Kid Cudi’s Moon Man’s Landing festival took Cleveland’s Nautica Entertainment Complex by storm on Saturday, September 17, 2022.

The festival’s lineup was a driving force behind many people’s attendance with Kid Cudi and Playboi Carti as headliners. Senior Owen Cox was one of the many Chagrin Falls High School students present at the event, and he was so excited to hear from some of his favorite artists. 

“The lineup was sweet,” said Cox. “I really enjoyed seeing the people that I listen to the most. I loved how everyone that performed at the festival has a personal relationship with Kid Cudi, and all of their music complimented each other.”

Among the many performers was HAIM, a rock band made up of three sisters. The sisters of HAIM have a personal connection with Kid Cudi, and they even explained during their performance that Kid Cudi was one of the first people to believe in them. 

While HAIM had their own 45 minute set, the band also came out to perform “Red Eye” with Kid Cudi later in the night. The song is on Indicud, Cudi’s third studio album, and it wasn’t too popular until after the festival. 

“I have never heard any of HAIM’s songs until Moon Man’s Landing. I think they are a super talented band, and I am definitely going to be listening to more of their songs,” said junior Keira Moran. 

Many musicians with smaller fan bases, in comparison to Cudi’s, were invited to perform at the festival. DJ E-V, a Cleveland native, was one of the artists who attended Moon Man’s Landing. 

Several artists who were on the lineup have a tie to The Land. Chip Tha Ripper, a longtime friend of Cudi and a fellow Clevelander, played his newest song “Let’s Go Cleveland!” The song got so much attention that it is now being used by the Cleveland Browns. 

“Shoutout @KingChip for the new Browns anthem ‘Let’s Go Cleveland!’” the Browns tweeted the day after the festival. “Today’s the day. Let’s eat y’all.”

The Cleveland Browns have been longtime supporters of local artists and bands. When Cudi announced his tour, the football team’s social media pages were filled with pictures and captions encouraging people to attend the festival. 

The Brown’s messages were clearly heard as over 18,000 people flocked from all over the world to the Flats West Bank. However, the venue size mixed with the large crowd of people did pose some issues. 

“There was nowhere to park at the festival,” explained junior John Catney. “I was planning on driving to the event, but I had to take an Uber instead. And since there were so many people looking for rides at the end of the night, my friends and I got stuck in Cleveland for over an hour.”

While the amount of people caused problems with parking, the crowd also caused some people to get sick. Quite a few people felt faint, and the festival staff was seen lifting people out of the pits several times throughout the night. 

In addition to helping people out of the crowds, the security guards at the festival were passing out water bottles, making conversation, and taking photos all throughout the night. 

“The staff at the festival were the best I’ve ever seen. They made me feel safe, and I’m glad that I was able to enjoy the music and not focus as much on the safety aspect of it,” said senior Sam Kleid.