After earning his second Super Bowl ring earlier this year, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce just found the perfect way to celebrate his championship. The high-energy baller announced on Tuesday (April 4) that he’s behind the first-ever KelceJam, a music festival slated to take place on April 28 in KC, Missouri with a lineup he curated from acts that have personal meaning for him.
Topping the bill is one of his old childhood neighbors who also happens to have blown up into a superstar, Machine Gun Kelly, who grew up down the street from Kelce in Cleveland. “[I’ve] been following his success from the start of his career,” Kelce tells Billboard about of the “Emo Girl” rocker. “It’s been amazing to see a hometown hero selling out stadiums. So for me, MGK was a no-brainer and I personally drafted some of my favorite artists in the world alongside him.”
Those other acts include Loud Luxury, Rick Ross and special guest Tech N9ne. “Loud Luxury is one of the biggest DJ duos out there right now. Everyone loves [the pair’s 2020 single] ‘Body’ and they bring the energy, and I have no doubt they will get the crowd rocking.” Kelce also says that Ross is, of course, “the boss, a true legend,” and that there was no way he could throw a party in KC without one of the city’s hometown heroes, rapper Tech N9ne.
As for why he’s hopping into the already crowded festival space, Kelce says he wanted to time his event around the 2023 NFL draft, which will take place at Union Station in KC from April 27-29. “With the NFL Draft headed to Kansas City and as the perfect way to continue celebrating our Super Bowl victory, I am launching one of KC’s most unique festivals to date!” says Kelce, 33. “I really wanted to bring the whole city together and what better way to do so than with fire music, great food, tons of football attractions, interactive brand activations, and so much more.”
Pre-sale opens on Friday (April 7) at 11 a.m. ET, with the general on-sale following at 1 p.m. ET.; click here for more details on the show. “KC has supported me in immense ways throughout my career, and I wanted to throw a city wide celebration that truly represents the energy and people of this great city,” Kelce says. “We are excited to grow this into one of KC’s biggest entertainment events with 20,000 attendees and who knows where we will bring it next!”
Kelce has teamed up with event producer Medium Rare, the company behind a number of pre-Super Bowl events, including Shaq’s Fun House with Shaquille O’Neal, Gronk Beach with Rob Gronkowski and Guy’s Flavortown Tailgate with Guy Fieri.
Additional reporting by Anna Chan.
