The Budweiser Superfest and the Business of Black Music by Sheldon Taylor: Part 2: The Show Must Go On
Budweiser Super Fest lineups were a throwback to music package tours emerged during the 1950s and 1960s. Void of seamless logistics that made the Super Fest run like clockwork, they were bare bones affairs. In 2021, Boyz II Men's Vegas residency moves into its eighth year, a far cry from yester-year's circus arenas, civic auditoriums and hole-in-the wall venues. 1971's live rendition of Sex Machine and '72's Mind Power, finds Soul Brother #1 James Brown name-checking cities along the chitlin circuit: Richmond. Philly. Harlem. Baltimore. Chicago. Detroit. Theaters dotted their main streets with names luminous like planets in the...