CRSSD Once Again Captures Hearts

Photo Credit: Julian Bajsel

Another spring iteration of CRSSD is in the books and the event is seemingly very comfortable in its role as the official kickoff to festival season for west coast house and techno aficionados. CRSSD’s 2 day, 3 stage whirlwind of expertly curated artists set against the dueling backdrops of sparkling skyscrapers and a cloud draped horizon has become a place to gather with friends old and new and rehash past meetings and plan the next ones. With a manageably sized venue and good amount of extended sets, CRSSD is a bite sized festival that provides a mouthful of talent. The phrase “it gets better every year” was uttered by event veterans from the craft beer stand to the main stage fountains. Here are some of our favorite moments of CRSSD Spring ‘19:

Photo Credit: Felicia Garcia

The Music (obviously)

The lineup this spring was decidedly devoid of the high dollar star power name recognition of years past (excluding powerhouse, Odesza) and that is in no way an insult to the festival. Every stage provided a breath of fresh air from the usual bookings, from the funky beats of Wajatta to the soothing sounds of Maribou State. Saturday the crowd had the pleasure of being entranced by DJ Nobu and the most brave of us journeyed into the depths of the crowd for Dirtybird royalty, Justin Martin. Night 1 forced attendees to choose between the otherworldly sounds of Stephan Bodzin, house head god Armand Van Helden or the dreamy electronica of Phantogram. Sunday brought brighter skies and a straight up nasty day at City Steps including a packed to capacity Lane 8 set at The Palms stage and a hard to walk away from set from Pan Pot.

The Vibes

As mentioned earlier, to most attendee’s delight, CRSSD has become a home base for rave families to meet up and rehash the winter hibernation (or lack thereof). Shipfam is well represented at the festival as well as just CRSSD veterans themselves, meeting up at a specified fountain or stage post. CRSSD continues to be a draw for that reason – you can meet people who have been to 100 festivals or 1 and it’s just as much of an enjoyable experience either way. The San Diego event serves as a wonderful entry level event or a hardened festival attendees oasis.

Photo Credit: Felicia Garcia

The City

San Diego is unique in the sense that the city is not too big and not too small. Most attendees stay in walking distance of the festival which makes for a great pregame or a forgiving walk for the late bloomers. Most after parties occur less than 5 miles from the festival gates and even if you’re more of a low key after party type, CRSSD’s reasonable end times lends itself to a nice hotel turn down. 

Perhaps the best part, for some, is CRSSD is a bi-annual event. You can start and end your festival season with in SoCal, where the vibes are high. No matter the season, CRSSD continues to be a beacon of quality music combined with a refined audience. 

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