Blurry Vision’s energetic kickoff
“Make some noise for your hometown!” rapper Roy Wood$ shouted to the afternoon crowd overlooking the bay at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park.
Wood$ is from Toronto, but the gesture was understood: This one’s for Oakland.
Kicking off the first day of Blurry Vision Fest, a two-day hip-hop and R&B outdoor event, on Saturday, May 12, Wood$ helped introduce the new bayside music festival for a fan base that predictably skewed young, hip and Snapchat-savvy.
Each day’s lineup of 10 acts was created by Goldenvoice, the Los Angeles production company behind the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Southern California.
“I’m really happy Goldenvoice is hosting more events in the bay. For them to bring a festival up here is refreshing,”
said Michael Nicer of San Bruno, acknowledging the tastemakers for putting the spotlight on the genre’s rising stars like Majid Jordan, Dvsn and Alina Baraz.
Highlights of the weekend included a raucous appearance by Oakland native Kamaiyah — fresh out of jail after a reported altercation with TSA agents in Connecticut on Friday, May 11— where she performed her forthcoming single, “Addicted to Ballin’,” featuring ScHoolboy Q; an energetic set by hip-hop collective Brockhampton (before allegations of sexual misconduct by member Ameer Vann went viral); and a tight sunset performance by NxWorries, the collaboration by Oxnard rapper Anderson .Paak and producer Knxwledge.
But it was for headliners SZA and Migos that many of the weekend’s festivalgoers braved the windy East Bay.
Closing out the festival, Migos ran through its greatest hits, from “Hannah Montana” and “Pipe It Up” to “Bad and Boujee,” “Stir Fry” and “Walk It Talk It,” on Sunday, May 13. The trio even squeezed in a few “Happy Mother’s Day” shout-outs during “T-Shirt,” and sparked mosh pits throughout the field.
It was quite the follow-up to Saturday night’s set by SZA, the Grammy-nominated Top Dawg Entertainment artist who pulled double duty in Oakland, with an earlier performance during the TDE Championship Tour stop at Oracle Arena on Wednesday, May 9, alongside Kendrick Lamar.
But the event was not without its inaugural-year hiccups. On the first day, the portable restrooms were poorly maintained, and there were long lines for just about everything, including the mandatory shuttle service between the park and BART’s West Oakland Station. Rapper Juice Wrld was also a last-minute add when Smino had to cancel “due to family obligations,” according to organizers.
“It definitely felt like a beta test, but I think that was good because things got tweaked the second day,” said Carly Miranda of San Leandro. “And what is there really to complain about? It was a value. I spent only $12 total in transportation for this fest.”
Other fans shared the same sentiment and seemed satisfied that Blurry Vision offered a manageable festival bill full of niche acts, with a panoramic view of San Francisco.
“I’m glad that it happened here,” said San Mateo resident Patrick Gregorio. “I couldn’t imagine having this festival in any other part of the Bay Area but Oakland.”
Mariecar Mendoza is The San Francisco Chronicle’s arts content editor, and Alyssa Pereira is an SFGate.com staff writer. Email: mmendoza@sfchronicle.com, apereira@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SFMarMendoza, @alyspereira Instagram: @sfchronicle_scene