I’ve only been to San Diego once in my life. It was about ten months ago during my road trip that moved me from Boston to San Francisco. I spent 36 hours, give or take, in “America’s Finest City” and while I certainly received a good taste of what San Diego has to offer, I knew there had to be a return trip planned. When I heard about the first-ever CRSSD Festival, and saw the subsequent lineup, I immediately knew I’d be returning to San Diego on March 14 & 15, 2015.
FNGRS CRSSD is a promotions company focused on electronic music headquartered in California. The company hosts recurring weekly events at San Diego’s Bang Bang, regular events at LA’s Sound nightclub, and has thrown pop-up events at Coachella and Splash House. FNGRS CRSSD’s booking policy revolves around noncommercial live acts and DJs. FNGRS CRSSD has produced stand-alone events in the last twelve months for Dixon, Seth Troxler, T. Williams, Cajmere, Scuba, Claude VonStroke, The Martinez Bros, as well as the likes of Gorgon City, Kygo, TEED, Ryan Hemsworth and many more. In December 2014 FNGRS CRSSD announced CRSSD, a two-day 21+ festival on the Bay of San Diego, taking place March 14/15, 2015. Taking its cue from festivals like Sonar and BPM, CRSSD is defined by forward thinking electronic artists, combining live and DJ performances.
In the title above I mention Ibiza vibes. Now I’ve never actually been to Ibiza, but based on the festival flyer, the artists booked for CRSSD, and the near-perfect climate of San Diego I can bet this festival will bring us the feel-good summer dance vibes that Ibiza is known for. A 21+ festival means no teenie boppers running around and combined with the heavy dose of underground acts means this is set up to be a more mature experience, something I’ve come to value in the past few years as my early 20s are in the rearview mirror.
Without a doubt the main attraction of this festival is the lineup, spread across a concise two days rather than a marathon of three or more days that most festivals now schedule. While the Ocean View Live stage has plenty of dance music’s big live acts (Chromeo, Empire of the Sun, Odesza, Classixx), the main attraction for me is what will be going on behind the decks of the City Steps and Palms stages. I’m really excited to see DJs on the lineup that I don’t have the chance to see too often while at the same time having the chance to catch acts I have 100% confidence will provide me with the perfect soundtrack to dance to. Moreover, CRSSD Festival just announced the Phase 2 lineup, teasing festival-goers by using riddles to hint at who would make the lineup.
Because we’re all about the music here, I’ll share with you my personal top-10 list of artists I’m excited to see at CRSSD. In no particular order:
- Maceo Plex
- Sander Kleinenberg
- Jamie Jones B2B Seth Troxler
- Aeroplane
- Treasure Fingers
- AMTRAC
- Justin Martin
- Hot Natured
- Harvard Bass
- Tensnake
But let’s be honest… this lineup is hard to top and I could make a strong argument for a completely different top-10 list. The bottom line is, you have a month left to purchase tickets and make your travel plans. Any fan of GOOD dance music and fun in the sun shouldn’t hesitate on heading to San Diego for CRSSD next month. And if you need further explanation I’m happy to oblige 🙂
CRSSD WEBSITE (tickets, lodging, more info)
CRSSD on Facebook
