For the first time in its seven-year history, the Soundset music festival was declared sold-out. The news came on Thursday night, with the annual one-day hip-hop marathon at Canterbury Park in Shakopee still three days out. Organizers said they sold about 30,000 tickets before calling it a wrap.
Attendance at the event has risen each year since its inaugural year, which drew about 12,000 fans to a far more low-key gathering in the Metrodome parking lot in 2008. Last year it topped out at around 28,000 attendees, but that was with its most mainstream headliner ever, Snoop Dogg. This year's lineup doesn't have as widely known a celebrity -- Wiz Khalifa and Nas are the closest – but star power doesn't seem to matter. Hometown hosts Atmosphere return to the headlining slot this year.
The weather's turn toward summer conditions the past two days certainly could have driven more locals to buy their tickets early. However, organizers have also reported an increase in ticket sales from out-of state, including many areas of the Upper Midwest that don't see hip-hop tours come to town often. Fans are even starting to come in from out of the country for this thing, with ticket sales reported in England, Germany, Mexico and many other nations.
Click here to read the cover story for our Friday Variety section on how Soundset became the biggest music fest in the Twin Cities.
