History of Rolling Loud in Timeline

Rolling Loud is a major international hip hop music festival, founded in 2015. It has expanded to multiple continents, including Asia, North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. Described as one of the largest festivals globally by Complex, and "the be-all of hip-hop festivals" by Billboard, it attracted approximately 210,000 attendees to its Miami event in 2019.

2010: Started Organizing Live Music Events

In 2010, Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif started organizing professional live music events with an after-party headlined by Rick Ross.

2013: Hosting Monthly Events in Miami

By the summer of 2013, Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif were hosting monthly events in Miami, featuring up-and-coming artists like Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar.

February 2015: First Rolling Loud Festival

In February 2015, the first Rolling Loud festival took place in Miami, Florida, featuring artists like Schoolboy Q and Juicy J. The one-day event was held at Soho Studios.

2015: Rolling Loud Founded

In 2015, Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif founded Rolling Loud, having met in elementary school and later organizing parties in high school.

2016: Rolling Loud at Mana Wynwood

In 2016, Rolling Loud was held at the larger Mana Wynwood convention center, with Ty Dolla $ign, Young Thug, and Future headlining.

2017: Lil Uzi Vert Stage Dive

In 2017, Lil Uzi Vert stage-dived into the crowd from a two-story scaffolding at Rolling Loud Miami.

2017: Revolt Broadcasts Rolling Loud

In 2017, Revolt broadcast Rolling Loud.

2017: Moved to Bayfront Park and Expanded

In 2017, Rolling Loud moved to Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami and expanded to other cities with editions in the Bay Area and Southern California.

2017: Lil B Allegedly Assaulted

In 2017, at Rolling Loud in Mountain View, California, rapper Lil B was allegedly assaulted by rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie and his crew, leading to the cancellation of his performance.

2018: LiveXLive Broadcasts Rolling Loud

In 2018, LiveXLive broadcast Rolling Loud.

2018: Offset Apologizes to Cardi B

In 2018, Offset publicly apologized to Cardi B on stage during her headlining set at Rolling Loud Los Angeles.

2018: Young Dolph Gifts Fired Baristas

In 2018, Young Dolph flew out Duke University Baristas who were fired for playing his music and gifted them $20,000 on stage at Rolling Loud Miami.

2018: Meek Mill Surprise Performance

In 2018, at Rolling Loud in Miami, Meek Mill made his second live performance after being released from prison with a surprise set at the festival.

2018: Moved to Hard Rock Stadium

Since 2018, Rolling Loud has been hosted at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

2018: XXXTentacion's Last Live Performance

The 2018 Miami edition of Rolling Loud featured XXXTentacion's last ever live performance a month prior to his death.

2019: Be At TV Broadcasts Rolling Loud

In 2019, Be At TV broadcast Rolling Loud.

2019: Expanded to Australia and NYC

In 2019, Rolling Loud expanded to Rolling Loud Australia in Sydney and Rolling Loud NYC.

2019: Estimated Attendance

In 2019, approximately 210,000 people attended Rolling Loud in Miami.

2019: Attendee Death

In 2019, at Rolling Loud in Los Angeles, attendee Kalvin Sanchez was assaulted and died four days later from head injuries.

2019: Travis Scott Lawsuit

In 2022, Travis Scott was sued for allegedly causing a stampede during his performance at Rolling Loud in Miami three years prior, in 2019. The lawsuit claimed that Scott was being negligent by encouraging the crowd to become more aggressive while people were "being injured, suffocating, losing consciousness, fighting and being trampled".

2019: "Plagued by chaos"

The 2019 edition of the Miami festival has been described as "plagued by chaos".

2020: Rolling Loud Portugal Postponed

After being postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rolling Loud Portugal took place on July 6–8, 2022.

2020: First European Festival Announced

In 2019, it was announced that Rolling Loud’s first European festival would take place in Portugal and would be held in July 2020.

2020: Festival Rescheduled Due to COVID-19

In 2020, the Rolling Loud festival originally scheduled for May 8-10 was rescheduled for July 23-25, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first European edition was also rescheduled.

2020: Virtual "Loud Streams"

In 2020, virtual live performances called “Loud Streams” were streamed on Twitch on September 12–13 and October 30–31.

July 25, 2021: Festival Rescheduled Due to COVID-19

In 2020, the Rolling Loud festival originally scheduled for May 8-10 was rescheduled for July 23-25, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first European edition was also rescheduled.

2021: Rolling Loud Portugal Postponed

After being postponed in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rolling Loud Portugal took place on July 6–8, 2022.

2021: Post-Pandemic Festival in Miami

In 2021, Rolling Loud hosted a post-pandemic festival in Miami with more than 200,000 attendees and a collaboration with WWE, which broadcast portions of SmackDown.

2021: Archived Performances Streamed

In 2021, archived performances from the Miami and Bay Area festivals from 2017 were streamed on the festival's official YouTube channel.

2021: Fetty Wap Arrested

In 2021, before entering Rolling Loud New York, rapper Fetty Wap was arrested on federal drug charges.

2021: Relief Efforts to Haiti

In 2021, rapper Zoey Dollaz and Rolling Loud Co-Founder Tariq Cherif chartered several jets to Haiti to provide supplies after a massive earthquake.

2021: Partnered for Social Justice Initiatives

In 2021, the Black Music Action Coalition and Rolling Loud partnered for Social Justice Initiatives, highlighting activism and community during Rolling Loud California.

2021: Expanded to Other Countries

In 2022, Rolling Loud continued to expand to other countries. Rolling Loud's first partnership with a European festival was announced in 2021 as a collaboration with the 2022 edition of WOO HAH!

July 2022: Kid Cudi's Performance Cut Short

In July 2022, during the first day of Rolling Loud in Miami, Kid Cudi cut short his performance after objects were thrown at him. Kanye West appeared during Lil Durk's set, replacing Cudi who had replaced West in the lineup.

October 25, 2022: Announced First Edition in Thailand

On October 25, 2022, Rolling Loud announced its first edition in Thailand, which took place from April 13–15, 2023.

December 9, 2022: "Finger Food" Single Release

On December 9, 2022, Rolling Loud released its first single titled "Finger Food" featuring Rae Sremmurd and Duke Deuce.

2022: Lil Tjay Returns to Stage

In 2022, Lil Tjay returned to the stage for Rolling Loud NY after being shot In June. The Rolling Loud appearance was the rapper's first gig since being shot seven times.

2022: Nicki Minaj Headlined Rolling Loud New York

In 2022, Nicki Minaj became the first solo female rapper to headline Rolling Loud at Rolling Loud New York.

2022: Expanded to Other Countries

In 2022, Rolling Loud continued to expand to other countries. Rolling Loud's first partnership with a European festival was announced in 2021 as a collaboration with the 2022 edition of WOO HAH!

2022: Basketball Clinic with Miami Jr. HEAT

In 2022, The Miami Jr. HEAT teamed up with Rolling Loud to host 50 local children from After-School All-Stars for a basketball clinic at the festival.

2022: Travis Scott Came Out for Future’s Headliner Set

In 2022, Travis Scott came out for Future’s headliner set at Rolling Loud Miami.

2022: Successful Woo Hah! Partnership

In 2023, after a successful partnership for the production of Woo Hah! 2022 in the Netherlands, Rolling Loud Rotterdam was launched on June 30–July 1, 2023.

2022: South by Southwest Showcase

Rolling Loud presented a two night showcase at the Stubb's Bar-B-Q venue during South by Southwest in Austin, Texas in 2022.

July 1, 2023: Rolling Loud Rotterdam Launched

In 2023, after a successful partnership for the production of Woo Hah! 2022 in the Netherlands, Rolling Loud Rotterdam was launched on June 30–July 1, 2023.

2023: Don Toliver's Surprise Guests

In 2023, Don Toliver brought out surprise guests Kali Uchis, James Blake, and Justin Bieber during his set at Rolling Loud California. This was Justin Bieber’s first performance since the cancellation of his Justice World Tour.

2023: Panel Discussion for RAP Act

In 2023, Rolling Loud hosted a panel discussion with the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) in support of their Restoring Artistic Protections (RAP) Act initiative.

2023: Skateboard Giveback with DGK

In 2023, Rolling Loud partnered with DGK to host a skateboard giveback at SoFi Stadium, gifting skateboards and helmets to 40 students from Kelso Elementary.