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After a blockbuster run of concerts last winter that included the Eagles, Guns N’ Roses, Eminem and a Snoop Dogg-headlining show of rappers, Aloha Stadium has been quiet for most of this year.
The 44-year-old venue, soon to be replaced, wakes up again Saturday when it hosts the latest iteration of the Dream Weekend, headlined by Usher and Marshmello and featuring Migos and Ice Cube. Five other artists fill out the bill, creating Hawaii’s biggest festival concert experience yet, featuring four acts that on their own would have a shot at selling out Blaisdell Arena.
“Hawaii doesn’t really have any true festival lineups,” said Mike Galmiche, the event’s production manager and co-promoter. “They have a bunch of local bands here and there, maybe small artists, but never something major that includes a couple of A-list artists like Marshmello and Usher.” The aim, Galmiche said, is to develop the Dream Weekend to something even bigger.
The first year, 2017, was headlined by the Chainsmokers and last year’s show featured Snoop Dogg, Cardi B and Sublime, so the trajectory is clear.
“The goal is to grow it into something including a fair where we can include the outside grounds as well, like an EDC (Las Vegas’ humongous three-day Electric Daisy Carnival), where you have other things going on in the space,” Galmiche said. “It was hard to start it off that big, so we’re slowly kind of building the brand. … Once the brand we feel is established enough, we’ll start adding these elements.”
The plan, said Galmiche, is for the event to take place annually — though it could around move a week or two on the calendar, based on artist availability.
LIKE MANY of the festivals Dream Weekend is modeled after, one of its trademarks is the diversity of the acts.
“You’re bringing all these (demographic groups) together,” operations manager Theresa Schubert said, “and you may be exposing people to a band that they never thought they would like, but they have to sit through it to get to the next artist, so you might be inadvertently creating fans anyway. Which happens in Hawaii too — people just kind of assimilate to one another.”
Here’s a look at the top acts performing at this year’s Dream Weekend:
USHER
The R&B/pop star is one of the most successful hitmakers in history. Only a handful of artists — eight, to be exact — have topped his nine No. 1 singles, and only six can match the total number of weeks he has topped Billboard’s Hot 100 (47 weeks, more than Beyoncé or Michael Jackson).
But beyond the string of hits — and he was nearly unstoppable from 1997 to 2008, with chart-toppers such as “Yeah!,” “Confessions Part II” and “Love in this Club” — Usher can also be a breathtaking live performer. The Hollywood Reporter noted in reviewing a 2014 Madison Square Garden show on his last world tour, The UR Experience Tour, that his dance moves were “sharp, effortless and even playful at times.”
That skill set was a big help in 2006 when he made his Broadway debut in the musical “Chicago.”
His most recent album was last year’s “A,” a collaboration with producer Zaytoven that incorporates the atmospheric soundscapes of today’s hip-hop.
Usher’s latest release is the single “Don’t Waste My Time,” a collaboration with British singer Ella Mai that is closer to the bright soul of his early hits. “R&B is not dead,” Mai said to Rolling Stone magazine, speaking of the song. “We can make it mainstream again.”
MARSHMELLO
Though not the household name Usher is, the enigmatic electronic DJ has a rising profile and a growing list of accolades. His biggest hit — “Happier,” which features British alt-rock band Bastille — is up to 69 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart with no sign of waning and was recently named the genre’s song of the decade. It reached No. 2 on the pop chart and is one of his five multi-million-selling singles.
Marshmello conceals his identity and face by never appearing without his white, marshmallow-shaped helmet, but consensus has come to be that he is 27-year-old Philadelphian Chris Comstock. His live shows are a feast for the eyes, high-energy affairs replete with screens used to their maximum providing a continuous backdrop of colors moving to his music. Fireworks are also an essential part of the production, making the stadium a more appropriate venue for him than the Blaisdell.
He made news earlier this year by performing a concert inside the online video game Fortnite that was reportedly watched live by more than 10 million people. Wired magazine called the event “something much more than a concert. It was a peek, albeit a short one, at what an (augmented reality)- and (virtual reality)-suffused future looks like: connected congregations of embodied avatars, in mass-scale events that still manage to feel personal.”
Ice Cube
Though his acting career has thrived to the point that some people know him more for that than as a rapper, Ice Cube is a true legend of hip-hop, one of the forefathers of gangsta rap. He’s also an exceptional lyricist who has used his skills to make statements of substance — from “F*** the Police” with N.W.A. to “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” from the debut solo album of the same name to his latest album, “Everythang’s Corrupt,” which dropped last year and features the single “Arrest the President.”
Cube has made no effort to hide his distaste for Donald Trump.
“I’m not saying it wasn’t corruption before President Trump got there, but people are going to jail,” he told Rolling Stone upon the album’s release. “People getting indicted. Don’t tell me that it’s a ‘witch hunt’; that’s just not true. So something ain’t right. And that ain’t me hating. That’s just me observing. … All these (Trump associates) getting locked up, and that’s just a shame.
“The buck stops with the president. And I’m not hating on the man. I just don’t think he’s president material. It’s very embarrassing. He’s violating the country in a lot of ways. Every day it’s something. It’s just every day.”
MIGOS
The rap trio from Atlanta became mainstream three years ago when their single “Bad and Boujee,” shot to the top of the charts. They’ve since put together a string of multi-platinum singles — including “MotorSport” with Nicki Minaj and Cardi B and “Walk It Talk It” with Drake — that have put them at the top of the hip-hop game, with unique moves and a three-part flow that can be hypnotic.
Their last two albums — “Culture” and “Culture II” — have hit No. 1, and “Culture III” is due out next month, though its release has been delayed enough times that when it will really drop is anyone’s guess.
ROUNDING OUT THE BILL
>> Saweetie, the rapper who topped Billboard’s Rhythmic chart this year with the blunt “My Type.”
>> Sammy Johnson, a soulful island singer from Down Under who was previously billed as Sammy J but has recently rebranded himself with his full name. His best-known hits include “Don’t Say Goodbye,” “Sleepwalker” and “Give Me All,” a collaboration with Hawaii singer Fiji.
>> Breanna Rubio, Jordyn Jones and local pop artist Mimi.
DREAM WEEKEND HAWAII
With Usher, Marshmello, Ice Cube and Migos
>>Where: Aloha Stadium
>> When: 4:30 p.m. Saturday
>> Cost: $40.84-$522.50
>> Info: ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000
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