Sneaker lifestyle brand KICKZ teamed up with Redbull and Dreams Night Club to host the first ever Black & minority owned arts and music festival – KickzFest on July 3rd at The RedHat Amphitheater in Downtown Raleigh. The festival brought together the local urban community, giving over 20 artists the opportunity to rock the biggest stage in the city.

This was the very first time any independent artists had the chance to rent out the Amphitheater. The pressure was on from the start to put together an epic festival that Raleigh would continue talking about for years. The organizers had only a month in which to pull the festival together, and working against all odds the event was pulled off without a hitch.

And EPIC it was. KickzFest blessed the community by literally giving Black and Brown voices a platform to express themselves while breaking down walls by forming unique networking opportunities with fellow creatives.

Kickzfest featured some of the best local food trucks, artisans and vendors, voting registration hubs and even a film screening. Headlining artists were Yungeen Ace, Smokepurpp, Petey Pablo, Flipp Dinero, Big Mali, Richie Re, Odalys, Mars and 20 other North Carolina based artists.

Kickzfest proved that talent is alive and well in Raleigh and that anything is possible when we bring the entire community together and work towards a unified goal. Organizers are connecting with community groups and other like minded organizations to put on more events , highlighting the beauty and talent that disenfranchised voices so often do not get the ability to express. This celebration of community, local artists, and trending sneakers and streetwear fashion was certainly one for the books for Raleigh.

Kickzfest Links
Instagram – Kickzfest_
Instagram – officiallykickz_
Instagram – clubdreamsofraleigh

Photo by @quanvuitton @major_noize @oakcitylife