Music & Melanin Magic: ONE Musicfest Founder J…
A ONE Musicfest Founder is dishing on curating the nation’s largest Black-owned open-air celebration, bringing music, melanin, and tradition to ATL.
Jason “J” Carter never set out to rewrite the blueprint for American music festivals, but when he appeared around in the early 2000s, the Harlem-born, Florida A&M University graduate noticed a void.
Courtesy of OneMusic Fest
“I just could not find anything quite like Lollapalooza or Bonnaroo that spoke to my music, my culture,” Carter told BOSSIP. “So I went trying for it, and I noticed it didn’t exist. At that level, I said, I gotta associate with any person already doing it. They told me it might never work with our tradition. That lit the fire to show them improper.”
That spark turned ONE Musicfest (OMF), now in its sixteenth yr. Presented by P&G and returning to Piedmont Park October 25–26, 2025, OMF is the nation’s largest Black-owned, open-air, multi-stage competition, drawing more than 100,000 followers yearly and producing over $61 million in financial influence for Atlanta.
Its 2025 lineup consists of Future, The Roots with Mary J. Blige, Ludacris & Friends, a Dungeon Family reunion honoring late Organized Noize producer Rico Wade, Jazmine Sullivan, Kehlani, Clipse, and breakout star Doechii.
Courtesy of OneMusic Fest
For Carter, preserving the competition in Atlanta has always been non-negotiable.
“This doesn’t move, this doesn’t grow, this doesn’t happen outside of Atlanta,” he explained to Managing Editor Dani Canada. “For the last two decades, Atlanta has really been carrying the torch with regards to urban culture. How we react, respond, and support one another is unique here. If I had tried to build this in New York or Chicago, I don’t know if it happens. Atlanta is a very special breeding ground for cultural innovation.”
Carter credit the town’s embrace, from Mayor Andre Dickens to Black-owned distributors who make up more than half of OMF’s supported companies, for sustaining the competition’s growth. But he also nods to the resistance he once confronted from industry executives.
“Some of the folks who told me it would never work didn’t look like me,” Carter said. “They said a Black or hip-hop music festival was a liability. Meanwhile, billions are made off hip-hop every year. So for me, it was about putting our culture on display and letting the world see how beautiful it is. That’s what ONE Musicfest became: a Kumbaya, Woodstock moment for our community.”
The highway from that first gathering to today’s multi-million-dollar enterprise wasn’t clean. Carter describes the unique group as a “Motley Crue” of associates: a membership proprietor, a security company operator, a music insider, even somebody from the mayor’s workplace.
Source: Johnathan Mason / OneMusic Fest
“It was a random band of creatives on the initial run,” he laughed. “Over the years, you learn from mistakes. Some people become permanent, others rotate. But we knew it was too beautiful of a cultural experience not to continue.”
Carter’s imaginative and prescient has since expanded into activations that make OMF more than just music. From curler skating pop-ups with Marsai Martin to the upcoming “Luda Lounge,” which can rejoice Ludacris’ 25-year profession with fan meet-and-greets, he sees the competition as a place where Black tradition will be honored across generations.
“This year’s lineup is timely,” Carter said. “After losing Rico [Wade], celebrating Future, bringing Mary J. Blige for the first time, spotlighting Doechii — it’s needed. We need moments of joy, ways to celebrate each other.”
That sense of pleasure and group, Carter insists, stems instantly from his years at Florida A&M.
“I’ll give Atlanta credit for what ONE Musicfest is today, but it 1,000 percent stems from FAMU,” he said. “There’s nothing like an HBCU experience, having the chance to live as a majority instead of a minority. It’s confidence, it’s a battery in your back. FAMU created a safe space to fail, to be built back up, and to push forward.”
That bond among Rattlers is unshakable; sometimes even misunderstood.
“People say FAMU is like a cult,” Carter joked to BOSSIP when requested if the cult rumors are true. “It’s not really a cult. It’s more like family. Everybody’s cool until they’re not, and that energy is what makes it feel so warm and welcoming.”
For Carter, FAMU homecoming — like ONE Musicfest — is best described as “a big Black hug.”
Source: Vaughn Wilson / Florida A&M University via Getty Images
“It’s generational, high energy, nostalgic but always fresh,” he said. “Tens of thousands of people bringing good energy into one space. That’s exactly what we try to recreate with ONE Musicfest.”
With his combine of model experience, cultural reverence, and relentless Rattler pleasure, Carter has constructed a motion and ATL cultural mainstay and as OMF prepares for another landmark yr, Carter’s mission stays clear;
“Uniting legends, elevating new voices, and creating unforgettable cultural moments.”
Courtesy of OneMusic Fest
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The post Music & Melanin Magic: ONE Musicfest Founder J Carter Talks Atlanta, FAMU, & Building The Nation’s Largest Black-Owned Open-Air Festival [Exclusive] appeared first on GWN.