The bi-annual Crssd Fest put on by promoters Fngrs Crssd took place on Mar. 3 and 4 at the Waterfront Park in San Diego, California.
The festival that started in March of 2015 has brought exciting energy to San Diego’s electronic music scene.
The sold out festival featured some of the best and brightest in electronic music. Headliners included festival regulars Empire of the Sun and Gorgon City, Grammy nominated Bonobo and Camelphat, up and comers Walker & Royce and techno legends Cirez D and Sasha.
Although the main stage hosted the biggest acts, it was hardly the biggest story of Crssd. House and techno were the two genres that dominated the weekend at the two side stages. The stages titled City Steps and The Palms hosted some of the biggest crowds of the festival.
The biggest crowd of the weekend had to be the South African DJ Nora en Pure, who played during the sunset on the first day of the festival.
Brazilian DJ Anna’s set, who plunged the crowd into the night time with her pounding sounds, as well another highlight of the festival DJ Charlotte De Witte, were recorded and streamed on Mixmag’s YouTube channel.
Another highlight of the festival was Lee Burridge, who transported the crowd with his lush deep house grooves to one of his famous sunrise sets at Burning Man. Burridge is well known for his “All Day I Dream” label, which hosts all day parties across the world.
The biggest surprise of the festival was French DJ Shiba San, who seamlessly mixed tracks from his own label “Basement Leaks,” and the tech house heavyweights Dirtybird delivered a non-stop dance party of a set to end the first night of the festival.
“Crssdfest you were absolutely amazing. There was so much energy,” Shiba San said to the Crssd crowd.
At Crssd there is always music between the two stages, and truly never a dull moment. Where the main stage lacked in sound, the city steps stage more than made up with goose bump inducing speakers and the palms not far behind. Many decided to kick off their shoes and dance in the fountains right next to the palms stage, which was decorated top to bottom with trees and greenery.
There was a variety of after shows that take over the bars and clubs across the city as well. The highlights of these after parties were a dj set by Bonobo, Nicole Moudaber with Anna and a day party with Ardalan and Wax Motif. All of the after parties sold out, with Cirez D selling out in the first hour it went on sale.
The only complaint that anyone could have with Crssd is the sheer amount of people that there were.
On the Brightside, Crssd’s central location makes it easy to get to and a 15-minute drive from pretty much anywhere in San Diego. The festival also had a number of local vendors selling food, with Bang Bang sushi and Sake tastings, Miss B’s Coconut Club Cubano Sandwich, and the popular Spicy Pie being some of the major highlights.
For those who missed Crssd, fear not, because the festival returns in October.
For more info on all things Crssd, head to crssd.com.
