In my last blog post, I talked about my first ever concert. I have attended many concerts in the past and still to this day, but recently discovered music festivals. In 2015, I got to experience my first ever music festival. 10 years and I just discovered music festivals!?! haha I know I am late to the game but now I am hooked. For years, I attended 102.7 KIIS FM’s Wango Tango and Jingle Ball respectively since 2005 but stopped in 2012. I kid you not, I have a drawer full of t-shirts from both of these events, it is insane!
I stopped because I started to think about how the artists do not play long enough. The headliner usually gets roughly 45min-1hr at most to perform, which limits them to 6-7 songs. At music festivals however, artists that are lower on the bill get 30-45 minutes while headliners get more than 1 hr to play. I would rather use the money I use for Wango Tango and Jingle Ball, for a 2-3 day festival.
The first music festival I had the opportunity to attend was the KAABOO Music Festival in San Diego in 2015. Performances included No Doubt, Zac Brown Band, The Killers and Snoop Dogg. I got a pass for a bargain on craigslist ($100 for a three-day pass). Fortunately I was studying at San Diego State University at the time so he commute was not bad at all. The festival took place in the Del Mar Fairgrounds, where the Del Mar County Fair is held. After classes that friday, my friend and I got to the fairgrounds and managed to get free parking all three days! #blessed.
We walked about a mile from where we parked to get inside. What was cool was that there multiple entries to get into the festival so we did not have to make the trek to the front. Once we got in, I got a beachy vibe from the festival. The main stage had sand as the floor as opposed to grass or concrete. It would have been nice to know prior just to be more prepared but it was still cool. There were cabanas in the surrounding areas, which was pretty cool. After passing the main stage, most of the floor was concrete and nice to walk on.
There was a stage where they had seats as well as standing which was nice to rest your feet on. As I was walking around each day, I got to discover so many artists, which I love doing. I have been hooked on Allen Stone ever since. I also got introduced to Brandi Carlisle, who put on a great show as well Young The Giant. The set (already using festival talk) that I loved the most was The Killers. Thy put on such a fantastic show and the crowd made it that much better. I would love to see them again at some point.
(The Killers at KAABOO Festival 2015)
The art, the food and the people definitely made my first music festival experience a great one. Would I go again,? Absolutely! Once I get to experience other ones and the lineup is good, I will definitely attend again.