Parking sucks, long lines to get in, whole place smells like trash and urine. What's new? Typical music festival. Came here for 1 day during the most recent one and it was decent. The admission price was average for a music festival. There are several stages playing different genres of music to cater to everyone. Headliner was decent this year. I thought the sound quality at some of the stages were horrible. The hot air balloon ride was cool. The one wheelie area to try out the newest cool toy was cool. Overall it was a decent experience. read more

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I waited until after the final day of Kaaboo to give my review as the first day like any soft opening has some kinks to be worked out. It's the same for a music/food/comedy festival. My review comes from the position as a hang 10 which is the level just below the Ultimate Hang. I had a wonderful time this year and after they got the first day kinks worked out it was great. I was able to get my meet and greets worked in, saw several sets, and had a lot of fun. Hang 10 has their own pit up front plus an on stage platform. This year only one stage had platform viewing. Last year both stages had the platform. We have the opportunity to meet the artists and possibly see them in the Artists lounge. We have up front seating for the Humor me stage set and the side of the Palate n play stage (chefs demos and some music groups). I saw Richard Blias there. We have golf carts with drivers that take us between the stages and valet parking. We have lunch and dinner service and drinks. I cant think of a better staycation than Kaaboo! read more

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What is KAABOO? It is a the perfect excuse to attend a music festival and have the opportunity to see my two favorite bands! It is like being amongst so many amazing musicians and bands, comedians, artists and not knowing which one to see or listen to first! When I heard the line up was going to include The Foo Fighters and Incubus I had to go. I contacted my pal who will do just about anything with me and who just happens to live in San Diego (bonus)!! The festival takes place in early September and is held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. We decided to catch an Uber from her home which is only 15 minutes away from the party and that way we did not have to fuss with parking or traffic. So glad we did it this way as getting there was a little crazy but our driver was so skilled and talented, he got us there in record time. Upon arrival, we caught the tram to take us all to the main entrance. Security checked out backpacks, we walked in and headed for the fun. KAABOO is huge and takes up the entire fairgrounds. If you aren't in good physical shape, you may find it difficult to get around. There is a good amount of walking back and forth all around. If the heat bothers you, another issue but being from Las Vegas I can definitely handle the heat and I embrace it. There is so much variety of tasty food offerings and libations available all around the festival. The offerings ranged from pizza, lobster tacos, greek food, chicken fingers, etc. There was an area inside one of the buildings for the artists to display and exhibit their work along with a couple of wine bars. Art was also on display all around the festival in murals or "live" . Prices were a little high depending on the food you selected and the alcoholic drinks were really pricey. I paced myself and drank a lot of water and had a couple drinks only in the evening. There were many vendors offering free tastes and snacks which was a great addition. I appreciated that one of the vendors provided sunscreen to all of us as this was a hot September day in SD. Photo opportunities were abundant and I probably missed quite a few of them. At some point, you gotta put away the phone and just enjoy yourself. The music stages were easy to locate and the bands began their sets timely. We did purchase pool passes too, however, once we saw how small the pool (tip - don't waste your money) was we changed our minds but we hung out in the lounge chairs and watched a couple of sets of various artists nearby. The acoustics from each stage were incredible and seeing so many artists in one place was so exciting for a die hard music fan like me. Restrooms were not porta-potties (YAY!) and everywhere which was a plus. The comedy shows were held in a smaller venue and tickets were limited (kind of a bummer). Lots of choices in terms of how much you want to spend on your ticket. Of course the more you spend on your ticket, the better your viewing opportunities are along with treatment. I never witnessed anyone that was over the top drunk or out of control and I believe KAABOO offers a little something for all ages although personally I wouldn't take kids as when I am at a festival I want to cut loose and not worry about entertaining a child. Leaving was easy and we got lucky catching an Uber just across the street and were home in no time. No muss, no fuss! Thanks KAABOO! Fantastic festival and one of the best times I had in 2018!! read more

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After a fun first year at KAABOO 2015...the husband and I returned again for 2016! A great line-up of music topped the previous year in variety...with the selection we purchased a 3 day "Hang Five" pass. All pass holders were invited to a special performance night which took place the evening prior to festival opening! We enjoyed a preview of art and music. Free beverages, food and a lively performance by Chris Isaak started the weekend off right! Headliners this year included: * Jimmy Buffet * Aerosmith * Jack Johnson Some other bands we saw perform... Macy Gray, Gin Blossoms, Third Eye Blind, The Avett Brothers, Blues Traveler, Lenny Kravitz and Hall and Oates. Benefits of a pass: * Reserved seating and viewing platforms * Reservations for comedy shows and center seating at cooking demonstrations * VIP restrooms, lounges and valet parking Personal Highlights for 2016: * Seeing Hall and Oates for the first time and sitting in with our favorite comedians, Garfunkel and Oates at the same festival * Going to our first silent disco party * The Butter lounge set-up and swag, charging station, beverage selection, souvineer Govino wine glasses, and beach balls * Richard Blais cooking event with nitrogen...free cookbook and t-shirt giveaways * The schedule, talent, performances, lighting and sound Favorite Booths (Food and Beverage) in 2016: * Swell Coffee * Puesto * Poutine Your Mouth * MallowMallow * JaM Cellars (Butter Chardonnay) Boo Kaaboo: * Need for more traffic control in and out of the festival and training for staff and volunteers * Must improve overbooked venue and crowd control * Could create separate lines for wine/beer (less time) and cocktails (more time). Many first time fesival fans thought they were in a line for what was marked. * Should work on beverage selection and pricing (craft beer @ $18, even Disney doesn't charge $18 for craft beer). * Preferred the 2015 festival layout over 2016 - it just seemed to flow better. To Kaaboo or not to Kaaboo - it is up to you! Festival life is what you make it! As I mentioned in my 2015 review, if you go in with expectations, you may be dissappointed. Sometimes, its good to let things come to you organically and you will have a totally new festival experience, as we did in 2016! #KAABOO2016 #FestivalLife #HangFive read more

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I've been to a few music festivals, aside from a stocked lineup, the grounds/vendors tend to make or break the event. For me, KAABOO 2018 delivered in all these areas. As it relates to shortcomings my best advice is to just chill and roll with it. First, the Uber situation getting out was horrible. After a long day the last thing you want to do is walk even more to some remote area and then wait with thousands of people for an Uber. I don't have the answers on how to fix it, but, there MUST be a better way. I quickly grew impatient and we walked back to our hotel, 1.5 miles. This became our daily routine. You can always park on the grounds for $50, or there is a satellite location (1+miles) which is $35. Second, the grounds are sprawling, so if you are not fit, good luck! Aside from standing the majority of the day, we walked 8+ miles daily, so you will be exhausted when your head hits the pillow at night. I can't fault KAABOO, walking is part of the festival atmosphere. Aside from the above minor gripes, it was an amazing weekend, filled with rock, pop, and comedy. We saw some old favorites (Foo Fighters), rising stars (Halsey) and groups on the rise (Sitting On Stacy). The comedy option (Pauly Shore) was a nice deviation, besides, it was airconditioned and had seats! KAABOO has designated concert standing areas depending on your ticket level. I had the hang five ticket which was $800, versus the pink (general) @ $250, or the premium level, hang ten @$2,700. I felt the hang five was a good deal, it had close stage viewing areas, padded astroturf standing areas, separate bars, and depending on the stage, segregated clean/air-conditioned bathrooms. The food is good for such a large event, they have food trucks and tents with a variety of fares to choose from. Cost was as expected, $15-$25/plate, while a 16oz Coors Light was around $12. You need to explore the entire grounds because there are tons-o-options, sushi, BBQ, pizza, burgers, fries, desserts, chicken wings, Indian food, Greek food, Mexican food, etc. As it relates to the music, the acoustics were solid regardless of the stage. They do a great job of spacing their 4 music stages so that the sound from acts doesn't interfere with each other. The variety of music is fantastic, there is something for everyone. As it relates to drunk concert goers, we didn't see an abundance of overconsumption, minimal drunk idiots. Generally speaking it was a well-behaved, polite crowd. As another reviewer said, it would have taken us years and many times the money to see these great acts so we left with a huge smile. I would not hesitate to go back to KAABOO. How my KAABOO musical experience played out; Day#1: Everclear, English Beat, Sitting On Stacy, Jimmy Eat World, Incubus, Blondie, Halsey, Foo Fighters... Day#2: Soul Asylum, Better Than Ezra, Bebe Rexha, The Whalers, Stone Temple Pilots, Billy Idol, Cake, Earth Wind & Fire, Imagine Dragons... Day#3: Chelsea Cutler, Pauly Shore (comedy), TLC, Candlebox, The All American Rejects, Slash, Alice In Chains, Jewel, Robert Plant, and Katy Perry. read more

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Kaaboo is the Ancient Mayan God of harvest, bounty and new life. Your history teacher might've compared him to Bacchus, the Roman God of wine and revelry. According to Mayan legend, unlike other divinities -- Kaaboo is rift with flaws. He is considerably more human-like than his better known counterparts (Coachella, Lollapalooza). Kaaboo has been described as a "slow starter", only to get better as the days progress. As for our experience at the music and arts festival dubbed Kaaboo, the name is befitting. Allow me to explain... Del Mar's first ever music and arts fest promised high-end amenities, inspiring art murals, book talks, comedy acts, local chef delicacies, and craft libations alongside 7 stages of live rock-and-roll revelry. Upon arrival, we bagged lots of free festival schwag that Yelpers everywhere seem to cherish. (I have 3 pair red Yelp sunglasses and a slew of mints & frisbees if anyone is in need). But lets face it, has anything great ever happened while hungry? A place called Posh Nosh solved this problem by providing upscale grab-and-go gourmet eats. Here we savored a trio of pork, chicken, and shiitake "Bling Bling Dumplings". Then we got "Torch S'mored" by handcrafted mallows, grahams, and chocolate s'mores. A good start but much more work to do. The adjoining area known as "Palate" offered a tasting menu approach with an impressive array of small bites from 18 restaurants and chefs. At Palate we scored a Venissimo Cheese plate; a Puesto carnitas taco, Napizza Pizza al Taglio; Sausage & Meat bacon fat deviled eggs; and Kollar Chocolates. We paired these concoctions with various wine and beverage courses. Fan favorites were from Adobe Guadalupe, Belching Beaver, Chateau Montelena, and Domaine Artefact. A "who's who" of San Diego cuisine filled out the lineup: Agave Del Mar, Común Kitchen, Cucina Enoteca, Herringbone AND Searsucker, L'Auberge, Pamplemousse, Poseidon on the Beach, Saiko Sushi, and Sovereign Kitchen. Unique to this adventure was an area known as "Bask", a sandy beach club near the main stage. The worthy concept is to "bask" in the sun and music with a pool, cabanas, and DJ -- while servers offer up food and bar items. The musical performances were scheduled in an orderly fashion. From the lower-energy daytime acts like The Revivalists and Bonnie Raitt; transitioning to prime-time-worthy Foster the People, No Doubt, and Sheryl Crow, and wrapping up with the "go late or go home" electro-techno works of The Floozies and Griz. The headliner, Gwen Stefani gave it her all with a level of energy that started at the top and never let down. At one point she "channeled" Kaaboo by climbing the main stage's left metal support tower and sang her heart out as she reached the pinnacle. In summary, true-to-form -- Kaaboo was not perfect. Staff workers often had "deer-in-the-headlight" responses to our questions. Our wrist bands and passes wouldn't scan at times. Wine, provisions, people, and merch didn't always show up according to plan. Coors Light, Heineken, and Angry Orchard "over-showed" and were everywhere. But overall, I was glad to have received all of the harvest, bounty, and new life that Kaaboo had to offer. Looking past rookie transgressions, this was a festival of unforgettable experiences. A blissful vibe, "America's Finest" populace, pleasant sea views and breezes, wondrous food and drink, and sporadic trains cruising by in pitch-perfect rock-and-roll rhythm. The exact timing of which was truly supernatural and divine. #KAABOO2015 #NoDoubtAboutIt #AmericasFinest #FearThePortaPotty read more

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My fiancé and I had a great time at KAABOO this year. Overall it is a very chill festival that was very well run from our uber drop off to our uber pick up. All the staff was helpful and nice. The music had great quality and the set times were long enough. The main complaint is the price. While the early bird passes are pretty cheap, a one day pass if $100+ or a three day normal price is $400+ is very high for me unless this festival is going to get larger and the comedy section becomes larger. Overall I would definitely recommend, especially for someone looking for a relatively relaxing day of live music. read more

The premier of Kaaboo was the ultimate weekend escape! People came from all over to watch over 100 musical acts perform. I was lucky to be able to attend this music "festival" for free! It was located at the Del Mar Fairgounds on September 18-20. I couldn't make it all 3 days, but one day was enough for me. Although I wish I came on Friday, because that's when No Doubt was playing! There were a lot of goodies being passed out throughout the venue. I got free lip balm, lip gloss, a screen printed tote bag, backpack, chips, popcorn, coconut water, and healthy juices. It was a hot weekend and I'm glad they had hydration stations where you can fill up your water bottle with free water! There were also charging stations with cords, so your phone will never run out of battery. The lines weren't that bad for all the complimentary activities that were offered. I got my hair done and felt much better after my hair was braided. Even though there were 7 stages of live music, the main stage is where you want to be at the end of the night. The main stage had sand all over the floor and cabanas you can rent, which made for a nice beachy theme. Indoor entertainment featured live music also and a battle of the chefs, which I didn't get a chance to check out. I visited the art gallery and checked out all the food and libation stations before watching the Killers perform Sunday night. They had a lot of options for food in the "palate" area and even gourmet food that looked scrumptious, but it was on the expensive side for the portions you get. I ended up just getting some garlic fries and a popsicle. When it was time for the main event, it started getting crowded. There is only standing room unless you purchased VIP passes, but those areas are far from the stage. I'm glad I was able to check out this event and can't wait to see what they have in store for us next time! read more

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So a 3-day music festival, any music festival, is what you make of it. Yes, parking is a mess. KAABOO is at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and quite honestly, there is not good ingress/egress in the area. So, yeah, you have to have some patience. Roll down your windows, turn up the music, and enjoy the cool ocean breeze! If you choose to use a ride share - do yourself a favor and walk a half mile off the fairground property and pick up a ride away from the ride-share stop mess. But again, it's a festival...the crowd getting in and out is to be expected. Now - on to the festival itself. KAABOO has both improved and declined in areas over the last 4 years, but all said, still a fabulous event. They do a great job of spacing their 4 music stages so that the sound from acts doesn't interfere with each other. Add in comedy shows in a improv "theatre" (they convert a fairground exhibit hall into a theater setting), and a culinary experience stage with some of the top chefs of San Diego. Palate is another exhibit hall which has a plethora of food and drink selections on the perimeter of the room, with tons of unique and crazy artist installations and live art within the room. It's a very interesting, quirky vibe that I personally have not seen at another music festival. It's a great place to get out of the sun and relax for a few minutes. Food, drink, and advertising booths are throughout the entire fairgrounds. I saw some feedback that KAABOO needs to offer more food selections. I couldn't disagree more. The selection of food ranges from local food trucks, to pop ups from some of the top restaurants, to fast food options. There was sushi, bbq, pizza, burgers, fries, desserts, chicken wings, Indian food, Greek food, Mexican food, beer, wine, liquor....the list goes on and on. Literally could be looked at as a food and drink festival in addition to music. And then the music lineup. So great. There is something for everyone, and such great line-ups on all four stages that the only negative other than 'parking/ride-share' issues is how to choose what to go see. As always there are some festival trolls. They are everywhere and you just have to try to avoid them and shrug it off. But as Dave Grohl said, where else can you go to a music festival with the ocean in the background and trains zooming by? ;) Great job KAABOO! See you again next year! read more

First time making it out to Kaaboo for the 2017 Event. Location: Located in San Diego at the Del Mar Fair Grounds. Parking: Parking sucks as it cost $40 for regular parking, it's on a dirt lot that's muddy, and you have to walk a ways to the entrance. Venue: Place is large with plenty of sections for the different stages, events, food vendors, bar areas, and art sections. Event: They did a great job keeping most artist right on schedule, having a lot of vendors give out free shirts, bags, Tea, and Prices. Lots of sections to chill and relax in shaded areas, phone charging stations, and much more. Price: Rates was normal compared to all other festival events. Probably wouldn't come back again next year unless I got free tickets, but would recommend people to check it out at least once if they can. read more

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First time attending Kaboo! Came on a Friday and I must say I was surprised that it wasn't crazy packed. Parking was easy and well organized, people were friendly and respectable for the most part and the lineup was good. In short, drinks and food are going to obviously be a little pricey as expected for these events. Open to all ages, plenty of food and drink options and worth the experience. Would I go again....depends. Why? I was fortunate enough to go on a free ticket but knowing how much it was, if I was to pay for it, lineup would need to justify it. Also not a big fan of teeny boppers who feels that they are entitled...lots and lots of them who push their way through the crowds with no regards to others who have been patiently waiting to see the artists. read more

Kaaboo - Coolest bartender "Refill" - Festivals Near Me - Del Mar, California

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I've been going every year since it's been in Del Mar. I've really enjoyed it and they've worked out a lot of the poor structuring/locations of the stages after 2-3 years. I enjoy the lineups most years. This last year they took a step back. They seemed to care more about money. They now charge for laugh passes so tack that on to the already $12-15 per beverage cost. If you watch the headliners there's no way you'll make it into the night comedy show from the general admission line. I enjoyed the main bands this year but they were all mellow. The mellowness was the same for most of the bands throughout all of the days. There wasn't much excitement in the lineup. If you go the whole day it makes for long days. So make sure to sit down as much as you can. This year there was mainly seating on the hot blacktop which made for a poor experience. They took away the grass and sand from the general admission area. They're moving to downtown San Diego and it's unfortunate as I liked not having to go to downtown as it is busier. But looks like they're trying to make more money. Undecided if I'm going to go next year. read more

Definitely got "Fyre Island"! 'This is the most expensive county fair I've ever been to. I was at Del Mar fairgrounds a few months ago for All American Rejects. However, I paid $12 to see them perform so no love lost when the concert was just meh. Kaaboo 2019 too much money for what you got. 1. Why in the world did they overlap the bigger names? I wanted to see Wu-Tang and Snopp perform but we also wanted to see Kings of Leon. There was about a 15 minute span between the two artists so you had to choose which one you wanted to see. 2. The art looked like county fair blue ribbon my pig drew this type of mess. But to be fair there were some cool western artwork we appreciated. Just the presentation...smh! So I'm not sure why they were advertising this as art festival as well when I don't recall seeing any cool art installation 3. Lines for food and alcohol were insanely long 4. The Uber situation sucked so bad! Literally had to wait an hour for your Uber to navigate through the craziness. And the driver had no clue what station to pick us up from as it was clearly not organized. 5. Kings were great. They are just a solid band. They played an awesome set. Why I'm giving two stars. However, the special effects and light show...definite nod to the early 90's. Nobody wants to see that. read more

Wanna see what a zombie apocalypse feels like? Go to Kaboo. Saturday night was a mess. I got there a bit later to see Goo Goo dolls and other headliners. Couldn't get even into the stage area for Goo Goo dolls - it was too packed without enough room, or broad enough sound, for people to listen to them. This was the theme of the night. The art and the local food was the only pro of the night. Way over priced though. So after paying $24 for my modelo michelada, I had to choose between the 2 headliners Aerosmith and Chainsmokers. We chose Chainsmokers due to the bigger stage area. Both shows ended AT THE SAME TIME. And both stages had the same general traffic flow pattern which resulted in mass chaos. I got gridlocked in people for 30 min or more and literally couldn't move. People were having panic attacks. Everyone was trying to get to the building (yes the building!) where the remaining bands were playing RAC and Ludacris. Clearly only 5% of the festival attendees could fit in this building so it created a riot and resulted in the police coming. Like come on Kaboo organizers, how could you not foresee this outcome? Your 2 headliners ending at the same time and the next acts were in a building that probably only fit 5% of the crowd. That's asking for problems and really, really dangerous. Then to top it all off when we finally could get out, people had no where to go. Grid locked parking, people running on the streets, lyft and uber lines were crazy, people honking, police etc. it was bad. Lyft was $90 home. We just walked up the streets north about a mile to get away from it all and had a friend come get us. Not coming back. read more

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I didn't enjoy Kaaboo. Maybe it was because last weekend it was blisteringly hot being enclosed at the Del Mar racetrack/fairgrounds. Maybe it was because my friends showed up five hours after I did so I was wandering around alone for almost all of it. Maybe it was because I went too early, at 1PM when most of the music started, when most people arrived around 5PM. Yay, got all the cool swag before it ran out! Boo, was burned out by the time Brandon Flowers came on with The Killers! Maybe because, except for the top headliners (No Doubt, Zac Brown Band, The Killers), the lineup wasn't that impressive. Maybe because it was hyped up and billed as a high-end version of Coachella (with gourmet food! With chairs! With shade!), and it was just a music festival. Maybe because it was $150 and I felt like it was worth $75 to me, or at least under $100. I would only go again if the lineup was better and I had at least ONE friend to hang with. But for the positives, it really was well organized overall, and if you boil it down, it actually did deliver on what was promised: 100 music acts, 7 stages, and foodie fare and classy drinks galore. I attended just on Sunday and watched: --O.A.R. --part of Minnie Driver and part of Switchfoot --Grace Potter --Train (my favorite of the day, even though I am not a Train or Pat Monahan fan -- the guy put on a great show and I guarantee you that you could sing along to 8 of the songs because they are that well played on radio) --part of JJ Grey and Mofro (only caught 2 songs but it reminded how seriously JJ Grey has one of the best and most soulful voices in music right now, hands down) --MarchFourth, a unique circus-freak-show-meets-big-band that featured crazy costumes and Angie the Acrobat (Acro-Angie) --stood in line for comedian and SNL-alum Tim Meadows but they shooed us away because it filled up --half of the set for The Killers (the headliner). I was just burned out and Brandon played my five favorite songs first so there was no reason to stay. Unfortunately all the best bands were scheduled later in the day and playing concurrently so they forced you to choose wisely. So, I didn't catch Ben Harper or 311. Maybe if I was able to catch more "top" acts I would've had a better experience. I must say though the best part of it was having the best of San Diego's restaurants all in one place. That surely beat standard hot dogs and fried fare. I enjoyed a poke hand roll and Tokyo shrimp fried rice from Saiko Sushi (of North Park) and my friends had the world-class tacos from Puesto (of downtown SD and La Jolla). There were artisan fruit popsicles from Front Porch (of Tustin, CA). There were a ton of wine and distillery tastings. Both Brian Malarkey's Herringbone and Searsucker were there, as were Venissimo Cheese, Bracero, Ironside Fish and Oyster to name only a handful of the dozens of awesome places. The non-food vendors were fun. Vuka energy drink had a whole fantasy garden set up with dozens of charging stations, and two colorful swings. I scored a complimentary $30 pair of high-end flip flops from Vix. Coors Light was handing out collapsible spray bottles which was oh so good in the heat, as were the water stations (bring your own empty bottle) which kept you hydrated for no money. The public art -- giant murals and glowing cloudgates -- were pretty awesome although not as cool and trippy as you'd see at Coachella. Definitely missed a photo op on that one. But I'm glad San Diego (and in sleepy quiet Del Mar of all places!) tried to be cool and awesome by doing Kaaboo. So maybe I will give it another shot next year if I can find a buddy. Wanna go? read more

Pros: great bands, great drinks, great food, pay with wristband thing was super awesome and made lines go fast, amazing how they can keep sound so separate with all the stages, super easy to sneak in your own water food booze. Cons: security was a joke, no one even looked in my backpack the whole weekend and I could have easily snuck a weapon in. They should have actual police officers checking people, the heat-it's September in CA, our hottest month, for God's sake put some shaded areas up, bathrooms too far apart, and the port-a-potties were so teeny you could barely turn around in one, worst part was UBER pick up. It was a joke, signage was horrible and wait time was at least an hour if not longer. Our uber driver ended up telling us to forget it. They should have multiple uber pick up locations. read more

San Diego's version of Coachella!! What's not to love?? I could go on and on about this event, but I'll keep it short and simple. I went on Saturday and Sunday and saw Rodrigo y Gabriela (guitar duo from Mexico), the Roots, Train, Zac Brown Band, Switchfoot, and the Killers. All of the bands sounded amazing, and the sound and stage setups were definitely on point. Great live music! The event was spread out all over the Del Mar Fairgrounds with 4 different stages, so it definitely did not feel overcrowded. Given the newness of the event, i also think that there weren't as many people in attendance when compared to other, more well known music festivals. I definitely enjoyed having the space to run around and dance. The food setup was amazing! They definitely kept it classy and had booths set up from some of the best restaurants in San Diego including places like Puesto, Pamplemousse, Comun, and Searsucker to name a few. They also featured all different types of wine and spirits from vodka booths, to tequila and sake booths. I will say the prices for cocktails and food was on the pricey side, but that's kind of expected for these types of venues. If you wanted to take a break from music, they also had various comedy shows playing throughout the day. However, space was limited and the lines were long so you definitely have to get there at least an hour in advance to try to get a seat. I wasn't in the mood to wait in line so I skipped out on the comedy shows and opted for music. Lastly, and most importantly, NO PORTAPOTTIES!!! San Diego kept it SO classy by bringing in bathroom trailers with wood floors and air conditioners blasting in your face! Using the bathroom was such a welcome reprieve from the heat!! So impressed with the bathroom situation. Overall, I had an absolute blast at Kaaboo. If you live in San Diego, there is no excuse not to go. It's so convenient, and such an great event. Let's hope it becomes a tradition! read more

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The event is moving to SD so I'm sure things will change drastically. It was my First Kaaboo Del Mar, and my experience was ok. It's really quick to get in, they really don't check you AT ALL, which is a bit scary because you can seriously sneak in anything. The line ups were hit and miss, and were really all over the place. Sometimes I'd look forward to only one band and they would be playing at 3:30pm then not another good one until 7pm. By the third day most of the alcohol spots were running out. They were sold out of most beers and were on their last shots worth of hard alcohol. This event has been there for a few years but doesn't seem like they prepared for all the needed supplies. My favorite part was probably all the free plant-based samples being handed out. That was pretty cool. Overall this is an okay event, and like I said above, it is now moving to SD. Soooo I Probably won't be going to it down there. read more

This has been an amazing weekend for us so far. Great line up. The two big stages have excellent acoustics. We had the three day hang loose pass. To me, that's a great deal to see so many good acts. Food is good for such a large event. Many options to choose from. If you go between shows, lines will be long with about at 15 min wait at the good places. This doesn't seem too bad to me. Other times, almost no wait. We dreaded staying 8 hours at a music venue and using Porta Potties. Nothing of the sort. Decent real restrooms. To the people complaining about Uber waits, what do you expect when a thousand people are waiting for an Uber. To the people who complained about not being able to get close to the stage because close in seats were reserved for more expensive passes, you are wrong. One half of the stage (left or right) is reserved for the expensive passes. The other half is open to everyone. You just need to get there 20 minutes in advance to get up close. We also liked the smaller bands in the smaller venue. We would never have gone to concerts for these smaller bands, but they were all excellent. So far we have seen Foo Fighters, Billy Idol, Stone Temple Pilots, Jimmy Eat World, Incubus, Earth Wind and Fire, Imagine Dragons and a bunch of smaller bands. It would have taken us years and many times the money to see these great acts. And we still have one more day to go with Katy Perry, TLC, Alice In Chains, Slash, Wiz Khalifa and a lot more. Be cool. Be reasonable, don't expect everything to be perfect. Plan in advance and you will have the time of your life. This festival is well worth it. Please go if you can. read more

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Since most of the reviews so far have gone really into detail I'll keep this short and sweet! Pros: great lineup, relaxed crowd, amazing art, good food, lots of entertainment options before 9pm Cons: no safety management (waited 20 minutes in line while people just snuck through the sides and were never screened) terrible parking and traffic management (I have no idea why they had CHILDREN directing traffic) bathrooms were hard to find, entertainment after 9pm was limited and there was not enough space for everyone. If Kaaboo is going to succeed, this 9pm curfew for their uppity del mar neighbors is not going to fly. Also it's time to invest in some higher tier staff members to manage your event. It was not safe due to lazy guards and coordinators. I had an excellent weekend in spite of the massive shortcomings of the Kaaboo staff, but I know some people who were put in much worse situations. read more

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Wonderful weekend with plenty of great music and fun vendors. The veggie burger booth was fantastic. Free samples were enough never to get hungry and Bai gave away their great product. The coconut pineapple fusion was the best. The staff for this event were extremely helpful and thank you to all the medical staff as well as security and law enforcement. The coordinators of this event went beyond all expectations. I became a fan of bands I hadn't heard before. Thank you KaaBoo! read more

Had a good time at Kaaboo! Solid line up, great food and drink which was easy to find. Stage set up and locations were good. Plenty of restrooms for the amount of people there. But... Getting in was a bit tough, but leaving at the end of the night was a complete nightmare. I will be taking that into heavy consideration when the line up is announced next year. read more

I thought Kaaboo was a really good time! We parked about 1.5 miles away in Solana and just walked, not too bad! Saved a lot of money on parking and was able to take the back road to reach the 5 and thus bypass the awful parking lot traffic. The price seemed slightly higher than other festivals but I have to say the venue is great. Although restrooms are spread out, it's not porta potties like other festivals. Some of the restrooms even had AC blasting which was nice because it was toasty out during the day. I felt that the music could have been a little louder on the main stage and the MGM stage but it wasn't bad! There was some real talent- all of the artists that we saw could actually sing and put on a great show. I enjoyed my time at Kaaboo! Make sure to bring a lot of extra money if you plan on drinking- drink prices are steep. read more

DON'T DO IT. The lack of safety alone is enough to stay away. I've never ever been to any concert or festival where the vibe was so aggressive and negative. People were hot,frustrated and appalled by the lack of EVERYTHING. The TERRIBLE stage viewing set up was crazy stupid. They erected stages on flat black asphalt with NO walkways, NO exits, NO security, NO fans,misters,or shade. The crowd of THOUSANDS were packed in & super aggressive. Fighting left & right, people cursing one another out & again NO SECURITY. Total recipe for disaster! Had there been an emergency,the crowd would have been stampeded,especially since there were ZERO marked exits. 30$ for a double cocktail,please. Least expensive food,a 9$.doughnut. I Love concerts and festivals and this was neither. Kaadon't has No right to claim they're a festival. Such a let down,complete waste of money,time and energy. The next time I want to get verbally assaulted,drenched in sweat,shoved,stepped on & robbed I'll wander through a war zone. KAADON'T! read more

Kaaboo - Entering KAADON'T - Festivals Near Me - Del Mar, California

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In 2016 we received free VIP passes. So, why not go, right? We came down from SF, got a hotel etc etc. We went to the event and it was a waste of time. - 3 rd tier performers - Giant and unsafe crowds forced into tiny spaces/walkways. This was probably the only time in my life that I felt the situation was so unsafe that I was going to get hurt or maybe die. This reminded me of the tunnel stamped at Love Fest in Germany where 30+ people died. - The only event we actually wanted to attend was closed due to crowds and caused a riots with police - Parking was $40 a day Mind you this is coming from a person that got free VIP passes. So, I would have sued the organizers if I had actually paid for the event. I heard the same thing about the 2017 event. read more

Kaaboo - KAABLEW...... They blew it..... From the Kaaboo page: "FORGET WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT MUSIC FESTIVALS. THIS IS A MUSIC EXPERIENCE. A COMPLETELY CURATED THREE-DAY SOUND VOYAGE THAT COMBINES ROCK-N-ROLL MUSIC AND TASTEMAKING SOCIALS INTO A MODERN WONDERLAND ON THE WARM SHORES OF THE PACIFIC. WHERE EVERY DETAIL IS CRAFTED FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT AND YOU BASK IN WORLD-CLASS MUSIC, INCREDIBLE CUISINE, CRAFT LIBATIONS, COMEDY ACTS, CONTEMPORARY ART, DANCING AND PREMIUM AMENITIES. THIS IS YOUR ESCAPE TO THE PERFECT WEEKEND." Alright....here we go...Overall: We opted for the Hang Five passes $1800 total for the entire weekend. Private show on Thursday (Macy Gray and Chris Isaak) plus all the events until Sunday. This was a very very crowded, expensive, free for all. Security was ridiculously lax. Kaaboo personnel was uninformed and useless. The staff at the venue were, for the most part, unable to provide service (computers down, didn't want to wait that many tables, whatever the case was...we got shit service). Bathrooms were out of essentials most of the time. Lines were long and the feeling of being a VIP and having an "...escape to the perfect weekend" completely missed the mark. By category: Customer service: For whatever reason we overpaid by $107. Instead of just sending me back a check for this amount, I could either get totally reimbursed and have to start the payment plan over, or Kelsey said, "We will take care of you, when you arrive". After not responding to us for the first day and a half, she "took care of us" by giving me $30 in Kaaboo bucks. When questioned she claimed she was "not authorized" to give out more and made it my fault that I overpaid. Great Kelsey..... I really appreciate the customer service. Staff was not trained. Between Amplify staff, Kaaboo staff, Security staff and venue staff, nobody knew what was supposed to go on. Drinks: $14 and up. No discount except for Saturday. Discounts were advertised but not honored. I can't seem to find anything now on the Kaaboo website but I'm pretty sure 20% was promised if we purchased drinks in the Amplify lounge (which by the way was hard to find if you had never experienced it before). Food: We got free samples on Thursday (everything was delicious) but it was very expensive and we opted for some corn dogs on the last day. SWAG BAG: HA! We were told "pick up your swag bag". The cheaply made nylon bags contained the following "swag". 1 Kaaboo mini poster; 1 sample of Happy toothpaste; 2 samples of sun screen (the individual sample pouches) and 1 Kaaboo hankerchief . Everyone got the same swag (Well, at least the Hang 10, Hang 5 and cheaper ticket holders). Crowds: Waaaaaaay too many people for a safe environment. Not enough security. The Security they had was not trained too well....barely looked in the bags. We witnessed a pocket knife on the belt of one guy. Obviously... there was a riot...... Overall VIP experience: Very Irritatingly Poor experience. Never going back. read more

You should have stayed classy KaaBoo! Been attending since the very first KaaBoo. Every year you take more and more away from us, like we're being punished for coming. This started great, great music, great food, great art. Now, not so much. In this case, less isn't more. Granted, getting there and parking was better, but I did buy a $189 Preferred Parking pass. There used to be so much more space, so many more things to see and do. I remember fifteen food trucks at the first KaaBoo, and they never blocked off vendors from Hang Loose guests. Hey, I was looking forward to Puesto, but wasn't allowed to eat there because it was in the Hang Five/Ten area. Lines, lines, and more lines for everything. KaaBoo was ill equipped this year. Food, bathrooms, drinks! What's with the vendors blasting loud crap music that you don't want to hear, so you can't hear any live music unless you're right by the stage? There used to be sand, and shaded areas too. There were a lot of things that made KaaBoo unique. I really don't feel that way anymore. I used to pre buy my ticket the day after it ended, but that won't be happening again. It has become just another music festival trying to bank on it's past success. For 2020, moving to Petco Park? How is that going to work, or make it any better. Part of the allure was the open space, now that's gone too. Everything lost due to promoters greed! read more

This is my 4th year at KAABOO. The first was the best. It has slowly gone downhill. I'm really bummed, because we look forward to this every year. The first year they had an Indulgence building where you could get Prosecco, foot massages and so much more. I believe it was poorly advertised as we didn't find it till the last day. The next year it was gone. They also had dg/sand at 2 or three stages making it much more comfortable to sit or stand. This year it's gone. Just asphalt. Even the feel of the Palate building has gone downhill. The food doesn't feel as upscale as it used to be. It feels to me that they want to push out the lower ticket holders and make the minimum ticket over $700. Even the venues are less inviting to the lower ticket holders. It's a shame that Money is ruling over the basic love of music. Shame on you. #KAABOO 2 more things I forgot. Keep in mind, I've loved going to KAABOO every year. The past two years we've stood in line for the gates to open and they've run 30 to 45 minutes late. Today, I missed the first part of my favorite concert, because I wasn't let in until late and had to run. Open the gates at least 30 minutes before any show. 2nd is the Paddock. That was our favorite way to end the KAABOO weekend and now only the higher caste, I mean priced tickets are allowed in the Paddock. So wrong on many levels. read more

Had a blast. Great festival. Loved the variety of food and music. Will definitely return and recommend. One issue I had was with the comedy show, you basically have to wait in a long line not knowing if you can get in or not if you aren't "vip" read more

Fun weekend event. I will admit the shows were excellent and the line-up was impressive. I was there all three days but still did not have time to check out the extra things like the art or the spa treatments. The reason I am not giving this 5 stars is the cost. I spent about $700 for two of us to go including pre-paid parking. Cocktails were $15-18 and horrible. I found if you went to a actual alcohol promotion booth you could get a quality cocktail for around $10-15. Food was good but also over priced and the lines were up to a hour long to get something so we mainly went hungry. You could not bring anything in with you so no options for snacks except the freebies being handed out by corporate sponsors. (kettle Chips, Lara Bars, etc) My other complaint is the bathroom situation. They were few and far between. I attended this event in a wheel chair and finding a ADA bathroom was damn near impossible. During one show I asked a ADA attendant where I could find a close bathroom and he said if I did not have a VIP badge (I did not) that I had to trek basically all the way across town to get to a bank of bathrooms behind one of the food courts. I left my wheel chair (there was no way to get it out without disrupting many people) and I took my cane to hobble over to the bathrooms. NOT ONE of the restroom trucks was ADA compliant. They all had stairs. The only ADA bathroom I found was a permanent fairgrounds bathroom with one ADA stall. Not cool KAABOO, so not cool. read more

KAA-BOO.. more like REG-RET. Do you love paying $300 for oversold venues with twice the people that should be allowed? Do you love the feeling that you are going to be stampeded over ala Mufasa in Lion King? Do you love being denied to see multiple shows which you paid to see? The organizers were clearly greedy shitheads, as they oversold the venue by a factor of 2, food and drinks more expensive than a Laker game, and had no one to direct crowds at all. I want my money back. read more

Miserable organization for a wildly oversold event? No surprise this turned badly. When we arrived Saturday, no one at the front gate was checking bags, using the metal detectors, or even checking for wristbands. In addition to being oversold and unorganized, I'm sure there were people who never had a ticket in the first place getting in and who knows what they carried in. I texted the number for safety issues then at 4pm and never received a response. And then you billed headlining acts for a building there was NO possible way even a small fraction of the paying customers could ever get into. We waited in line at Encore for an hour plus before police arrived and turned everyone away with weapons in hand without even being told what was going on. The best part? We can't leave because they aren't letting cars out of the parking lot. It took us about 1.5 hours to get out of the lot. Way to go, Kaaboo. Give me my money back. read more

The music it's self is awesome! 5 stars on that. The line to get in was long, once you stand through the line to get in, you stand in another to get a wristband to drink. Then you stand in another line for 20 min to get a drink the size of a shot. The bartender looked like she was bartending for the first time. It would help if they got bartenders made to make drinks in a timely manner. The bathroom line was about 20 min as well. The parking and traffic trying to get out of the concert was horrendous! 30 min just to get out of the parking lot. Cops giving tickets to uber drivers for picking passengers up on the road. Sometimes you need to make exceptions if there is bumper to bumper traffic SDPD. The poor planning of parking, exits and uber pick-ups ruined the whole experience I just had. I don't even know what someone would do in an emergency. I won't be back next year. read more

This music festival was a complete joke. Go to the zoo for a cheaper, but exact replica of the experience here. It is nothing, but complete chaos. Friday was great. Fall out boy, Echosmith, Group love, and Snoop dog. Loved the art work. The lines were way too long. When all you want is a beer, you don't wanna wait 45 minutes. We were also quoted "no dirt parking" by paying $35. We were definitely directed to the dirt everyday here. Getting out of the lot on Friday only took 20 minutes. Not bad. Saturday was where this mess began. Way too over crowded. It is so stupid of Kaaboo to oversell so many tickets. Greedy people. The set times weren't really thought through. Why put two of the best acts to end at the same time? Madness. The Chain Smokers were absolutely amazing. But this is where it all went downhill very quickly. The line/crowd of hell trying to get into encore began. Fighting, panic attacks, people throwing up, smoke being blown into your face, no where to move. You had absolutely no control of your body. So common sense, get out of it right? Not possible. It took a good 15 minutes just trying to leave the line. I did not see any security, officer or employee, trying to control this situation. I don't even think they cared if I'm being honest. They still haven't even addressed the mess. They have just ignored it and acted like it didn't happen. In the end, we didn't see Ludacris or Steve because the idiots who are in charge of Kaaboo, put these big name artists in a 4,500 capacity building when 9,000 were attending. Then police began kicking everyone out. A complete joke. Trying to get out of parking on Saturday was non existent. It took a total of 2.5 hours. Waste of time. Sunday was bitter. Everyone was still mad about the night before. Cypress Hill and Atlas Genius were basically the bandaid. Parking also took us about an hour to get out of. This festival is a complete waste of money and a weekend and I highly recommend no one goes. Save yourself some sanity. Beers are $13+. Food is highly overpriced. You'll be spending most of the time at the festival in line for something. Don't do it. read more

Kaaboo - Waiting for 2.5 hours to get out of parking - Festivals Near Me - Del Mar, California

Absolute waste of time, money and energy. Have been hanging out for this event since last year. But... it has all changed. Long food lines and then the food was expensive and awful. Had a bowl of disgusting paella. Long drinks lines even in the hang 5 area and by 5 pm they had run out of limes. The bask area was like sitting in the Sahara desert. What a complete waste of time. The only decent band we saw today was The Plain White Ts. Snoop Dog didn't even turn up and for tomorrow's line up with Black Eyed Peas I heard today that Fergie won't be there either ?? Sorry for all those out of town visitors who have come down to this fiasco. The previous 2 years were fantastic. read more

Kaaboo - Overfilled trash cans all over Kaaboo - Festivals Near Me - Del Mar, California

I wouldn't recommend #Kaaboo to anyone unless you're trying to rot in hell or start a riot. The venue is horrendous and the staff try to create as many bottlenecks as possible. Easily the most poorly organized event of any kind I have ever been to. On top of that, the organizers (The Madison Companies) thought it would be intelligent to put everyone's favorite artists all the same day and oversell the venue by a factor of 3. Not to mention it is total chaos to get in or out. Your literally better of walking home, at least until you get a good half hour away from KAABOO. Friends of mine are still there trapped in the parking lot (we left the venue 2 hours before). I didn't talk to anyone who enjoyed their experience overall and I would not recommend this horrendous waste of money and time to anyone. I want a refund. read more

Where to begin? The line-up this year was for some people excellent, and others a drag. The good acts were all on at the same time, on opposite ends of the Racetrack. It was next to impossible to get from one end to the other, and the amount of miles I walked in the heat was amazing. That would be wonderful if exercise was my main goal. The Comedy line up was the draw for me. However on Sat night, the headline Sebastian Maniscalco did not go on until 11pm. By that time everyone was so tired that it was hard to enjoy him. Also, it was freezing in the auditorium, which would be great if we hadn't baked all day in the sun. You need to bring a complete change of clothes. The good parts other then the line-ups, was that there was a variety of foods, though there was no way to know where to get them. A location map would have been nice. Half the time you could not find someone to ask. There was also chair massages available, and even a booth that was doing Botox & vitamin B-12 shots. Kaaboo had this wonderful wrist band idea and told you to leave your money and credit at home. Great idea, too bad the wristbands didn't work. Thank God I brought cash, or I would have been very hungry and thirsty. BTW don't bother asking for a cup of ice. They were not allowed to give them out. Wow, what kind of company tells there employees they can't give customers who are sweating a cup of ice? Bad customer service. Luckily the Bartenders took mercy on us, and gave them to us. They ran out of almost all the product early on Sunday. If you ordered Vodka, they were out. "Would you like Whiskey?" NO, I wanted a Vodka drink. Why are you advertising something you don't have? Out of IPA's, Coors Lite, etc. I felt very sorry for the poor Bartenders that were frustrated. There were absolutely no lines at any of the bars, maybe due to the prices? The parking situation was horrible and you really had to walk forever to catch a ride to the horsepark where they made you park. On top of that, then you walked another mile to find your car. I am sure Kaaboo made a LOT of money, but they will just continue to lose customers. The fairgrounds is a great place to do something like this, but set it up better. Don't put the popular acts on at the same time, and honestly for what they are charging they need to allow LESS people in the venue. That way they can have sufficient crowd control and it would be a better experience for all. read more

Loved Kaaboo last year! Bought the Bask pass this year - 2016 - totally NOT was they advertised! Last year there were probably 100 lounge chairs and umbrellas - this year there might be chairs for 30 - totally a bait and switch!! Very disappointed!!! Don't fall for it this year!! read more

My friend and I got student discount Hang Loose passes plus parking so roughly $300 a piece. Considering the lineup and amenities we thought it wasn't bad. Friday was awesome as we took it all in and enjoyed the lineup and art immensely. We had a great time and got some cool swag. We were able to leave the dirt lot in a reasonable amount of time. Saturday was not as great. While we enjoyed the lineup we were very put off by the insane crowds and getting to and from Sunset stage to Grandview was a huge pain in the ass because there was only one path to Grandview located infield. As others mentioned both main stage headliners let out at the same time and from there just utter chaos. Thankfully we got out before the pepper spray debacle but it took TWO AND A HALF HOURS from starting my car to getting on Jimmy Durante then another 15-20mins to get on I-5. Parking management was nonexistent and there were so many people on foot criss crossing in/out of traffic it was so nerve wracking and dangerous! My friend and I were so upset that we decided not to go today and are seriously considering this being our first and last KAABOO. read more

This review is for the event itself and not the bands (loved seeing Aerosmith). This was the most poorly managed event that I have ever attended! The greedy Kaaboo team (aka The Madison Companies) oversold the venue and created a very dangerous situation. Here are some highlights from the chaos: * Huge long lines to enter venue until security threw in the towel and just let everyone in! * Poor sound quality, especially at Aerosmith. I'm sure this has to do with the noise ordinance in Del Mar, but maybe that's a clue not to have rock bands at this venue! * Huge lines at bathrooms (and filthy). We luckily found a bathroom inside one of the halls that actually had soap that had been donated by a vendor (but no toilet paper or paper towels). * Trash overflowing everywhere. Not enough trash cans and no one emptying the ones that were there. * Dangerously over crowded, especially at Goo Goo Dolls and then after Chainsmokers. It was impossible to move in some areas. * False advertising...could not see evening shows because had reach capacity! And Kaaboo officials wimped out on telling crowd and called in police for reinforcement. Shameful! I could go on and on, but the bottom line is this is a sham. Do not believe their marketing hype...they are just out for money and do not care about their customers! read more