North West Makes Stunning Solo Music Festival Debut Backed by Ye & Kim K!
North West, the 12-year-old daughter of Ye and Kim Kardashian, made her solo music festival debut at Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash 2026 in Chicago. She performed her collaboration "TALKING" from Ye's Vultures 1 album to an energized crowd. This significant milestone follows her recent EP release and previous musical collaborations.
North West, the 12-year-old daughter of music icon Ye (formerly Kanye West) and reality television star Kim Kardashian, reached a significant milestone in her burgeoning music career by delivering her first solo set at a major music festival. The highly anticipated performance took place on Friday, June 12, at Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash 2026, held in Chicago.
For her debut solo performance, North West took to the stage dressed in a distinctive black Balenciaga ensemble, complemented by dark sunglasses, spiky jewelry, and long blue pigtails. She performed her 2024 collaboration with her father, Ye, titled “TALKING,” a track featured on his album Vultures 1. The energetic crowd at Summer Smash was visibly engaged, jumping along to her performance.
Both of North's proud parents celebrated her achievement on social media. Ye reposted a clip of the early evening performance on his Instagram Stories, with a caption highlighting the crowd's enthusiastic reaction: “The crowd was jumping for North West at Summer Smash when she played ‘TALKING.’”. Kim Kardashian also offered an inside look at the event through her Instagram Stories, sharing a photo of backstage passes adorned with North’s face, and posting a heartwarming clip of her daughter running onto the festival stage, captioning it, “North West just arrived at her first ever festival performance.”
This solo festival debut follows a series of musical endeavors for North West. It comes on the heels of her own debut EP, N0rth4evr, which was released in early May. Prior to her solo efforts, she had already made waves in the music scene with appearances on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures album, as well as FKA twigs’ EUSEXUA album. Additionally, North released her single “Piercing on My Hand” in February and made notable appearances at Ye’s SoFi Stadium shows in Los Angeles in April.
Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash 2026 is a three-night event running from June 12 to June 14, hosted at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. The festival boasts a lineup of prominent headliners, including Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, and Baby Keem, making North West’s inclusion a notable moment among established artists.