The first-ever Commonwealth Festival hosted Smino along with other rap and hip-hop artists at City Hall Plaza Oct. 12 from noon to 8 p.m.
Despite windy conditions, the festival included 12 performers, a “flee market” with several vendors and two food trucks with Asian-inspired dishes from Bon Me and Caribbean cuisine from Jamaica Mi Hungry.
Marquis Jones “OG,” one of the festival organizers, said that the change in spelling for their “flee market” was intentional and dedicated to his friend “Flee” who was killed in 2019.
The event also had cocktails and beer available in a bar area accessible to patrons 21 and older.
The free event welcomed all as a celebration of local culture. Several young children ran around the plaza as artists performed and college-aged adults looked through vendors’ clothing displays.
The “flee market” hosted a wide assortment of clothing from feather scarves to vintage bags, puffer jackets and a variety of pants.
“[The festival] was curated by Cousin Stizz, Boston’s own artist,” said Joe Johnson, another one of the festival organizers. Cousin Stizz is a rapper from Dorchester that produces slow trap beats inspired by Gucci Mane. The Boston native has worked with rappers Doja Cat and Offset and opened for Mac Miller in 2015.
“Commonwealth Fest is by us and for us, and the way I see it, this is gonna be something that can grow and live forever,” Cousin Stizz said in an article on commonwealthfest.com.
Johnson said that Commonwealth Fest was set to debut last year, but organizers were forced to cancel due to Hurricane Lee which shut down all city events.
“This year, with a short timeline, we grabbed all our resources and did what we could,” Johnson said. “It’s our first year, so we can only hope to provide good music — provide a space for people to come shop.”
The city of Boston sponsored the event, reducing the burden of planning and costs for organizers.
The event comes as a part of a larger initiative by the city to provide free festivals and art events hosted at City Hall Plaza with the purpose of supporting Boston’s diverse community and local artists.
“[The city was] able to provide some of the infrastructure and obviously the space — that’s how we made that happen,” Johnson said.
After the opening DJ set, the first performer, Mell Hooks, took the stage to a small crowd at 1:10 p.m. When Nay Speaks followed with her performance at 1:25 p.m., the small crowd grew to about two dozen as more spectators filtered in. By 2 p.m. there were about 50 festival attendees between the crowd and “flee market.” Other performers included Conductor Williams and Smoke Dza.
“Thank you Boston. It’s a pleasure every time to come home and perform in front of the people I call family,” Nay Speaks said at the conclusion of her set.
Commonwealth Fest gave small artists like Nay Speaks with just over 500 monthly listeners on Spotify the opportunity to take their place on a big stage. The festival also provided a venue for small business owners to display their products and reach a larger consumer base.
“Flee market” vendors Madi Marshall and Xavier Andru said they attend festivals and events in Boston at least twice a month, up to two times a week. For small businesses like White Witch Vintage based in Salem and Ball of Thread owned by Marshall and Andru respectively, city festivals and large flea markets are important in helping them grow and reach larger markets.
“We’re here supporting live music and our small businesses,” Andru said.
While his business is based in central Massachusetts, Andru said that he does most of his business in Boston and sells clothes out of a shop in Cambridge.
Vintage vendors in Boston aim to support each other’s small businesses through event collaboration, Marshall said.
“The vendors are a bunch of people I know,” Jones said. “I’m originally a rapper, but I started my own vintage company as of last year and met a lot of great people.”
The festival was an exhibition of support and community within Boston’s rap and vintage scenes. Organizers hope that the Commonwealth Festival will grow in future years and will come to be a centerpiece of Boston culture.
“It’s an event for the city so it’s beautiful to be able to put this together,” Jones said. “I think next year and [in] the years to come it will only get bigger and bigger.”
The Huntington News is dedicated to serving the Northeastern University community with original, professional reporting and creating an environment in which student journalists can learn from one another. Support an independent, free press at Northeastern University with your donation today.
