(PC: Felicia Garcia / CRSSD Fest)
San Diego’s Waterfront Park hosted its fourth CRSSD Fest this weekend, a place that’s become home to lovers of electronic music across the entire Southern Californian region. Maintaining a similar aesthetic to the previous CRSSD festivals at the park, the scene was filled with feelings of a tropical escape, an escape that differs only so slightly from that of the city the event is held in, but it’s the difference that gives patrons a feeling that they’ve left home and arrived at a new one. The lineup, as always, was stacked with legends and exciting up and comers alike. TMN had the opportunity to check out the show, and we’ve got a full run-down below.
The fest kicked off its first day with huge names like MK, Justin Martin, Miike Snow, Cashmere Cat, and Bonobo. As per usual, Dirtybird showed up in big numbers, and Justin Martin’s set and Shiba San’s set were ones to remember. There’s always something so special about the Dirtybird crowd. Knowing that all of your lives were probably touched at one point by Shiba’s track “OKAY” is a strong bond that not many other labels can achieve, and Shiba’s set was filled with all the depth and bass one would imagine. Justin Martin’s headlining set drew crowds that were worthy of his talent, and the set was an hour and a half of pure bliss. And while Justin Martin was taking everyone on a journey at one side of the festival, house music legend Marc Kinchen (aka MK) was giving everyone an education on the other side of the fest. Pioneering house music with tracks like “Always” from the 90s, MK has his finger on the pulse of house music now more than ever. We were ecstatic to see him headlining, getting all of the glory that he deserves.
(PC: Josh Claros)
Another name to remember from Saturday was a very familiar face: Cashmere Cat. It’s been great to see him rise up in the scene from the first time that he played CRSSD at one of the smaller stages. Now, he’s holding down the mainstage on his own, delivering a set that made sure to incorporate his hits and bed-squeaking touch that’s become so familiar to us all, but also surprised us with some new sounds that we haven’t heard much of form the Norwegian-based producer. It’s a testament to his growth as an artist, and it’s a testament to the fact that he’s earning his growth.
(PC: Josh Claros)
The first artists to play the “sunset set” this weekend were Louis The Child. Having just released their dance pop single “Fire” just a couple of days ago, Robby and Freddy brought down the stage, as everyone danced their butt off into the sunset. We actually had a chance to catch up with them before their set (interview coming soon, stay tuned!), and got to know how they rose to popularity from such a young age. To our surprise, they brought out singer Evalyn for their new track, and it definitely “fired” up the crowd even more.
The fest kicked off on Sunday with some really strong acts early on, like the UK based house talent Leon Vynehall. Vynehall released a great EP earlier this year, and we were very happy to see him on the lineup this CRSSD. The same stage rocked one of our all-time favorite house DJs just a couple sets later with the return of Felix Da Housecat. Like his stage name, the Chicago house producer always delivers sets that are incredibly playful and sharp. Whenever TMN sees Felix on a lineup, we know we have to go. We give the same advice to you.
(PC: Skyler Greene / CRSSD Fest)
A few moments later, another CRSSD veteran artist took to the mainstage – Flight Facilities. If you’re into euphoria then a stop at a Flight Facilities is a must. Supplementing their airy electronic composition backbone is always an even lighter vocalist, and they delivered this treat live to us on Sunday with live vocals, which is something they did back at their last appearance at CRSSD and something we were really happy to see this time around.
Probably the best set of the weekend was none other than ZHU (oh, you mean Steven?), who completely wowed us with his newest live set elements. He was wearing a silk black outfit, no more silhouette, and changed up everything you could’ve imagined. The semi-live vocals, the newly added dance breaks that were deeper and heavier than the original records, and a couple of unreleased tracks were some of the things that got us fangirling over. We could tell he put a lot of thought into revamping his live sets, and since his last performance at CRSSD a year ago, this closing set has definitely opened our eyes once again.
So once again, the folks over at FNGRS CRSSD have presented San Diego with a much needed dose of quality house and electronic music, and we are happy to say that it appears this festival is here to stay. And it may even be growing… The same group will be throwing a show for Halloween at San Diego’s Petco Park (home to the San Diego Padres) called Groundwater. It’s set to feature Disclosure, Justin Martin, Breach, and a few other huge names in their lineup. It looks like the FNGRS CRSSD train won’t be stopping anytime soon… All aboard.
