CRSSD Festival 2022 Review

Paije Kantor | October 03, 2022

FNGRS CRSSD kicked off the Fall 2022 festival season with their flagship CRSSD Festival at Waterfront Park, San Diego on September 23-24. The event featured a shocking amount of talent, dazzling decor, and surplus of amenities that kept fans comfortable and excited for a full weekend of dancing.

The CRSSD Festival lineup heavily leaned into the full range that house and techno genres had to offer, as well as several indie artists to round out the main stage. The City Steps techno stage presented a range of techno subgenres from industrial to melodic sounds by artists from across the globe, including the likes of Richie Hawtin, Sven Vath, Stephan Bozdin, VTSS, and more. The standout sets came from Testpilot and Reinier Zonneveld who kept all generations of techno fans bouncing nonstop. The primarily house stage located near the main entrance of the park featured legends such as AC Slater and Wax Motif, kitschy sampling by The Avalanches, the groovy flow of Dom Dolla and Mochakk, and headliner FatBoy Slim to close.

Lastly, the Ocean View main stage was adorned by many heavily electronically-influenced pop and indie acts, notably Jamie xx, Fred Again.., Duck Sauce, Cannons, L’Impératrice, and many more. The current innovator Fred Again.. performed a beautiful set depicting feel-good visuals, added production by his musical partner Tony, and his impactful vocals at the forefront. His set was much more concert-like, rather than a typical DJ set– different from his hyped Boiler Room appearance– which created an unexpected ambient atmosphere. The duality between his Boiler Room and CRSSD performances emphasizes his capacity for range, and impressive adaptability to any crowd or festival.

As expected, the Waterfront Park venue is a standout aspect of any event located on the premises. As a public park, the venue comes with some stricter rules than others, but is a completely fair tradeoff for the spectacular Mission Bay and downtown views. Most notably, hydropacks are prohibited from the grounds, so attendees are encouraged to bring a plastic water bottle in order to utilize the free water stations. The location is additionally convenient due to the close proximity to Little Italy, which houses dozens of amazing food and hotel choices for after CRSSD Fest. Within the festival, CRSSD displayed a gorgeous merchandise stand, as well as lots of food options including pizza, acai bowls, sushi, mac and cheese, coffee, and more. The layout of Waterfront Park was optimized by strategically placing all three stages in an orientation that completely mitigated sound-bleed while maintaining easy access to the crowd.

Finally, CRSSD beautifully accentuated the venue’s natural features with stunning decor. Both the City Steps and The Palms stages were shaded, which kept the temperatures in the crowds comfortable. In particular, The Palms was adorned with extravagant foliage and hanging parasols above, creating a paradisiacal vibe reminiscent of festivals in Tulum. FNGRS CRSSD has become well accustomed to Waterfront Park, allowing the team to cultivate the best atmosphere and experience for all attendees.

CRSSD Festival of Fall 2022 was a fantastic experience that brought constant smiles to faces throughout the festival grounds. The house, techno, and indie crowds mixed beautifully to generate an atmosphere akin to paradise. The talent booking, organization, decorative, and logistics teams each performed flawlessly to execute FNGRS CRSSD’s largest event of the year, fueling excitement for what the future holds for the collective.

Photos courtesy of CRSSD Festival (Felicia Garcia/ @fixationphotography, Keiki Knudsen/ @imkeiki, Daniela Becerra/ @itskinderella, Kristina Bakrevski/ @kristinabakrevski)