88 Keeps Rising With Their Fourth HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
All photos by Jean Libert
88rising is back for their fourth year running with their music festival Head in the Clouds in Pasadena, California, with a star-studded lineup featuring artists from across the continent of Asia and all over the world. The weekend brought fans the opportunity to experience an immersive two full days of music, food, and fun.
Kicking off day one of Head in the Clouds included an exhilarating lineup of some of the biggest names in Asia. Performing on both the 88 main stages, double happiness, and their very own dance club, there was no shortage of music for fans to enjoy.
Day One
Opening the weekend, up-and-coming Korean-American artist Hojean took the 88 main stage on Saturday afternoon. Following his journey from TikTok to playing Head in the Clouds, many fans got the opportunity to hear his songs live for the first time. Known for his relatable lyrics, Hojean easily connected with the crowd and got everyone prepared for an amazing weekend.
Following Hojean, Thailand star Milli came onstage with a hype performance of her songs “SAD AEROBIC,” “สุดปัง,” “17 นาที,” and “Mirror Mirror” featuring F. HERO and Stray Kids’s Changbin to name a few. As her set neared a close, she teased her new release with Jackson Wang, “Mind Games.” Milli, though, wouldn’t be the only female act to grace the main stage this afternoon.
One of K-Pop’s most beloved solo idols graced the Head in the Clouds stage with her presence and fans were very aware of how lucky they were. Chungha made her U.S. solo debut on Saturday evening performing songs from her debut album to her most recent release, “Sparkling.” Fans sang every song word for word, completely surprising Chungha, who had not expected such a reaction from the crowd. I, myself, can guarantee I shocked a few passersby as I yelled along from at least 30 rows back. For fans in the U.S., this was the first time we witnessed “Snapping,” “Sparkling,” “Killing Me,” “Gotta Go,” “Roller Coaster,” “California Dream,” “Flying on Faith,” and “Why Don't You Know” live.
As Chungha descended the stage, there was a brief intermission before the next artist’s set, and the audience got to see one of the most acclaimed dance groups, The Kinjaz, put on one of their killer performances.
Initially listed as a surprise guest, The Kinjaz brought a refreshing twist to the lineup. Known for their extremely complex and equally as intricate performances, attendees were in for an amazing performance. The group takes musicality to the next level and absolutely destroys any and every stage they touch, and chose music from the likes of CJ, Kendrick Lamar, and Justin Bieber to deliver a performance fans would be sure to talk about.
Another performer known just as much for his dancing skills as his rap flow is Seattle-born rapper Jay Park.
Jay took the 88 stage on night one, fully prepared to shock the entire audience. Opening with “All I Wanna Do,” the crowd went absolutely feral, screaming one of the hottest K-Hip-Hop tracks of 2016. For fans of label H1GHR MUSIC, Jay Park had a surprise up his sleeve. Bringing out front-running members pH-1 and Sik-K, his stage easily became the most talked about event of the day. His 40-minute set consisted of: “Me Like Yuh,” “Yacht,” “GANADARA,” “MOMMAE,” “Teléfono,” and “iffy” to name a few. Sik-K and pH-1 also took the chance to perform “party (SHUT DOWN)” and “Cupid.” Fingers crossed Jay will be invited again next year and, just maybe, fans will get the chance to see the rest of the H1GHR crew.
For many attendees, keshi’s appearance was unexpected, as he was added two days before the event was scheduled to go live. The crowd instantly began to swell as keshi stepped out to begin his set. Opening with his dynamic rap track “GET IT,” any note of fatigue in the crowd was gone. Known for his diverse and unique style, keshi did nothing short of utterly captivating his audience.
Ready to close the night out, Japan native Joji took to the 88 main stage.
Fans of Joji were in for a treat when he began his Yebi labs set, a curated DJ set featuring remixes of his songs, latest releases, and music perfect for a rave. With a lightshow and graphic display reminiscent of an EDM show, Yebi Labs became two experiences in one where guests got to listen to Joji’s signature tracks such as “Will He” and “SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK” while dancing all night to remixes of “Crank That” by Soulja Boy and “N95” by Kendrick Lamar. Some may have instead expected a traditional Joji set with mood lighting, top tier graphics, etc; but not to worry, you can catch all that on his upcoming Smithereens tour.
If attendees were impressed with night one, they were in for quite the experience on day 2.
DAY TWO
Day two brought the same excitement and perhaps an even bigger crowd of guests. With appearances from Warren Hue, Stephanie Poetri, ATARASHII GAKKO! and more, day two was already off to a great start.
Whether you know him as Dummy, Dumbfoundead, Jonathan Park, Korean Jesus or not at all, I promise you’re going to want to know him now! Taking the Double Happiness stage, Dumbfoundead absolutely killed his set, even stating that no matter the stage size, who was in the audience, or who else was performing, he was going to show the audience a good time. I can confirm he did exactly that and more. Performing chart topping track “Harambe,” Dumbfoundead started his set on a ten and kept the energy throughout. He followed up with tracks “We Might Die,” “Foreigner,” and “Dfd” for the OG fans. It wasn’t until the last several songs of his set he brought the energy down to perform one of my personal favorite tracks, “WEIRD,” as well as “Are We There Yet.” If fans thought the stage was over, they couldn’t have been more wrong. As the opening four counts of “IT G MA” began, Dumbfoundead jumped off the stage and into the crowd to create a mosh pit. I would hands down say this was one of the most hype songs and sets of the day.
Heading back to the mainstage, the crowd flocked to the barricade to catch the next few performers.
After one of the most talked about stages of last year, fans had high expectations for BIBI’s performance of 2022. Dressed in an all-white ensemble and star-patterned cowboy boots, BIBI was ready to shine once again. Performing “The Weekend,” “Best Lover” and “KAZINO” in her 30-minute set, it was no surprise that the audience was absolutely captivated by BIBI.
Following BIBI, performing at his second Head In the Clouds festival, fans were ecstatic to see eaJ take the stage Sunday afternoon. Performing his first solo set since last year with a lineup of all new songs, fans couldn’t contain their excitement as they finally got to hear the full version of “Car Crash” live, which was teased at Head in the Clouds 2021.
As the night was coming to a close with only two acts left to take the stage, the energy in the crowd was beginning to build back up. Veteran in the 88 game, Rich Brian, would be the second to last artist of the weekend. With nearly an hour set, Rich Brian had one goal and that was to get the crowd moving. His set consisted of tracks from The Sailor, Brightside, the song “Amen,” and even his 2016 track, “Who That Be.” By the end of his set it was safe to say he accomplished his goal.
With one more act left to take the stage, the crowd was in store for a night they would never forget.
Taking the 88 mainstage for the first time ever, Jackson Wang gave fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness the “Magic Man” experience. Opening with hit track “100 Ways,” the audience was immediately captivated by Jackson’s stage presence, belting out the lyrics in tandem with Jackson himself. He followed up with several songs from his long-awaited and widely anticipated first physical album MagicMan (available on September 9). Jackson’s set featured stimulating and transcending graphics to give the audience a truly magical experience. His ability to engage a crowd and put on a show once again proves why he has become one of the leading entertainers out of China.
As the show came to a close, the audience got to witness an epic finale composed of collaboration stages from Jackson Wang and Milli, Teriyaki Boys and Rich Brian, Jackson, Warren Hue, and Rich Brian, and their customary performance of “Midsummer Madness.” With a final shoutout to the audience, 88rising promised to be back soon with bigger and better stages.