Kelsey Mcavin
Executive Arts Editor
Rolling Loud California 2025 brought a two day rollercoaster to Hollywood Park/SoFi Stadium from March 15-16. The lineup featured A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, Peso Pluma, Sexyy Red, and more.
Kicking off the performances on day one, fans enjoyed music from Sexyy Red, who played her fan favorite songs such as her verse in “Rich Baby Daddy,” “Get it Sexyy,” “Pound Town,” and many others. Although she was 30 minutes late, her song selections and stage presence made up for it.
After being over an hour late, A$AP Rocky made his entrance over the sound of booing fans. The rapper descended down on a helicopter as his song “A$AP Forever” opened his set. His performance was the first since he had been tried for two counts of felony assaults last month, and brought this up multiple times throughout the set as a video played with clips of him in court with a voiceover saying “not guilty.”
Rocky skipped most of his old hits that many fans knew him for, and cut his set short at 45 minutes long. This is way too short for a main stage headliner to be performing, especially after coming out an hour late.
Fans were rightfully unhappy that the performance was brief as well as relying so heavily on new, unfamiliar material. One of the only redeeming parts of the show was when Skepta came out for “Praise the Lord” and Rocky gave a heartfelt tribute to A$AP YAMS, who passed away ten years ago.
Playboi Carti delivered his Sunday performance after almost an hour’s wait. Thousands of fans lined up for a spot in front of the stage, as he dropped his anticipated “Music” album that Friday. His set featured his new music, fan favorite tracks, and even guest appearances from The Weeknd and Skepta.
Carti fit 35 songs into his set, a huge improvement from Rocky’s. His set ran almost an hour later than it should have, however it was the perfect way to close out the two-day festival. Carti did a phenomenal job integrating his old music while still gaining publicity for his newest album.
Apart from the music, Rolling Loud offers a variety of activities for festival goers. There was a SHEIN tent, which gave tooth gems and accessories, along with hundreds of food trucks, dessert carts, and bar stations. The food selection varied from pizza to mac and cheese, and although extremely overpriced, the lines were not too long.
Overall, this festival was not worth it. Besides select performances and artists, Rolling Loud lacked the necessary characteristics to deliver a good time. Being an hour late kills the mood of ticket holders, and there were just too many unfamiliar artists to be able to enjoy the music.
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