Bi-annually, the gorgeous San Diego Waterfront Park plays host to one of the most unique and certainly by far one of our favorite festivals in existence: CRSSD Festival. CRSSD Festival can mostly be described as a fusion of electronic and indie pop acts with a good mix of rising young talent and seasoned veterans. Going into the weekend, we were highly anticipating this year’s March iteration. Not only have we been craving the delicious gourmet tri-tip selection but this specific line-up had our mouth’s watering all the same. Let’s take a look at who threw down the hardest sets last weekend:

Josh Wink

Many people have no idea who Josh Wink is. This is a damn shame. Not only is he a native Philadelphian but he’s also been one of the the biggest godfathers and pioneers of acid house as we know it. Just as mean on the 303 as he is on the decks, Wink’s CRSSD set was hard, gritty, and pure acidic bliss. Tracks like “I’m Talkin to You” and Ben Klock’s remix of his own record “Are You There” thundered out of the speakers at the City Steps stage on Saturday to an elated crowd who ate up every beat.

Jackmaster

Jackmaster is a unique soul. Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland this legend of the underground is known for his crazy afterparty shenanigans and his insane crate diggalicious song selection. Probably one of the best selectors of the weekend, Jackmaster featured an eclectic mix of house, acid, tech house, and everything else under the master of jack’s dirty bass heavy rainbow.

Justin Martin

Dirtybird’s lieutenant of the dance floor is making a strong push for General. Justin Martin has been perfecting his own brand of bouncy bass house for well over a decade now and his meticulous attention to detail of his craft was put on display for the San Diego crowd in full force. In our opinion Martin’s biggest track of the night was actually Christian Martin’s remix of Justin’s original track “Back to the Jungle.”

2manyDJs

What else is there to praise that hasn’t already been praised about the brothers Dewaele a.k.a. 2manyDjs. The Belgian duo (who are also both in a little band called Soulwax threw down our favorite set of the whole weekend. We have been big fans for as long as we can remember and their closing set on Saturday night was a testament to our love for their emphatic style. You can tell these guys are just huge fans of music. They played everything from the techno classic “OG Trommer Bass” by Andre Bratten to “Underwater” by Harry Thumann and seamlessly blended dark and light-hearted tones.

Aluna George

British electro-pop superstar act AlunaGeorge is actually a duo comprised of Aluna Francis and George Reid. Facts of the day aside, their performance at CRSSD was simply magical. Incorporating stunning visuals, well-choreographed dancing, and Aluna’s remarkable singing voice. They truly owned the main stage using every square inch of it to connect with the crowd and belt out classics like “White Noise” and “You Know You Like It.”

It’s only a week away!

We think this might be the best CRSSD line-up ever!

PHASE 1:

2manyDJs
AlunaGeorge
Ame (DJ)
Amtrac
Billie Eilish
Blood Orange
Bob Moses
Boys Don’t Disco
Cut Snake
Damian Lazarus
Darius
Duke Dumont
Dusky (live)
Elderbrook
Flume
Fritz Carlton
Giraffage
Horse Meat Disco
H.V.O.B.
Jackmaster
Jason Bentley
Jerry Folk
Josh Wink
Justin Martin
Kasbo
Lane 8
Lauren Lane
Lee K
Lost Frequencies
Louis Futon
Martin Jensen
Midland
Paul Najera
Peggy Gou
Rad Cat
Recondite (live)
Rodhad
Seth Troxler b2b Eats Everything
Skream
Sonny Fodera
Snakehips
Tensnake
Wax Motif
Wingtip
Yotto
Cassy
Claude Von Stroke
Detlef
Heidi
Latmun
Mija
Moon Boots
Point Point

Hope to see you all out there on the San Diego Waterfront!!!!!!

Flume – Depth Charge

Bob Moses – Far From the Tree

Darius – Hot Hands

Sonny Fodera – You & I

Positioned on the water in Downtown San Diego, CRSSD has emerged as a crown jewel in Southern California’s festival circuit, selling out both of its 2016 editions. In March CRSSD will again present the most cutting edge and exciting live and DJ talent from across the electronic music spectrum in the iconic Waterfront Park.

Since its inception in 2015, CRSSD has earned a reputation for showcasing the diverse, deeper and more intriguing artists in house, techno and leftfield strands of electronic music. Some of the act’s we’re most excited for are 2manyDJs , Bob Moses, Blood Orange, Jackmaster, Midland, Recondite, and Skream just to name a few.

Located in the idyllic urban core of San Diego’s downtown district, CRSSD blends Southern California culture with dance music’s underground roots producing an exceptionally unique vibe. Just minutes away from the Amtrak station, CRSSD’s grassy sanctuary is complete with technicolor sunsets, splash friendly fountains, and three stages. In addition to its ground-breaking musical programming, CRSSD also offers craft beer, gourmet food vendors from San Diego’s best restaurants, and a full mixology program. CRSSD is a 21+ festival.

Take a look at the line-up below and we’ll see you in the Whale’s Vagina:

PHASE 1:

2manyDJs
AlunaGeorge
Ame (DJ)
Amtrac
Billie Eilish
Blood Orange
Bob Moses
Boys Don’t Disco
Cut Snake
Damian Lazarus
Darius
Duke Dumont
Dusky (live)
Elderbrook
Flume
Fritz Carlton
Giraffage
Horse Meat Disco
H.V.O.B.
Jackmaster
Jason Bentley
Jerry Folk
Josh Wink
Justin Martin
Kasbo
Lane 8
Lauren Lane
Lee K
Lost Frequencies
Louis Futon
Martin Jensen
Midland
Paul Najera
Peggy Gou
Rad Cat
Recondite (live)
Rodhad
Seth Troxler b2b Eats Everything
Skream
Sonny Fodera
Snakehips
Tensnake
Wax Motif
Wingtip
Yotto

Phase 2:
Cassy
Claude Von Stroke
Detlef
Heidi
Latmun
Mija
Moon Boots
Point Point

Baby Bash – Suga Suga (Point Point remix)

Tensnake – Coma Cat

Josh Wink – Talkin’ to You

Duke Dumont – The Giver

This Summmer our boy Gramatik will be throwing down at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater just outside Denver Colorado with massive support from Mr. Carmack, Ekali, and Flamingosis! We’ve been waiting to make our way over to the legendary amphitheater and can’t imagine a better, more fun lineup to experience it with. This eclectic group is going to set fire to the rocks in June. Do not sleep on this.

Get your tickets here!

Real ft. James Taugher – Niko Brahman (Prod. by Flamingosis)

Tis the season for giving!

IHEARTCOMIX are putting together a huge benefit for the Los Angeles homeless, tomorrow Dec 21 at Union, all 6 rooms. LA GIVES BACK is IHEARTCOMIX plus a several other promoters in LA to come together for the homelessness cause. This includes Brownies & Lemonade, Ham on Everything, Emo Nite, Space Yacht, Free Grilled Cheese, Late Night Laggers and Restless Nites.

100% of proceeds are going towards local charities to benefit the LA homeless (these organizations here, here and here)

LA GIVES BACK
WED DEC 21st
8pm-2am est
18+
$20-$25
Union – 4067 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
TICKETS HERE

IHEARTCOMIX Presents:
LA GIVES BACK
A Special Holiday Benefit for LA’s Homeless

6 Rooms of Dancing Curated by:

Brownies & Lemonade
Ham on Everything
Emo Nite
Space Yacht
Restless Nites
Late Night Laggers
Free Grilled Cheese
+ More!

Over the last few years, I’ve come to consider CRSSD Festival one of my most looked forward to events all year. The bi-annual San Diego shindig boasts one of the most unique festival atmospheres and music curations on the planet. The Waterfront Park is the perfect setting for the 2-day, 3-staged, 21+ weekend long event. Views of the water, gorgeous sunsets, pirate ships, and a smorgasbord of gourmet food and microbrews all combine to make one of the best music festivals in the country. Here’s my recounting of one of the best weekend I’ve had in a long while.

After entering the festival I bee-lined it straight to the City Steps stage to check out my man Brodinski; the hip-hop and techno don threw down a heavy set, weaving in and out of every transition from banging techno to dirty south hip-hop with ease and flair. Up next was San Francisco’s own Matrixxman who played a booming hard techno set that set my eardrums a blaze and had me headbanging harder than metalheads at a Pantera concert. After scarfing down some delicious tri-tip, I caught Louis the Child’s set at sunset. The young tikes did not disappoint as they perfectly captures the sunset’s balearic mood and then got much darker and heavy once night fell. It’s refreshing to know these two boys from Chicago are killing the game right now in an otherwise saturated future bass scene.

The illustrious DJ Harvey was up next. I did not know much about Harvey coming into Saturday but I left amazed at the man’s knack for finding obscure old school disco tracks that mix perfectly with his more modern house-y selections. The whole set was a unique experience of hearing records that haven’t been played anywhere else in decades. After Harvey’s very culturing set, it was time for the Dirtybird all-stars to get behind the decks. First up was Shiba-San who mixed in tech house, classic house, techno, and the dirtiest of Dirtybird tracks throughout his set. Justin Martin may have been the most disappointing set all weekend. His set lacked any dance-able cohesion and he kept getting on the mic a bit too much. All in all, Saturday was a great day for music.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! I arrived a bit later in the day as I usually do on day 2 situations. I went to one of the after parties the night before and it’s safe to say I wanted to sleep in. The first artist I checked out was Lee Burridge. Lee put on a very groovy and smooth techno affair. Although I only caught the end of his set I really enjoyed it and definitely want to check him out at future events. Next up was Maya Jane Coles. Maya threw down a hard and banging techno set. She had the crowd hanging on every track and just embodied pure badassery. The rest of the evening I spent going back and forth between Kaytranada and Dubfire while making stops at the bar in between both stages. This is one of CRSSD Festival’s huge advantages; there are only 3 stages and they are all so close together that it makes it easy to take in as much music as possible. Kaytranada was certainly a treat. In the past, I wasn’t really a fan of his live sets, however, he changed my mind this time around with an amazing set that was very upbeat and fast paced. Dubfire’s set, though not the live Hybrid setup, was superb in progressive techno flare. His set was extremely packed and had great sound from front to back.

Time and time again, I’ve returned to the San Diego Waterfront for the biannual event. Good food, good drinks, great music, and amazing weather all combine to make one of the most well-organized and fun festivals in the United States. See you in March!

Kaytranada – Whateva U Want

21 Savage – No Target (Produced by Brodinski)

Louis the Child – Fire

Procedure – Matrixxman

Tickets

Over the past few years Orange County’s favorite surf rock studs The Growlers host one of the biggest 3-day parties on the West Coast. Beach Goth has been one of the most eclectic and fresh festivals to date. In a market saturated by a seemingly unending menagerie of new festivals popping up Beach Goth is able to set itself apart by getting together some of the most in demand and up and coming artists from across the globe all in once place. This year is no exception as the bill from top to bottom is simply superb.

For starters we have Justice and Gucci Mane both making huge comebacks this year. Old hip-hop favorites like 2 live crew, TLC, and The Pharcyde will be taking the stage before or after rock legends like Joy Division and The Faint. Just take a look at this line-up and tell us you’re not impressed. I hope you are excited as we are for all this talent to be in once place as Beach Goth is simply about the music and keeps it that way.

Sebastian – H.A.L.

King Krule – Octopus

RL Grime – Aurora

Violent Femmes – Blister in the Sun