REVIEW: CRSSD Fest 2023
CRSSD Festival 2023 was definitely one for the books! With the festival taking place in both Spring and Fall, to many Southern Californians CRSSD Spring is the start to their music festival season. With this year's lineup being very headliner heavy, (ODESZA, Polo & Pan, Lane 8) the rest of the acts on the bill were more than enough to fill San Diego's beautiful Waterfront Park with a crowd of people just trying to dance the weekend away. With the festival attendees being 21+, the crowds are much different than most festivals that are 18+. CRSSD events are successful for a reason and it really shows in their overall organization and the crowds of people who attend the events.
Photo by Juliana Bernstein (@gettiny)
With the lineup usually focusing on Techno, House, and massive Electronic acts, this year had some of the biggest festival acts including Polo & Pan and ODESZA who always puts on an incredibly unique show with a live drumline and amazing light show. Polo & Pan closed out the main stage on Saturday night with a performance that had the whole crowd dancing and singing along the entire set. Lane 8 was another set we were able to catch Sunday right before ODESZA and quite honestly his set felt like a closing set with a duration of 100min and the impressive visuals.
Photo by Juliana Bernstein (@gettiny)
Some of the other incredible acts we saw:
We started our weekend at The Palms stage with Ben Sterling throwing down some dance tracks getting the early festival goers moving! Some other acts we were able to catch at The Palms were Chaos in the CBD, Mall Grab, Kavinsky, Tom & Collins, AMEME, and Purple Disco Machine. The City Steps stage is mostly known for having the heavy techno acts and gives underground warehouse vibes with minimal design but plenty of lighting and strobes; makes sense why some people stay at this stage all weekend long... it's a vibe! Some of the acts we saw perform were Skin on Skin, Anifsa Letyago, and Brina Knauss. The main stage known as the Ocean View stage definitely had a massive crowd all weekend long, here's some of the artists we were able to catch; Neil Frances, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Polo & Pan, Luna Li, Channel Tres, Lane 8, and ODESZA.
Photo by Rachael Polack (@rachlpolack)
CRSSD Fest always has a crowd that truly feels like a community of people coming together for the same purpose of simply enjoying good dance music and having a good time. This year's CRSSD Fest may have been hit with some cold weather but the incredibly stacked lineup, great food vendors, plenty of drink options with many bars throughout the venue, and with it being in such a unique venue in the heart of San Diego who wouldn't want to enjoy their weekend elsewhere.
Photos by Jordon Ratoike (@jordonanthony)