Kaaboo Del Mar is ONLY in its second year but has the stature of a festival veteran. The unique San Diego Festival is so much more than just music, it is an experience. The festival hits all five of your senses with some of the biggest names in music, dancing everywhere, delicious food, craft libations, hilarious stand-up comedy, beautiful artwork, and more.
FestivalsForLife was lucky to be a part of this one of a kind weekend! These were our highlights.
The Music
The Music had something for everyone! From top 40 rap, to indie electronic, classic rock and Jimmy Buffett. If you couldn’t find an artist you didn’t like then you simply don’t like music.
Friday started off the festival right! We began our day with a 90’s throwback, Sugar Ray Leonard (which would be a theme throughout the festival). We knew that we were around an upbeat festival crowd when everyone joined in to sing “Fly.”
Our day continued with a soulful performance from St. Paul and The Broken Bones. This was the first time we were lucky enough the see this incredible group from Birmingham, Alabama. Paul, the lead singer has a voice that will make you feel like everything is right in the world.
As the sun started to set Daryl Hall and John Oates took the main stage. The duo had the entire crowd dancing to their hits- and there are a lot of those!
It was time to get your Hawaiian shirt, bucket hats, margaritas, and dancing shoes on! Jimmy Buffet finished out Friday night with one of our favorite performances of the festival. We don’t think we’ve ever watched a band enjoy performing more than Jimmy Buffet and the Coral Reefer Band. The crowd never stopped moving as the 69-year-old Buffet played one classic song after another.
If you couldn’t get enough music, the night officially closed out with a couple of late-night DJs at the Encore Stage. Friday night included tropical house favorite Matoma and DJ Snoopadelic. That’s right, iconic rapper Snoop Dogg has moved to the turntables.
The second day of the festival continued with diverse music and lots of dancing. Our day included great performances by the chart-topping rapper, Flo-Rida. His catchy music made it the perfect daytime set.
Aerosmith played later in the day, and despite having not played for over a year there was no noticeable rust. “The Bad Boys From Boston” jammed around the entire stage, the old school outfits made the audience feel like we were back in the 70s. It is rumored that this was their last tour.
Lenny Kravitz played earlier that day and was one of our favorite festival acts. His retro style, funky jazz sounds, and amazing guitar playing made his show a highlight.
The late night shows consisted of indie electronic producers RAC, rapper Ludacris, and the globally famous Steve Aoki. These performances took place at the Encore stage, however, due to the high demand to see Ludacris and Aoki, the police at the festival stopped letting people into the show. We were fortunate enough to make it in and enjoy this great and intimate night!
The final day of the festival had the perfect lineup to close out a festival. The day featured performances from G Love & Special Sauce, Avett Brothers, Rebelution, Blues Travelers, and Cypress Hill.
The final act, Jack Johnson helped the festival close on a high note. The crowd sway and sang along to just about very single dreamy acoustic song!
The Food
The food at Kaaboo was as good if not better than someone of the “food only festivals” we have attended. It featured many great local restaurants as well as festival favorites. It was rare that we found something we didn’t like, but we have to give it up to a couple of our favorite spots!
Puesto served up two of our favorite dishes! The first one was a Frozen Curro Taco. Yes, that’s right. They combined three of our favorite things. churros, tacos and ice cream. This treat was perfect! On the more traditional side, they served up an ahi tuna taco!
Another favorite dish came from Downtown Dogs served up delicious gourmet Hot Dogs that included avocado, arugula, basil aoli, and crispy onions!
The feta, garlic, pork, and beef souvlaki loaded fries from Meze, won the prize for most filling festival food at the festival.
Frankie’s served up some of our favorite festival food. When we talked to the owner, Frankie, he said, “I come to lots of festivals and we strives to provide something different for festival goers.” Frankie’s had lots of delicious pizza combinations, but our favorite was the Margarita!
Lastly, Bon Voyage had one of our favorite foods of the festival. With the their Tasty Bahn Mi sandwiches.
The Art
Besides hearing great music everywhere you turned, you also saw beautiful pieces of art everywhere you looked. Kaaboo was like a giant art gallery with tons of talented artists coming in to showoff their stuff. Many of Kaaboo’s decorations were made by artists during the festival, while audiences stopped to admire their craft. They even had a whole warehouse set up as an art gallery to showcase many different artists. Attendees were able to stroll through it and maybe even get lucky enough to see one of them painting a new piece.
The Setup
Kaaboo took place at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, which proved to be the perfect setting for the festival. They were able to fit multiple stages into the venue with no problem whatsoever. The Fairgrounds was easy to navigate, and nothing was ever farther than a few minute walk away. There were also many areas one could walk into to take in some air-conditioning if the heat got too much. One of the best parts about the festival, was despite having a large number of attendees, one never felt too crowded. The venue gave everyone the feel of having plenty of space to hang out, dance, or whatever you wanted to do! The grounds were also beautiful, with fountains and a racetrack where they usually hold the horse races.
Kaaboo Del Mar was a festival that truly did have something for everyone. We can’t wait to see what they come up with for their third year!
