Made in America 2015 announces hip-hop and R&B-heavy festival lineup

The lineup for the fourth annual Budweiser Made in America festival has been announced, and the big star headliners are pop queen Beyoncé, who also headlined in 2013 (and who is married to festival curator Jay Z), and Canadian crooner the Weeknd (a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye) who was also recently featured at the Roots Picnic. Those two acts will top the bill on the Labor Day weekend fest on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Sept. 5 and 6. This year, it's more of a hip-hop and R&B festival that includes other genres but does not emphasize them equally.

Made in America does have a strong electronic dance-music element, with Swedish duo Axwell & Ingrosso and California deejay producer Bassnectar. But the full bill is what's impressive, a long list that includes Philadelphia street rhymer Meek Mill, whose long-awaited album Dreams Worth More Than Money comes out Monday; Carolina rapper and singer J. Cole, who also played the fest last year; Kanye West cohort Big Sean; old-school heroes De La Soul; Atlanta rapper Future; red-hot hitmaker DJ Mustard; food-obsessed MC Action Bronson; and Odd Future lyricist Earl Sweatshirt, among others. Nick Jonas represents on the pure pop side.

For straight-up rock, in lieu of a big-draw headliner, there's Pacific Northwest alt-rockers Modest Mouse, indie stalwarts Death Cab for Cutie, and the Emily Haines-fronted Canadian band Metric.

That would make for a strikingly weak rock lineup were it not for a series of local Philadelphia acts making national names for themselves, there to save the day. They include Katie Crutchfield's songwriting project Waxahatchee; Tim Showalter's bruising, emotive Strand of Oaks; space-rock foursome Creepoid; and Hop Along, the arresting indie-rock foursome fronted by singer Frances Quinlan. There's some sterling local talent, too, in less easy to classify genres, with Santi White, the homegrown alt-pop stylist known as Santigold; and electro duo Marian Hill.

After going it alone in Philadelphia for its first two years, Made in America expanded to Los Angeles to become a bicoastal festival in 2014. Attendance reports were unimpressive, however, and problems with noise and crowd control in L.A.'s Grant Park reportedly have nixed it there this year.

When Made in America debuted as the first-ever ticketed event on the Parkway in 2012, Mayor Nutter said it offered "a spectacular opportunity" for the city. So has it been a spectacular success?

"We've had three great festivals," Nutter said in a recent interview. "Jay Z and his team have really helped to elevate the profile of the city nationally and internationally."

Made in America puts about $10 million into the local economy in terms of food and drink, shopping, and hotels, according to the mayor. But Nutter said the festival's true impact can't be measured in dollars and cents.

When Jay Z decides to come to Philadelphia "for a festival he could hold anywhere in the United States," Nutter said, "it sends a signal to the marketplace that this is a special city. It's about building a brand.

"Anyone who's looked at Philadelphia in the past few years has seen this constant array of big events that's added to our reputation as a big-event city. And the folks at the DNC" - the Democratic National Convention, coming to town in the summer of 2016 - "saw that, and saw that this is a city that puts on big events."

Nutter points to annual happenings such as the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic; the Welcome America festival, on July 4 with R&B singer Miguel, country vocalist Jennifer Nettles, and the Roots; and the Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur conference, first held in October in Philadelphia and returning this year.

"Wawa Welcome America has been a fantastic event for the city for more than 20 years," Nutter said. "We have between 500 to 700,000 people on the Parkway for that. I'm sure that the Vatican took that into consideration for the World Meeting of Families, which had never been in the United States before, when they were deciding where to go. They chose Philadelphia because we know how to put on big events."

Nutter, who should be happy with this year's lineup - he ranks seeing Beyoncé in 2013 as his personal Made in America highlight - has been highly praised by both the Budweiser and Jay Z camps for his role in bringing the festival to the city, as well as criticized by those who object to city land being used by a for-profit ticketed festival.

So, will it still be here after he's gone?

"I'm certainly hopeful," Nutter says. "We've always talked to Jay about a long-term partnership and relationship, and it's been successful for both the city and the [Made in America] team." The festival, Nutter says, is under contract with the city to put on the festival though 2017. "So they're here for at least a couple of years. We're anticipating that it will be here for a number of years in the future."

Tickets for Made in America 2015 go on sale in an American Express cardholders-only presale at 10 a.m. Thursday, and are available to everyone else at noon on Monday at livenation.com.

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