88Rising's Head In The Clouds Is The Festival Everyone Needed

If you thought Blackpink being at Coachella was a big deal for Asian representation, Head In The Clouds 2021 for sure topped that!

Head In The Clouds Festival

With over 30K attendees, Head In The Clouds by 88Rising was definitely a festival you needed to be at! This year, the festival was hosted at the Brookside at the Rose Bowl over a span of two days (November 6th and 7th, 2021). In previous years (2018 & 2019), it was held at the Los Angeles Historic State Park for only one day, showing how much the event has grown over the years.

Head In The Clouds included the popular 626 Night Market with booths like Panda Express selling their limited Beyond The Original Orange Chicken, Johnnie Walker with their special 88RISING X JOHNNIE WALKER BLACK LABEL MATCHA MULE and of course, home of the Mapo Tots, Bopomofo Cafe! The “Bopomofo Stage” had a never-ending line due to their exclusive drink, BOPO Berry Lyte’ning! They state it mixes, “100% real homemade blueberry compote, mint, limeade, and Pocari Sweat! to help festival goers refuel on electrolytes and rehydrate!” There were many more food and drink options around the festival.

The food and drink booths weren’t the only ones creating special festivals items. If you visited the GUESS booth over the weekend for instance, they were also selling limited 88Rising sweaters, shirts and more.

Head In The Clouds wouldn’t be the festival it is today without the incredible and talented artists 88Rising invited. There were two stages set up at the event, including the main stage, 88, and the Double Happiness stage. The 2-day lineup included artists: CL, DPR LIVE + DPR IAN, eaJ, BIBI, MFBTY (FEELGHOODMUSIC), Rich Brian, Joji, NIKI, ATARASHII GAKKO!, Audrey Nuna, Beabadoobee, Stephanie Poetri, Elephante, The Linda Lindas, Guapdad 4000, Seori, Illenium, Japanese Breakfast, Josh Pan, Mỹ Anh, Lil Cherry & GOLDBUUDA, Luna Li, Rei Ami, Saweetie, Umi, Wallice, Ylona Garcia, Warren Hue, and Keshi!

The Head In The Clouds Day 1

Atarashii Gakko! + Lil Cherry & Goldbuuda

Atarashii Gakko! were the first group to start off the 2-day fest on the 88 stage. This four member girl group from Japan hyped up the crowd with their unique sound! Also, a feature from Warren Hue (who has his own stage on the second day), and a cover of their favorite, The Beastie Boys. Next to take the same stage were Lil Cherry & Goldbuuda who performed “G!” which has a remixed version featuring HYO of Girls’ Generation (SNSD). Lil Cherry even wowed the crowd with an outfit change halfway through the set.

DPR LIVE + DPR IAN

Next on 88 stage was DPR (Dream Perfect Regime) who are known as a crowd favorite that attended the last 88Rising festival (2019). This time around DPR Live was joined by DPR Ian who performed his latest tracks for the first time in the USA. They performed new songs such as DPR Live’s “Hula Hoops”, DPR Ian’s “So Beautiful”, and original fan favorites such as “Martini Blue” and “To Myself”. eaJ (also known as Jae from Day6) made a guest appearance for the track “Jam & Butterfly”.

Double Happiness Stage: Elephante, Audrey Nuna, Umi, Japanese Breakfast, Ylona Garcia, Stephanie Poetri and Rei Ami

A festival isn’t complete without a second stage though! On the Double Happiness stage Elephante, Audrey Nuna, Umi, Japanese Breakfast, Rei Ami, and Ylona Garcia performed some of their hit tracks. Stephanie Poetri, an Indonesian singer-songwriter and record producer sang her hit single, “I Love You 3000” with the help of the audience. American musician, DJ and music producer, Elephante performed tracks such as “Dopamine”, “Down This Road”, and “Light On”.

Saweetie

Rapper Saweetie wowed the audience by coming out with her outfit that fit the concept of the festival perfectly- clouds and sparkles. During her stage, she mentions her background of being Black, Chinese and Filipino and wanted to represent her “Asian kings and queens.” She didn’t come empty-handed as she threw ‘icy chains’ to her ‘Icy Girls’. Saweetie performed her debut track “Icy Girls.” Fans belted out lyrics to favorites such as “My Type”, “Best Friend”, and “Back To The Streets”.

CL

Following Saweetie’s set is KPOP “ALPHA” CL (formerly of 2NE1) came out to an already hyped crowd with a sick mix of “Dirty Vibe” and “The Baddest Female”. She also had DPR Live and DPR Ian as special guests on stage for their collaboration track “No Blueberries”. She also performed some of her newest tracks “Spicy” and “Tie A Cherry” before ending with her hit solo, “+Hwa+”.

Illenium

American DJ, producer and musician Illenium hyped the crowd with his return to LA by mixing his hit tracks live on stage! Throughout the day, we saw many fans wearing his t-shirts and sweaters so clearly everyone was excited for his set! With the festival turning up, Illenium played tracks like, “Don’t Blame Myself (feat. Tori Kelly)”, “Paper Thin”, “Hearts on Fire” and his remix of Halsey’s “Without Me”.

Rich Brian

An 88Rising event isn’t complete without headliner Rich Brian! This Indonesian rapper is an original from the label and for sure a crowd favorite. Before the artist came on stage, the audience was already wild and ready, even without the prompt on screen telling them he excepts them to jump, scream, and cry – which many did all at once – or else he’ll cry. He couldn’t stop the fans from belting out lyrics to tracks such as “100 Degrees”, “Yellow”, and “History”. Special features included Guapdad4000 for their track “Bali” and the edamame dancers for “Edamame” (yes, they actually wore edamame suits). Since fan interactions were a must during this set, Rich Brian asked the audience to turn on their phone flashlights for his final song “Slow Down Turbo“.

The Finale: Rich Brian, NIKI, Warren Hue & August08

To conclude the first night of Head In The Clouds 2021, a finale featuring the amazing NIKI, Rich Brian, Warren Hue and August08 didn’t disappoint! They performed their collaboration track “Midsummer Madness” (original track features Joji who was not present on the first night of the festival).

The Head In The Clouds Lineup – Day 2

If you enjoyed performances from the first day, then you were sure to be excited for the second day of Head In The Clouds Los Angeles!

Double Happiness Stage: The Linda Lindas, Wallice, Seori, Josh Pan, Guapdad 4000, Mỹ Anh, & BEABADOOBEE

The performances started off on the Double Happiness stage with Mỹ Anh. Despite not being the main stage, performances didn’t disappoint! There were performances by The Linda Lindas, Wallice, Seori, Josh Pan, Guapdad 4000, and BEABADOOBEE. Despite being young, the performances by The Linda Lindas were top notch! Seori, known as an up and coming female vocalist from South Korea, performed many of her songs including “Dive With You” with the help of eaJ (who later performed on the 88 stage).

Luna Li

On the second day, Luna Li was the first artist on the 88 stage. Luna played the violin and guitar during her set and many fans enjoyed it. Through her Instagram profile, she calls herself the “music-making moon fairy” and she proved that during her stage.

Warren Hue

Next up on the 88 stage was the popular, Warren Hue. He revealed that he started releasing music just 2 years ago. This young artist was joined with his friend and fellow musician Chasu. He performed “Cosmo Punk”, “Candy Choppa”, and his latest “West“. There were also unreleased tracks such as “Run Away With Me” and “Internet Boy”. Warren Hue made many appearances throughout the weekend. He was a part of both finales, he made an appearance with Atarashii Gakko! during their set and of course, held his own awesome stage!

FEEL GHOOD MUSIC

BIBI

With “The Weekend” being the latest popular 88Rising track sung by BIBI, the FEEL GHOOD MUSIC stage was highly anticipated. BIBI started off this set by singing her song “Pado” which means wave. The female soloist decided to then change it up a bit with her track “Cigarettes & Condoms” and of course, she threw condoms out! BIBI kept the audience hyped until her final performance of “The Weekend” where she surprised everyone by getting off stage to give a kiss to one of her fans!

MFBTY – Tiger JK, Yoon Mi Rae, BIZZY

As BIBI exited the stage, her labelmate seniors, and hip-hop legends, MFBTY came out to an overly excited group of fans. MFBTY includes the father of K-hip-hop Tiger JK (aka Drunken Tiger), his wife and K-hip-hop queen, Yoon Mi Rae (aka Tasha), and the amazing rapper, Bizzy. Starting off with Tiger JK’s “Monster”, the high energy of the track had the crowd putting their hands up. Despite the legendary South Korean hip hop group not expecting many of the audience to know who they are, the audience sure did and rightfully so.

The group showed their years of experience while performing their hit track “Angel” which shot to #1 in Korea and brought them back to fame. They ended the set with Yoon Mi Rae’s “Get It In” which was unfortunately cut short due to the set’s limited time.

Keshi

The admired and loved Keshi joined the stage with the largest audience throughout both nights. The attendees were legit feeling his set with tracks such as “Beside You”, “Drunk”, and “Like I Need U”. During his performance, phones and other objects were thrown on stage, where the artist gracefully sang into before throwing back into the crowd, in hopes it would get back to it’s rightful owner. Regardless of who it was, fans attending the Head In The Clouds festival were surely there to catch Keshi’s stage as everyone was singing along.

eaJ

After making an appearance with DPR Live and Seori, it was finally eaJ’s turn to showcase his incredible talent! While many had not realized who the artist was with the name eaJ, when he mentioned his band DAY6, the audience went wild! eaJ, aka Jae of Day6, has no official music released as a solo artist. Day6 is a well-known South Korean band that tops the charts with many of their albums and songs. He has been on tour in North America several times with the band, but never as a solo artist. Despite not having any official songs on streaming platforms, he has plenty of unofficial tracks on both YouTube and SoundCloud.

eaJ performed, “Other Side,” “50Proof,” “Wallflower,” among several others. His stage also featured two special guests; Seori for “It Just Is” and Keshi for the song, “Pillows.” He proved himself hilarious by needing a break in the middle of his set and wondering who created it (himself!).

NIKI

The Indonesian goddess, NIKI was the most anticipated artist of the festival! Almost everyone who attended the 2-day event was waiting at the stage area to see the female soloist perform! She performed “Every Summertime” which is a soundtrack from the movie, Shang Chi, “Lowkey,” “Right Here,” in collaboration with Keshi and “La La Lost You.” Unlike the other artists who attended, NIKI had three outfit changes during her set and even performed on the piano. The beautiful singer and songwriter showcased her wonderful vocals, dance and talent on stage and showed why she is idolized by many fan-girls . Her performance was unforgettable!

Joji

The headliner for the second night was none other then 88Rising’s Joji. Starting off, he performed his track “Sanctuary” which his fans were excited to hear. To make sure the audience was still with him, he paused between songs and even tried to make a song on the spot – which may or may not have gone well. With a set-list of “Daylight”, “Attention”, “Ew”, and “Gimme Love”, no one would question why he was the headliner of an 88Rising festival when they heard the participation of those in attendance. The last song “Slow Dancing In The Dark” was the highlight of his set, where he also performed an acoustic version of the single. Overall, his fans were happy to see him performing live on stage again!

The Finale: Rich Brian, Warren Hue, NIKI, Lil Cherry, Goldbuuda, Seori

Rich Brian, NIKI, and Warren Hue were back again for the finale to end the festival! They were joined by artists Lil Cherry, GOLDBUUDA as well as Seori. Seori and Warren performed their track “Warriors” which is a Shang Chi soundtrack. Also, NIKI, Warren Hue and Rich Brian joined forces to perform their hit track, “California.”

Representation

These amazing artists are the definition of Asian representation and 88Rising has produced a platform that celebrates Asian music, culture and diversity. 88Rising’s founder, Sean Miyashiro, established a stage for Asian artists from around the world to express their words through music. Head In The Clouds is on its way to becoming the best festival in Los Angeles!

Written By: Diana | Edited By: Mari | Photos By: Lucy Ho