Cierra Lemott 
They say “third time’s the charm” and FTG Fest didn’t disappoint.
True Star’s third annual From The ‘Go Fest took place this past Saturday, July 29, and it was an even bigger hit than the years prior.
Held on the DuSable Museum campus for the second year in a row, this free festival included live performances, vendors, activations, and food. It was a great time and place for youth to gather and have fun with one another.
Hosted by Genesis Denise Hale from the Showtime series “The Chi” and TikTok influencer Danny Barksdale, AKA Danny B, the crowd was in stitches and cheering the entire festival.
Performers included Xavier2x, Jabba44x, Papa Jay, Bro Dave, A$AVV and many more. DJ Lil Jon Stop It, DJ Lena Bandz, DJ Ca$h Era and DJ Mike P came through to get us dancing with their sets.
This year’s festival included a tribute to Chicago’s lady MC’s where both Shawnna and Teefa received their flowers, literally, along with an award to honor their contribution to hip-hop. Teefa even dropped a few bars for the crowd to enjoy. To celebrate the 50th year of hip-hop, we had more women from the Windy City perform including Queen Key, Sonta former and Mother Nature, as well as former FTG Fest performers Big Mouf Bo and Dreezy.
Sponsors for this year’s festival included True Star Media, Metropolitan Peace Initiatives, Communities Partnering 4 Peace, The Athletes Foot and the Chicago Sky. Media sponsors included Power92 and friend sponsors included both Girls Like Me and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Sparkling Ice was also on hand to provide refreshments for everyone in attendance.
Special appearances were made by comedian Lil Cuz and Chicago Sky WNBA player Isabelle Harrison who signed basketballs for everyone. The Pierce Twins, Global Creations, and DLow got the crowd hyped with their dance moves.
Those who came out to the festival had a good time, including 21-year-old Sebastian Hall of Roseland. “It was a nice vibe,” he said. “I enjoyed the music and the pop-a-shot.”
Skylar Matlock, 17, of Whitney Young High School, came out to the fest to have fun and support her friends who were vendors and members of True Star. “I enjoyed seeing different kinds of talent from Chicago,” she said. “I think people don’t realize that you don’t have to look outside of the city to find people who are passionate about their talents.”
The purpose of this festival is to highlight local youth and give them a place to put their talents out there for the rest of the city and the world to see. True Star wanted to create a safe space for youth and did just that with the creation of this festival.
From The ‘Go 2023 was a movie and if you weren’t there, you totally missed out. But even if you missed it, we’ll be back next year for another one. Stay locked in to the True Star social media accounts to stay up to date with more information about From The ‘Go by following the FTG Instagram page. Until next year!
By Cierra Lemott, Senior, Columbia College Chicago
Instagram: @cece.kodak / @kodakscamera
X: @LemottCierra
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