Day one of the hotly anticipated Lovers & Friends festival should’ve ended on a high note. But for many festivalgoers, a wave of panic cut the night short.

Around 10 p.m. on Saturday, a stampede of people raced toward the exits, fleeing from an unknown threat. Police officers arrived soon after, as rumors of shots being fired inside the Las Vegas Festival Grounds swirled.

 

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department later released a statement debunking reports of an alleged shooter, citing a false alarm. Regardless, the panic left three attendees with injuries that were later reported to be minor. And though the show commenced, many missed out on Usher, Lil Jon, Ludacris and Lauryn Hill after leaving the stressful incident.

But that chaos couldn't overshadow the throwback bliss I experienced earlier that afternoon. Here were my biggest takeaways from the day. 

An Abundance of Lovers and Their Friends 

The festival’s two main stages were connected into one megastage, drawing a consistent Coachella-sized crowd throughout the day. I initially had doubts about the setup but quickly learned to love it for the spontaneous collabs it permitted.

At one point, Timbaland joined Ginuwine onstage to sing “Pony.” And in an epic surprise, Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode” played, summoning the arrival of Snoop Dogg. The crowd’s eruption of applause rivaled the stage speakers, as Snoop, dressed in leopard print, lit a joint onstage and ran through some dee oh double gee favorites. 

Nostalgia really hit once Ja Rule and Ashanti reunited (with a cameo from Lloyd). The chemistry between the murda king and queen felt palpable during “Always on Time,” even after 20-plus years. Ja lasted a whole 15 minutes before ripping his shirt off (a record for the guy), and Ashanti absolutely shined in a black and gold embroidered jacket and knee-high boots.

New York might’ve had its day in the sun, but the evening belonged to St. Louis. Nelly brought a Down South party through with special guests Chingy and J-Kwon. The crowd went ballistic hearing “Right Thurr” and “Tipsy," though the set was unfortunately cut short due to the schedule running behind.  

Lady Power Persevered

The women of Lovers and Friends absolutely dominated their lanes.

Scheduled during one of the hottest parts of the day, Kelis still thrived in her element, dancing fast and free to “Got Your Money” and dedicating “Milkshake” to “all the girls.” Meanwhile, Mya recaptured the essence of old-school R&B with a dynamic duo of dancers. Together, they donned fedoras, trench coats and canes on sexy numbers and rallied the crowd on hip-hop anthems like "Ghetto Superstar."

Headlining acts Ciara and TLC owned the nighttime. Saturday marked Ciara’s first performance in three years, but the singer never missed a beat. Her athletic prowess was on full display during the intensive “1, 2, Step,” and sidestepping along to “Goodies” seemed like child’s play to the experienced dancer. T-Boz and Chili also still had the moves. And even from a stage away, their vocals sounded as crisp as their studio debuts. “No Scrubs,” “Unpretty” and “Creep” inspired mega-sized singalongs, and for a few minutes, every attendee appeared united.

Smaller Stages Brought the Grown and Sexy

Temps may have already hit an all-time high that afternoon, but Jodeci and Keith Sweat managed to up the degrees at the Bling and Crunk stages. The '90s heartthrobs drew a massive crowd, and the women weren't shy about their cat calling. No fan was immune to Jodeci's bad boy charm, not even my own mother, who melted into a puddle of fangirl after seeing K-Ci in person. But the best surprise of all was when the stage camera panned to the front row, revealing rapper Flavor Flav getting down to "Come and Talk to Me." 

Keith Sweat embraced his ladies man bravado, as a troupe of female dancers sauntered around him onstage. Sweat was definitely sweating in his black button-up, but his vocal registry never wavered on sexy hits like "Get Up on It." By the end, couples were swaying in each other's arms, drunk off the singer’s hypnotic delivery and the fact that he still had it in him. But Sweat wasn't letting us go without a proper closer. "Turn my sh*t up, man—loud," he told the sound team. The first words to "Nobody" rang out, and people threw up their arms in exhilaration. The legend barely had to sing. We knew all the words.

Room for Improvement 

Around 8 p.m., bar vendors began running out of water, and many attendees reported on Twitter that they weren’t allowed to obtain ice without buying a drink. I would’ve used the free water stations myself if they weren’t spewing out hot water. The festival also boasted cooling buses, but many had long wait times. Cooling items such as hydro flasks, blankets and umbrellas also weren’t allowed in on the first day, but reportedly were on day two. 

These problems, along with late sets and acts being moved to different times without much notice or announcement, created a ton of frustration. Could promoters have done a better job? Absolutely. Did they attempt to correct some of those issues on day two? Yes, but there were some significant missteps on day one. 

I can only hope that if Lovers & Friends returns next summer, those issues are corrected. In the meantime, we’ll relish the good times of this rare experience we got to share. 

(Note: According to reports, a 22-year-old festivalgoer died on Saturday, and her cause of death has yet to be determined.)