Claire Pham | News Editor
May 21, 2024
This past weekend, the 3rd ever Wonderfront Music Festival took place in San Diego. Wonderfront debuted in 2019, was canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, and came back strong in 2022 starring Cage The Elephant and Gwen Stefani. However in 2023, the stage went dark again, leaving questions of whether the festival would recover. Yet, when the 2024 lineup was announced, it did not disappoint. This year’s festival offered music for everyone with rock, indie rock, hip hop, EDM, rap, reggae, pop, and top Latin performers.
On Friday, a sold-out audience of 15,000 people attended. Friday’s hip-hop and electronic dance music lineup brought in artists like Dayglow, BAKAR, and Joey Bada$$ followed by headliners, house artist Kaytranada, and rapper JID. Senior Bella Schmitt stated that the craziest experience was “Bakar sitting in the middle of the crowd singing ‘Hell N Back’ right in front of [her].”
Saturday’s crowd was nearly just as big with 14,200 people. The lineup had a more pop and rock-centered lineup with artists like Carly Rae Jepson, Sun Room, and Milky Chance. Both headliners brought different things: Dominic Fike stole the show with his electrifying performance, while Weezer drew in the older crowd. Sunday drew in the smallest crowd with 10,000 people. The lineup was the most diverse featuring Beck, Mt. Joy, and Natasha Beningfield who performed her platinum hit “Unwritten.”
The festival took place alongside the San Diego Bay at Embarcadero Marina Park with four outdoor stages, an EDM dance club, two free-admission stages, and a 400-capacity boat stage. The festival was fueled by local San Diego favorites from food trucks to street vendors to restaurants along Little Italy and the Gaslamp Quarter.
During the day, festival-goers could take on the game zone, hit the beach, rent jet skis, check out the art installations, or ride the ferry to Coronado Island. Senior Brooklyn Giles said, “The venue being on the water made it an amazing atmosphere with the best crowd.” Hopefully, the Wonderfront Festival will become a long-lasting tradition in San Diego.
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