16, 2014, Jay-Z and
Eric Garcetti (the mayor of
Los Angeles) held a press conference at
Los Angeles City Hall and announced that the Made in America Festival would take place not only in Philadelphia, but in
Los Angeles as well during the 2014
Labor Day weekend. The location of the Los Angeles festival would be
Grand Park. "On Labor Day weekend we are going to celebrate our golden state of mind right here in LA with a sellout crowd right on the steps of city hall and into Grand Park," Garcetti said. "The 'Made in America Festival' will attract 50,000 fans Saturday and Sunday. Fans who will inject millions of dollars into the LA economy." On May 19, 2015, it was announced the festival would return to its original format of being solely held in Philadelphia after disappointing ticket sales from last year's LA edition of the festival. In 2015 Budweiser also replaced its Made in America tour with its new Monument Series. The Monument Series which leads up to the main festival took place at both the
Statue of Liberty in New York and the
Golden Gate Bridge in
San Francisco, California. The festival was not held in 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, with tickets carrying over to the next edition. The festival returned in 2021, only to be cancelled again in 2023 and 2024 for unspecified reasons. == Lineups ==