Epic Games have announced that the Spotlight concert series for Fortnite will continue this weekend with Anderson .Paak and The Free Nationals. The performance by .Paak will be broadcast live to the game's Party Royale mode on September 19 at 5pm ET, with replays later that night at 11pm ET and Sunday afternoon at 1pm ET.
Anderson .Paak will be performing live from Epic Games' studio and soundstage in Los Angeles, California built for the purpose of Fortnite concerts. The Oxnard, California singer, rapper and multi-instrumentalist has won three Grammy Awards for "Best Rap Performance" for "Bubblin", "Best R&B Album" for "Ventura" and "Best R&B Performance" for "Come Home" (featuring Andre 3000). He will be accompanied by his backing band The Free Nationals, who play a variety of instruments including electric guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums as well as serving as backing vocalists.
.Paak's performance will be a continuation of the Spotlight concert series which began last weekend with rapper and singer Dominic Fike. Fike's concert demonstrated how a proper studio and soundstage setup enabled the usage of live instrumentation and vocals compared to previous at-home DJ sets from Deadmau5, Diplo, and Steve Aoki. There will be a new artist for the next concert scheduled on September 26, with Epic Games also announcing that the series will continue into October.
Over the past year, Fortnite has become a premier example of a multimedia experience through its in-game concerts beginning with producer and DJ Marshmello. These concerts have continued well into 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which has prevented live shows around the world from occurring.
Though Anderson .Paak and The Free Nationals' performance will merely be a live broadcast direct from Epic Games' studio compared to the full gameplay experience and merchandise drop by Travis Scott, .Paak's funky and soulful energy should prove infectious beyond the Main Stage's screen. It is good to see an artist who has received much critical acclaim be able to perform to a large audience provided by the platform of Fortnite.
It appears that while the Spotlight concert series is more oriented towards giving lesser-known artists one of the biggest platforms and audiences in all of modern media, rumors are pointing towards one of the biggest artists in the world being next up. Datamining from last month uncovered a Drake skin, suggesting that the Canadian rapper could use Fortnite to promote the release of his upcoming album "Certified Lover Boy" due later this year.
Fortnite is available now on mobile devices, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: Epic Games