Click for Day 1 Photos | Click for Day 2 Photos
The first annual CRSSD Festival impressed on every level across its two days of Saturday March 14th and Sunday March 15th. While not an overwhelmingly large amount of time to experience a festival, it’s a length we’ve come to enjoy. The lineup was stacked sky high and it came with a side of pristine San Diego weather to match. CRSSD Festival featured the perfect combination of friendly people, tasty food and drink, and amazing music (possibly some of the best music at any festival we’ve been to yet). Add all of that up with the Pacific Ocean and San Diego’s marina as the backdrop and it’s hard to beat. The perfect atmosphere for the perfect weekend, CRSSD Festival is one not to be missed in the future, assuming the folks at FNGRS CRSSD can keep things consistent over the years. You may have read our preview of the festival and things carried out better than expected, as we were curious to see if any first year tweaks would need to be made for the second time around. With the prohibition of rave gear, totems, camelbacks, and bad attitudes CRSSD hardly felt like your average festival – and that was refreshing in its own right. In fact, most people came dressed to the nines, with high-fashion being the standard instead of neon tutus and furry boots. It was a plus to be surrounded by people there for the music and for the experience rather than a priority of trading kandi and escaping reality through substance experimentation. The wading pools/fountains located next to the main stage were a unique feature, keeping us all feeling quite refreshed in the hot San Diego sun.
The grounds were kept impressively clean throughout both days, which was key as most attendees chose a barefoot approach to the nightly shenanigans. Slow Magic was a surprise winner on the main stage during day two. Bringing some downtempo mixed with an upbeat sound, and a seriously impressive live drum routine that literally took the crowd by storm (see video below), Slow Magic is absolutely an artist you need to see live. STRFKR also stood out, with a great live set and chill vibes penetrating the air as we entered the golden hour. STRFKR were one of the few acts consisting of a full band and with some great energy they brought quite an awesome mood to the main stage. Kill Frenzy, always a favorite, really laid down the sound you’d never expect because even though he’s a member of the Dirtybird family he always manages to create a unique sound both in the studio and behind the decks (think about shaking your booty). Kill Frenzy’s music is so much fun to dance to and if you missed our review of his album Taylr Swft CHECK IT HERE.
For the most part every act was superb and it would seem the artists were just as pumped to be there as the rest of us. We caught the end of Infinity Ink who were an absolute blast and singing live over their DJ, before they gave way to one of our all time favorites, Amtrac. The Kentucky native crushed it as always with his killer sounds and epic set list including a bunch of his original productions. Kaytranada was also another stand out set of the weekend, bringing his unique electronic style to the stage together getting everyone back on their feet as the night grew late. Kaytranada was literally all over the place, playing everything from House to Trap to Hip Hop and everything in between. There were plenty of acts that truly amazed us, way too many to list. Consider the following our remaining highlights from the weekend: Danny Daze, Maceo Plex b2b Shall Ocin, Patrick Topping, Justin Martin, Sander Kleinenberg, Aeroplane, SNBRN, Chromeo, Hot Natured, Odesza, Goldroom, Treasure Fingers, and plenty more. Last but most definitely not least Seth Troxler b2b Jamie Jones was absolutely amazing from start to finish, be sure to check out the full set on Mixmag streaming video!
. @crssdfest is one of the best festivals I've ever been to as a performer and attendee. Perfect vibes.
— Sultan of Summer (@viceroy) March 16, 2015
We at MMIBTY feel truly blessed to have been invited to the inaugural CRSSD Festival in San Diego’s absolutely gorgeous waterfront park. I think it goes without saying that we will without a doubt be back again next year. For a first year festival the planning and setup was absolutely amazing. As always there were a few minor kinks but nothing that can’t be worked out in time for next year. Be sure to check our two massive photo albums from each day and if you can’t find the picture you are looking for just send us a message on Facebook or [email protected] and we will do our best to accommodate. Huge thanks to everyone at CRSSD who helped us attend the event and a massive thanks to all the artists who came out and provided us with one hell of a weekend! Special thanks to Max and the rest of the team at Infamous PR!
***Special special thanks to Jill Rizley for contributing her words, photos, and videos to our coverage!***
If you’re into funky, slammin House music check out Erick Diaz’s live set from CRSSD:
Erick Diaz Live At CRSSD FESTIVAL Sunday March 15th 2015
I was very honored to be booked to open up the Main Stage at CRSSD FESTIVAL San Diego
Intro for Soundcloud
1 Something About You (Original Mix) / Hayden James
2 Tonight (Hunter Siegel Remix) / KDrew
3 We Got the Box (Original Mix)/ Cowboy Rhythmbox
4 Lost (Ben Pearce Remix) / Tender Games
5 Heart Weighs A Ton (Cassian Remix) /Alex Metric
6 Positive (Original Mix) / Code3000
7 Empathy (Original Mix / EDX
8 Meteor Man (Original Mix / Full Intention
9 Jack That Body (DJ Dan 2015 Edit / Code3000
10 Ways Of The Underground / Waze & Odyssey
11 Fever (KiNK Remix) / Tiga, Audion
12 Elephant (Original Mix / Funkin Matt
13 Collateral Effects (Original Mix) / EDX
14 I’ve Been Waiting (UMEK & Mike Vale Remix) / Dear David
15 Rollin’ Deep (Original Mix)/ Codes
16 Cool You Off (Original Mix) / EDX
17 Rumors (Original Mix) / Pep & Rash