CRSSD Festival Spring 2023: Festival Recap

Festival Season 2023 has officially started for Southern California as FNGRS CRSSD hosted their spring edition of CRSSD Festival, a two-day event packed with amazing artist sets and great vibes. 

Since 2015, Waterfront Park has become home to CRSSD Festival, welcoming techno and house enthusiasts to San Diego twice a year. Since then, FNGRS CRSSD has earned the honor of holding one of the best dance music festivals in the Southern California region, if not the whole state. 2023 was no different as the promotor held its CRSSD Festival Spring edition from March 4-5, curating an amazing time for festival goers, as well as featuring a killer line-up composed of artists such as ODESZA, Purple Disco Machine, Lane 8, Becky Hill, Polo & Pan and many more. Read on as we dive into the highlights of CRSSD Festival Spring 2023!  

The Venue

Located in the heart of the harbor and downtown, Waterfront Park makes for a breathtaking venue, adding on to the many positive experiences CRSSD Festival has to offer. Although there was only one entrance into the venue, security and staff kept the line moving quickly and efficiently. Before you know it, you’ve made your way through security and are welcomed into the festival grounds by the thumping bass of The Palms stage. As you make your way even further into the festival grounds, the rhythm begins to change into hard techno kicks of the City Steps stage, followed by the vocals of live acts playing at the Ocean View stage. Given how small the venue is, it’s honestly pretty impressive how the promoter’s stage layout makes it feel like a huge multi-stage festival.  

Need a drink or food to keep the party going? Head toward the middle of the venue where you have many food and drink options! Although there were lines at times, they did move very quickly no matter which one you decided to wait in. The restrooms are located across from the food and drink section, separating the two components from potentially creating cross traffic. Overall, the layout of the venue flows very smoothly from one component into another, creating the best adult playground one could ask for. With that being said, CRSSD’s venue layout is the definition of the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” considering that not much has changed since 2015 (obviously things here and there have changed to fine-tune the experience).

The Music 

CRSSD Festival is well-known for bringing some of the best electronic talent to San Diego, and this year’s lineup was no exception. Day one standouts were loud and made their presence known as they brought their techno beats to the City Steps stage. Once the sun was down at Waterfront Park, Italian producer/DJ Anfisa Letyago took center stage, kicking things up another level as she brought her fast techno peak time groove to the masses. Following Anfisa at City Steps was Space 92 and Popof’s B2B set that continued Anfisa’s high energy and last but not least UMEK, who had the honor to close the stage with an electrifying set from start to finish. Another day-one set worthy of a mention is that of Australian producer Mall Grab, who kept things stripped back and minimal, yet atmospheric at The Palms stage.

Day two was one for the books as festival goers returned to Waterfront Park for one last day filled with insane talent. Sheldon Young, known professionally as Channel Tres, brought his rhythmic, multi-genre blend known as “Compton House” to the Ocean View stage. Following him was no other than Anjunadeep favorite Lane 8, who played a dynamic set composed of deep house, progressive house, as well as some melodic techno tracks. Last, but not least on the ticket at Ocean View was GRAMMY®-nominated duo ODESZA, the headliner many had been waiting for all weekend long to see. The Seattle-based duo brought their all as they showcased an amazing production filled with eye-catching visuals, live drums and instrumental elements. A cinematic masterpiece is the best way to describe their emotional and powerful set that was clearly a crowd favorite. 

The People 

Given that the festival is 21+ and that its lineups tend to be heavily house and techno-based, it’s safe to say that FNGRS CRSSD curates to a more mature festival goer. Due to this, the majority of those in attendance are vibrant, yet very easygoing. Everyone is there for the same reason, and that is to have a good time while listening to amazing music. Although the crowd can be a bit hectic at times, especially at Ocean View (more specifically during ODESZA’s set), the two other stages were easier to navigate with everyone giving each other enough space to walk around and to dance the night away. Something that stands out immediately upon entering the venue is how happy everyone was to be there, and that is all brought to you by what FNGRS CRSSD has been able to accomplish at Waterfront Park, and that is creating a successful intimate-sized event for an amazing community of people.

If you consider yourself a house and/or techno enthusiast, then CRSSD is a festival that you must attend and experience. For more info on future editions, keep your eyes trained on their website.

Main Image Courtesy of CRSSD Fest // Juliana Bernstein @gettiny