The San Diego music fest returned to Embarcadero Park North with Freddie Gibbs, Overmono, Nourished By Time & more
It’s A Wonderfront Life.
The downtown San Diego music festival returned to picturesque Embarcadero Marina Park North for a fantastic weekend of live music and culture – entertaining a diverse crowd stoked to let loose and soak in the event’s uniquely laid-back, zoned-out vibes. Headlining acts like Peggy Gou, Anderson .Paak, and Khruangbin entertained the masses on a stage that jetted out into the San Diego Harbor, injecting that dazzling SoCal maritime atmosphere into a fest that was already high on positive vibes. Even some slightly sketchy weather on Saturday couldn’t put a damper on things; in fact, the light drizzle may have even added to it.
In any case, the musical experience was on par with the excellent past editions of Wonderfront, with acts like Freddie Gibbs, Nourished by Time, Isaiah Rashad, and many more getting the up-close and personal photographic treatment this past weekend. The diversity of the lineup was truly remarkable; everything from the more beat-driven genres like rap, reggae, EDM, and R&B to guitar music like indie, punk, funk-soul, alternative rock, and more. Here’s how things played out through our lens.
Kicking off Friday to a small, but enthusiastic crowd at the intimate Sierra Nevada Hazy Stage was the cult R&B sensation Nourished By Time, whose EP Erotic Probiotic 2 captivated the internet’s musical underground and catapulted him from DIY no-name to a fully-fledged rising star in the indie world. Of course, there’s a reason why he’s built so much hype; he’s just THAT good.
With his deep, silky vocals, stuttering drum machines, and groovy lo-fi synth loops, Nourished By Time’s set was a spellbinding display of one-man-band bedroom pop bliss. On tracks like “Max Potential” and “Hell of a Ride,” he flexed his jaw-dropping crooning skills while exuding the kind of rapturous, heartfelt stage presence that had the crowd in the palm of his hand from start-to-finish. His dry humor in between tracks – including cracks about being in San Diego for the first time – provided a bit of tongue-in-cheek levity as well. It was a set that balanced nostalgic and forward-thinking sounds and hit the future-revivalist sweet spot – an early afternoon gem for those lucky enough to get in the gates so early.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Wonderfront experience without a healthy dose of local talent. Enter Saint Luna, one of the best and most buzzed-about San Diego acts breaking out these days. The five-piece group – former DIY kids and staples of the Che Café and house show scene for years – played to a small but rollicking crowd at the stunning Harbor Stage, which directly overlooked the harbor and Coronado across the bay.
It was a perfect scenic backdrop for the local boys, who conjured their buzzing brand of surfy psychedelic indie rock with the kind of telepathic energy that only a band of former college buddies could manage. They even threw in an explosive cover of Tame Impala’s “Half Glass Full of Wine” before playing a number of new, unreleased tracks for a crowd eager to learn more about them. They also served some serious looks – just check out the “bass face” on bassist Tanner Lampugnale above. Pure shredding vibes through and through. Go ahead and give these guys a spin before they blow up.
You might think that the English IDM staples Overmono would be a strange pick for a laid-back, sunny vibes type of fest like Wonderfront, and normally you’d be correct. Typically, you’d find the duo cranking out their dark, ominous 2-step and future garage in some kind dimly-lit warehouse, or a late night set on a side stage at a massive EDM festival somewhere. But with the grey, downcast vibes on Friday afternoon, their slithery sounds actually fit like a glove at the Events.com Stage.
You knew the set was gonna be doozy when they led off with “IS U.” That track is like a cheat code, treading through murky waters and able to provoke and galvanize a crowd right onto their side, which they managed with ease. Many of the Isaiah Rashad or Daniel Caesar campers may not have heard of them before, but they certainly took notes, watching in awe as the duo utilized a bevy of synths, drum machines, and mixing boards to conjure a propulsive array of glitchy beats and mysterious moods. UK garage, jungle, and even a dash of post-dubstep kept audiences on their toes and guessing at every turn. Even at a normally chilled-out festival like Wonderfront, there’s never a bad time to get gritty and grimy. Overmono was that time.
TDE rapper Isaiah Rashad might be one of the most underrated MCs in the game, but that hasn’t stopped him from garnering a devout following that absolutely turns up wherever he plays. The crowds camped out hours early at the Cypress Ascendant Stage to get a good spot for him, and as it turns out, he was in quite the celebratory mood. It was his birthday, after all, and the crowd showed him the love by serenading him with a loud rendition of “Happy Birthday. But before that, the Los Angeles rapper delivered one fiery verse after another.
His DJ warmed up the crowd with a hyperactive mix of hip-hop classics before Rashad came out and delivered. He quickly dipped into his hits, including a heavy performance of “Stuck in the Mud,” inspiring the crowd to throw their hands up and groove with a feeling of palpable reckless abandon. Not bad for his first live show in almost a year. He also debuted a new track, and if it’s any indication, his next era is going to be a ferocious one.
Duke Dumont has always been a reliable EDM DJ-producer – a veteran of the early 2010s big room EDM boom who’s always been a bit more nuanced and interesting than most of his peers from that era. Back over at the Events.com Stage, his set was steeped in layers of nostalgia – a mix of electro, progressive, and deep house that blended old school faves, modern singalong hits, and underground classics with technical finesse and velocity.
It was also notable that it was such a minimal, no-frills set that eschewed the usual visuals bells and whistles, keeping his and the crowd’s focus on the deep rhythms and flickering beats. The crowds were dancing and vibing as far as the eyes could see. There was a communal magic to being at Marina Park North – jetting out into the bay, surrounded by water, and feeling the buildings of downtown hovering over you. With blast beats dialed up to 11, Dumont got the party started early.
Former DIY garage rockers Mexican Slum Rats have broken out in a big way the past couple of years, playing bigger shows and climbing music festival bills with effortless cool. The Los Angeles five-piece – two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a saxophone player – absolutely wilded out at the Harbor Stage during the sunset hour, encouraging the crowd to slam dance and mosh along to their hypnotic garage-punk and alt rock stylings.
The Harbor Stage is one of the smaller ones at the festival, but it suited Mexican Slum Rats perfectly as they brought that rowdy, intimate house show energy while overlooking the gorgeous San Diego Bay. Singer-guitarist Kevin Villalba proved to be the best frontman of the fest, serving eye-popping, expressive looks while dishing out scorching riffs and overall incendiary energy. Even with the smaller crowd, it felt like they were bringing an entire stadium of fans to their knees. Just wait until they get there.
Perhaps the top highlight was Freddie Gibbs, aka Gangsta Gibbs, aka Freddie Kane, aka Big Boss Rabbit, aka The Steel City Stick-Up Kid. The rapper with way too many nicknames, hailing from Gary, Indiana, is one of the most beloved underground/alternative hip-hop acts of all time. He hadn’t played San Diego in years, meaning the crowd who gathered to check him out was simply enthralled to see him do his thing up there. Which is to say, rap his motherfuckin’ ass off.
As his DJ warmed up the crowd with a run of savage hip-hop classics, an eerie, tense feeling ignited in the crowd, like they were ready to absolutely explode. The lid popped off seconds after Gibbs took to the Sierra Nevada Hazy Stage, rolling into a setlist that blended Alchemist-produced tracks like “God is Perfect,” “Babies and Fools,” and “Something To Rap About” with Madlib-produced tracks like “Thuggin,'” “Gat Damn,” and “Crime Pays.” The many fans in attendance rapped lines back at him on command, bringing the communal vibe to a peak. Eventually, he left the stage and returned for an encore, performing one of his signature $oul $old $eparately hits “Big Boss Rabbit.” Of course, you always want to leave them craving more, and based on the ravenous response from the crowd, I think we’ll be following Freddie Gibbs into the dark for many more years to come. The perfect end to another euphoric edition of Wonderfront.
Of course, Wonderfront wouldn’t be what it is without the atmosphere – the crowd, the exceptional selection of food and beverages, the downtown skyline and oceanic views at Embarcadero Marina Park North, and all those little artistic production details that kept things lively and colorful. That includes cute, intricately-crafted booths, art sculptures, and the quaint electric lounge that had the raver crowd dancing from opening to closing.
But most of all, it’s the people that keeps you coming back. There wasn’t a single bad vibe to be found on the entire grounds, but really, it’s impossible to have a bad time at Wonderfront. So that all tracks. Feel free to scroll through the gallery below for the rest of the highlights from another triumphant year.
All Photos by Jeff Cubbison
