Courtesy of CRSSD Festival // Keiki-Lani Knudsen
Empire of the Sun, Brutalismus 3000, Yousuke Yukimatsu & more deliver a rowdy party at Waterfront Park
There’s nothing quite like CRSSD. The biannual San Diego ritual once again turned Waterfront Park into a kaleidoscope of rhythm, color, and movement — palm trees swaying, planes swooping overhead, the ocean and harbor shimmering at the edges of the dance floor. The atmosphere was pure SoCal magic: sun-drenched afternoons giving way to neon-lit nights, a rowdy but respectful crowd losing themselves in beats that ranged from hypnotic minimalism to maximalist rave chaos. It was a weekend that reminded you why CRSSD has earned its status as one of America’s most beloved tastemaker festivals in EDM.
Blawan, the renowned UK industrial heavyweight and one-half of Karenn – wasted no time setting a brutal tone at City Steps. Armed with nothing but vinyl, he tore through an uncompromising set of hard techno, glitch-driven distortion, and industrial pummel. The sun was merciless, the air heavy, but none of it slowed him down. A stagehand even dragged out an umbrella to shield his pale English complexion — a moment of levity amidst relentless sound. Watching him flip through records and curate in real time was a highlight in itself. It was a proper schooling in techno fundamentals: raw, physical, and utterly banger-laden from start to finish.
Over on the Ocean View stage, NYC’s Fcukers offered a breezy counterpoint with their polished live setup. A tight unit of bass, drums, synths, and vocals, they delivered a smooth hybrid of synth-pop sparkle and dance-punk strut. Tracks like “Play Me,” “Bon Bon,” and “Homie Don’t Shake” translated effortlessly from studio to stage, locking the crowd into a sun-kissed groove. It wasn’t the flashiest set of the weekend, but it was reliable, fun, and hinted at big things ahead for the buzzy duo.
Meanwhile, Boys Noize, one of the most well-known veteran names on the program, brought a broad palette — progressive house, speed garage, and BPM experimentation — but the result felt slightly at odds with the techno-leaning ethos of City Steps. While the set was technically solid, it lacked the bite and edge longtime fans have come to expect from him. At times, it seemed better suited for The Palms stage’s house-driven energy than the raw, hard-hitting “business techno” vibe of Steps. Not a disaster by any stretch, but ultimately one of the weekend’s more forgettable offerings.
Dan Snaith’s Caribou is always a festival highlight, and CRSSD was no exception. With a full band behind him — drums, bass, synths — he stretched songs into improvisational, proggy crescendos that felt equal parts IDM wizardry and live jam session. Visuals of shifting geometric patterns bathed the crowd in a hypnotic glow, while the lighting moved in perfect harmony with the emotional thrust of each track. Caribou doesn’t just play live, he conjures a full-spectrum experience. Classic Caribou tracks like “Odessa,” “Sun,” and the euphoric set-closer “Can’t Do Without You” were utterly galvanizing and enchanting in every way. Pure magic from one of electronic music’s most consistently dazzling performers.
If Blawan was the blunt hammer and Caribou the kaleidoscope, KETBOI69 was pure calculated chaos. The b2b superduo of Kettama and Partiboi69 whipped City Steps into overflow mode with a party-starting arsenal of tech-house heaters, wild drops, and cheeky curveballs. Every peak felt like it might blow the speakers; every valley felt like a breath before another frenzy. They capped things off with the Blade blood rave anthem — a perfect, over-the-top flourish that sent the crowd into absolute delirium. Don’t underestimate a man who DJs under the name Partiboi69.
Japan’s Yousuke Yukimatsu, riding the momentum of a viral Boiler Room set, lived up to his reputation for boundary-obliteration. His set was less a genre exercise than a surrealist collage: 100 gecs, Mariah Carey, dubstep wobbles, breakbeats, trap drops, Skrillex-adjacent chaos — anything and everything he felt like throwing in. At times the energy wavered as he played with mood, but his ability to weave disparate sounds into something coherent was remarkable. The crowd was alternately confused, delighted, and awestruck — and that unpredictability made it one of the most talked-about sets of the weekend.
Few acts can close a festival stage quite like Empire of the Sun, and their Ocean View finale was nothing short of spellbinding. The Australian duo transformed Waterfront Park into a surreal theater, blending dazzling lights, elaborate costumes, and larger-than-life stage props into a show that felt equal parts EDM spectacle and vaudeville dream sequence. Their breezy synth-pop anthems rang out with euphoric clarity, with “We Are the People” and “Walking on a Dream” uniting the crowd in a shimmering, sing-along climax. Equal parts performance art and dance party, it was a triumphant send-off — the kind of set that lingers in memory long after the lights fade.
But CRSSD’s finale truly belonged to Brutalismus 3000, and they left nothing standing. The Berlin duo unleashed a set that was equal parts gabber, punk-energy spectacle, and pop-tinted surprise. Their biggest hits collided with heartfelt remixes of Avicii and Dido, transforming nostalgia into rave catharsis. Visually commanding, sonically relentless, and emotionally unguarded, Brutalismus 3000 proved themselves not just a cult act, but future superstars. It was the perfect chaotic exclamation point to close out the Steps and the festival itself.
Ultimately, CRSSD 2025 delivered exactly what it always promises: two days of sunshine, ocean breezes, and a crash course in the full spectrum of electronic sound. From the uncompromising pummel of early-afternoon techno to the kaleidoscopic beauty of Caribou and the wild spectacle of Brutalismus 3000, the weekend reminded everyone why this festival has become a cornerstone of the global dance calendar. Equal parts laid-back and ecstatic, CRSSD is still the place where San Diego feels the capital of the electronic underground — at least for one unforgettable weekend.
