This past weekend, the one and only sunny San Diego hosted the fall edition of CRSSD Festival. A bi-annual event, well-known for its stacked lineups and incredible sunsets, CRSSD once again delivered an unforgettable weekend. CRSSD Festival is an underground electronic music haven that is not to be missed as it is filled to the brim with house, techno, and captivating live sets. Read on for a CRSSD Festival review of the fall 2019 edition!
CRSSD in Beautiful San Diego
With music festivals popping up left and right across the entire world, it can be difficult to pick between destinations. However, if CRSSD’s lineups aren’t enough to convince you to stop by San Diego (even though they definitely will be), the unreal beaches and atmosphere of the city should be. CRSSD is the perfect excuse to come visit San Diego if you haven’t been. White sandy beaches, sunsets the color of the rainbow, and warm welcoming locals await you.
On one side, the backdrop to CRSSD is downtown San Diego, located mere miles from the San Diego airport. In other words, centralized adjacent to CRSSD is beautiful architecture, incredible food, local breweries, a public trolley, and so much more. On the other side sits a beautiful bay filled with docked boats. Within the venue, permanent water features provide a fun place to splash and cool off in. Therefore, around 6pm you can take your shoes off and dance with your friends in water, while watching the sun go down over the bay and listening to some of your favorite artists.
Since the festival goes from 12-11 there is plenty of extra time in the morning to explore nearby beaches. After the festival, venture into the city for CRSSD After Dark parties at nearby clubs or explore the ample options downtown nightlife has to offer.
The Layout of CRSSD
My favorite part of CRSSD has always been the extraordinary spread of talent they manage to book for each edition. I feel that there has always been something for every electronic music lover to fall in love with. The artistry spans vastly different genres but is clumped into three groups.
- House: The Palms stage hosts an array of house music each year. Covered top to bottom in dark leafy ferns, a jungle envelopes each DJ that sits upon this house throne. This years standouts included Little Boots, Yaeji, Anna Lunoe, MK, and Fisher.
- Techno: City Steps brings some of the biggest names and upcoming artists in techno. Set in the middle of the three stages it’s easy to get roped into the performances as you walk by. Special features of this CRSSD edition include Richie Hawtin and Michael Bibi.
- Live Acts: Ocean View is where you can fine some of the most exciting acts of the weekend. Being the most varied of the three stages, you never quite know what you will get from a set on Ocean View. From Kaskade’s Redux sunset set to KAYTRANADA, Polo & Pan, and Moon Boots live, every set brought something special.
With so much talent stacked up for one weekend, cross overs are bound to happen amongst artists you hoped to see. Thankfully CRSSD is set up in one straight line less than half a mile long so there is plenty of time to run between stages.
Julia’s Tips & Tricks for CRSSD
As special as attending music festivals can be, they often times can be stressful without adequate preparation. Below are a few of my CRSSD specific suggestions. If you’re looking for more festival tips, check out our travel guides! Here you can find festival camping or cruise essentials, and much more!
- If there are no particular artists you know/want to see early in the day, come early anyway and explore! Some of my favorite artists were found this way. I never regret coming early, I only ever regret being late.
- Arrive at the latest 20 minutes before the first act you want to see. Security and ID checks are quick and seamless so no need to worry about missing your favorite early artist.
- Wear comfortable shoes. I know that is a given for a music festival but seriously consider upgrading your footwear. Your feet will thank you.
- Bring an extra pair of socks. You are most likely going to splash around in the water at some point across the day (which I highly suggest doing!) and nobody wants soggy socks.
- If you want a good spot for an artist you love, come 10 minutes before their set. Sets can get much more crowded than you anticipated. This can result in spending the first 10 minutes of a set trying to comb through the crowd.
- Spend a set dancing in the water with your friends. It is an experience unlike anything else. I highly suggest doing this for a sunset set…it’s breathtaking!
- Visit the tech booth on your way to and from Ocean View. Artists often go there before or after their sets so you might just run into someone you are a huge fan of. For example, I saw Kyle Watson there on Sunday!
Artists to Check Out
The biggest highlight to my weekend was seeing Polo & Pan live. If you don’t know them already, they are a French duo that makes very light hearted, bouncy house music. Close seconds were KAYTRANADA, Moon Boots, and Yung Bae. If you attended CRSSD, what were your favorites from the weekend? Let me know what you think in the comment section of any of these artists!
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FestPop Staff Writer, Julia Osteen
