Photo by Jose Reyes
On the sunny weekend of September 27th, Lake Perris opened its arms to embrace thousands art and music lovers. Greeted with a smiling and energetic crew, it felt like being welcomed home despite being there for the first time. Each camp showed such displays of creativity and uniqueness, and everyone used their weekend homes as a chance to express themselves, which would prove to be the theme over the weekend. Making our way down the winding path to the beach, we found the music. House beats were accompanied by the soft lapping of waves onto the lake shore, and the festival spirit was blossoming into the air. As the sun set, the music rose – getting the crowd ready to be carried away into a beautiful weekend.
Photo by SamShootsShows
With a beautiful Friday ahead, the magic in the air was palpable. Down at the beach, the rhythms of Daddy Durango delivered sassy energy and got everyone moving their feet. At the Creation Station, we connected to our inner children at the Bloops, Loops, and Swirls workshop, which invited us all to experiment and paint with endless colors, shapes, and possibilities. After an afternoon of conquering the heat, it was time to get the night started. Honeycomb amazed with live beatboxing, Balkan Bump intensified the vibes with deep bass accompanied by the trumpet, and Dirtwire kept the energy building with non-stop jams. Topping off the first amazing night of the festival was Ganja White Night, with an amazing set that left all of us feeling deeply satisfied.
Photo by SamShootsShows
Saturday kicked off with LSDREAM’s LightCode, which took everyone on an intense journey of emotional release. Continuing on the path of self-expression, we stopped by the Creation Station afterwards and were able to participate in Paint the Lake. The creative and curious energy of everyone around made the heat easy to forget, and only made us more excited for the night to come. Letting the expressive energy of the day lead the way, the night began with a poetry slam. The stage was open to all, no experience required, and the result was astounding. Stories, songs, and ballads were performed, each told by beautiful souls allowing us to join them in a moment of vulnerability. Letting the current of the night carry us, our feet took us to The Dome, where Justin Irby was setting the bar high for the night. Back at The Different Stage, Andy Frasco had us all cheering in surprise for his wild cover of The Talking Heads “Life After Wartime”. The night ended on the highest note possible with LSDREAM supplying the largest crowd of the weekend by far with deep wubs and beautiful messages of love, acceptance, and unity.
Photo by SamShootsShows
The morning of Sunday was bittersweet, with all of us knowing this would be our last day together, and we were determined to make the most of it. We took our first time exploring the live painters and art installations, and spent a moment appreciating the serenity of the Sanctuary Dome outside Inner Bass. When it was time to frolic to The Same Stage for Daily Bread, we were amazed and mesmerized to see all the fire dancers flowing in the back of the crowd. Making our way over to Wreckno, our feet lost control of themselves and surrendered to the irresistible beats filling the air, and we were all treated to a new unreleased track in collaboration with OPIUO. Then it was a detour to the Groove Grove, where strangers came together to create musical fusion, and we were all reminded that sometimes we need to give ourselves a shoutout on the mic every now and then, too. To culminate the amazing weekend, Big Gigantic closed out the festival with electrifying energy that left us all buzzing.
Photo by SamShootsShows
The unforgettable experience and adventures of Same Same But Different make it easy to understand why so many people call this festival home. With something to offer to everyone, there are chances to learn, grow, and progress around every corner. The love and acceptance I felt from this community that welcomed me so warmly and easily puts this festival high on my list of suggestions, and will definitely have me returning next year.
