Last year was amazing! The flow, the stages, the vendors, from beginning to finish awesome! This year horribly underwhelmed!!!! The music amazing when you could hear it!!! The grand view stage was amazing but the videographer was awful!!! The video was mostly off or just black. The stereo you could barely hear if it was even on at the back screen...I could hear myself signing more than the musicians!!!! Last year there was triple the hydration stations and bathrooms with 1/2 the people. I also felt like herding cattle more than half the time. Had to leave one artist way earlier than wanted to see the next just to make it to the next artist if I even could get to it. And the vendors and food were way better last year with way more selection. Over all wondering if I'll go back tomorrow let alone next year!!! read more

My post-show review of Kaaboo: Solid 3.5/5 stars Purchased: Hang 5 wristbands and valet parking Line up: Good, but not great; however, better than Outside Lands 2015's lineup. I plan large-scaled corporate events for a living, so I am writing this from a planner point of view. Yelp readers should always take reviews with a grain of salt b/c mostly ppl who write reviews are on polar ends--either they REALLY LOVED it or REALLY HATED it. Highlights: -Overall, well executed event for the first time in Del Mar. -Most of the artists started on time -Lots of promo items (Coconut water, Starbucks, chips, granola bars, tote bags, power bars, sunblock, etc) -Line up and show times were great (I don't understand why some people are complaining about the show ending around 10pm being too early--honestly, Kaaboo opens at around 11am and closes at 10pm, with Encore as an after-party venue, ending at 2am) -GREAT venue! (Unlike Cochella and Outside Lands, this venue already comes with equipped bathrooms and food areas--saved time, labor, and stress on planning these necessities.) -Valet parking was great, but super pricey IMHO (not sure if this was worth it..maybe we should try self park or VIP parking next time.) -The main stages had awesome light shows and LED screens -Kaaboo phone app was very useful -Fortunately, they didn't sell as many tickets as they wanted, so overall, I didn't feel like the events were over-packed/sold out. -Hang 5 was pricey, but it was nice to escape the crowd and the crazy fans. If you're looking to enjoy music in a more relaxed environment for 3 days, I would recommend to splurge on the Hang 5--not sure if Hang 10 was worth the $$$$$$. I would not recommend Hang 10--seems super expensive for getting a few more perks. -Beautiful art work throughout the venue -Clean venue--staff was always cleaning up; I appreciate that very much -Hydration station--awesome, but would be over the top if the water was cold :) Lowlights: -Understaffed security on Day 1 (Friday) -Lots of miscommunication with staff -Considering how much you pay for this event, I would think they hired top tier staff, but the staff overall was rude (esp security) and not very knowledgeable. -Food: Overpriced and not that impressive; yes, I understand vendors are able to charge more at festivals, but at least provide better food options! -Lack of signage for Hang 5 areas (a bit embarrassing and annoying for ppl who were escorted out by security b/c they were in the wrong area by accident) -VIP Thursday night reception was very weak; honestly, for how much we paid, the alcohol and cocktails should've been included in the reception. However, it was very intimate setting (felt like you were in someone's backyard with a private concert--i said that before Sheryl Crow did!) with great service (how the event should've been for 3 days). They hired top tier ppl to work at this event. -INSIDE venues: OMG...Humor Me venue on Sunday was SOO HOT...It was as if we were sitting in a Sauna room--potentially could be really dangerous if ppl pass our from heat exhaustion. Same goes to the venue in the Palate Culinary Stage and Encore. The only interior venue that had AC was the art gallery. We go in there to cool down. -Little kids (I feel bad for little kids (new born to age 7) who probably didn't below at this festival. It was super hot and LOUD for their precious ears. There should be an age restriction b/c the comedy shows were inappropriate for them and the artists often cursed in btwn sets. -Stages: I was surprised most of the stages WERE NOT labeled (ex. Zuma!) -Very pricey event (Everything should come down 15% IMHO) -Attempt with the pool and cabana--not sure how well that went, but the set up was really far from the Main Stage. Improvement for 2016 that I would like to see: I heard from the staff that Kaaboo already resigned for Kaaboo 2016. If I could pick top 5 things to improve for 2016: 1) Better food selection 2) Provide AC to inside VENUES 3) ONLY allocate a certain number of Hang 5 wristbands--I like how I didn't feel like I was in a mosh pit when we were in the Hang 5 areas 4) Better Kaaboo signage (Stage name, Hang 5 areas, Hang 10 areas) 5) Top tier staff if you're planning to charge top tier pricing (This is an experience and ppl are willing to pay top $$ for great experience) read more

Went to the 2016 Saturday lineup because we thought it had the best artists. Apparently, everyone and their kids thought the same thing. There was way too many people trying to watch the same artist, so now you have a bottleneck effect after every show. And why do you start both headliners at the same time on opposite sides of the venue? We had to choose between The Chainsmokers and Aerosmith. After an hour of being cattle-herded out of the concert, the parking lot/Lyft area was even worse. There was so many Lyft users that it crashed the app. We had to walk away from the lot and flag down a random Lyft driver stuck in traffic. It was 3.5x the price and an automatic $1.50 tip. Our 14 mile trip home cost $86 instead of $30 getting there. Very disorganized event! Please have more open walkways and bigger standing areas in front of each stage. Also, sign up with UBER to alleviate the over-capacity of LYFT users. read more

*Saturday review only.* I'm only giving it 2 because we had "working" passes from my friend who had a liquor stand inside this hangar building where vendors were selling art. That was the most chill and relaxing area in the festival. Pros: - so many great bands! - really, really great art -free water -really nice bathrooms -phone charging stations - the decor was really great, it was elegant Cons: I would have been ridiculously angry if I had paid for anything. Where to even start??? - organization & company that's runs the place was so bad and so greedy, I almost thought we must be in hell because great things are there, but you just can't get to them. - oversold tix or what? After the 2 headliners Aerosmith & The Chainsmokers finished, we got a reality check of just how many people were there and there was NO WAY IN HELL THEY WERE GOING TO SEE ANYTHING ELSE AFTER 10pm! The crowds leaving the 2 main stages were angry, aggressive, having panic attacks, and acted like robots with the main objective being get to either Encore or the comedy show which resulted in... - #Kaabooalmostkilledme. My friend who was working said "lets go to the comedy show, they have chairs, drinks, AC, and a bathroom. Also, the inside space was arranged thst no matter where you sit, you'll see & hear the performers." Totally true...but not if you're a mere peasant here! We went to VIP entrance outside because my friend said no way are we getting in if we stand in this line. So I said "Hey, we've been working all day. Let's flash out working bands!" That was my plan. The First Lady denied us. So my other friend, who had a couple of drinks past me, felt extremely bold and suggested we cut in line towards the front. That could have been planned better because it resulted in some words between my friends and festival goers. So while they engaged in that, I watched the second lady securing vip with her bouncer. They finally let someone in with a working band so I grabbed my friends and got in. There were chair problems as staff yelled at folks on the aisle seats to move down so other folks could get in easily. Couldn't hear the first warmup act, but everything seemed adjusted once Sarah Silverman hit the stage. I had seen her in March at Largo so I was afraid I'd hear the same stuff. She started off great with a new bit, but then got in a huge, show stopping beef with a front row VIP table. It was funny and still happening when I yanked my friends out to try to catch ludacris & Steve Aoki. Lol! Just kidding about those artists festival goers, you ain't gonna see them! By the time we ran over to Encore (which was a small building!), riot police were holding the perimeter. (We didn't catch the actual riot, just the aftermath. Also, couldn't tell until I read reviews here about what happened? And why can't we get in???) We tried flashing out work bands to get info from ANYONE-staff, police, etc... - again, organization. A lot of good bands PLAYING AND ENDING AT THE SAME TIME!!!! Yup, that was hell figuring out what to do. So we tried to watch halves of artists which resulted in us having to stand a half mile from the stages :/ - did I mention there was not enough places to sit? So we stood or walked all day resulting in us trying to go to the mini spa tent to get massages, but it was closed. Actually, everything was closed around 10pm, resulting in people having nothing to do and then getting mad frustrated/angry and rioting. The Bask area was nice with plenty of seating & firepits lit at night. The pool was unimpressive and I can't imagine how much chlorine it takes to manage the maybe germy amount of folks swimming. Gross. Nevertheless, we tried to get into the seating area to chill around a firepit, but were denied because that costed extra! - we could tell parking was hellacious on the way there and out, but didn't have that problem. We lyfted in and asked our driver to drop us off at the parking entrance and left with our friend who had done KAABOO before and knew where to park. - we drank for free, but those prices were insane. Insane. Like 1% population insane could afford. To sum up, I'd go again & pay once the management & staff get trained by Disneyland on how to manage a huge event! read more

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I went to Kaaboo last year and inadvertently bought tickets, after the festival, for what I thought was a good deal. WRONG! The lineup was awful! This festival has become a bunch of 50/60 old's living out their glory days: Buffet (HEADLINER, SRSLY?!?), Goo Goo Dolls, Kravitz, Gin Blossoms, Blues Traveler, you get the drift! The only decent band, and I don't even like EDM, was The Chainsmokers. The event itself was incredibly disorganized. The food / beer drinks are also overpriced. Don't go to Kaaboo. Unless, of course, you're older and want to live out your glory days, then by all means. Thinking about it, it does make sense that Kaaboo is targeting this demographic, considering the surrounding area. Besides that, the grounds were packed. Way too many people. I was able to bike so I lucked out... Until my beach cruiser was stolen the last day. No help from the staff there! read more

i would really like to write this review without the star rating attached to it...but i realize that is not a possibility....so gonna go right down the middle and 3 stars...but realize that the rating is irrelevant here.... my understanding is that Kaaboo is the answer for our long lost street scene.... I didn't go last year...so no benchmark to that... i will not compare to street scene directly..... Let me give you a bit of personal history...My husband works in the music industry...so what i have grown accustomed to is -all access passes -i can stand anywhere i want to watch a show -golf cart to take me to another stage -backstage catering/booze/water -no crowds -clean restrooms w/ no lines i was blessed enough to get a 3 day pass for free...so that always make's things better.... -it didn't get me close to stage/backstage ..etc... -it did get me free water/clean bathroom/catered dinner so all that being said...The festival was fun... lots of good acts... clear map love that there was an app (of course saturday it was nearly impossible to get a good signal) times for acts could have been staggered better....didn't like that 2 main stages had exact set times so we had to pick between acts.. i see that there are different levels of VIP...and from what i could tell...that is the only way to truly enjoy the show...i managed to sneak into the VIP area a few times, so i could watch the show without the crowds and congestion.... and then there was that debocle for Ludacris...thousands of people at the festival...Aerosmith and Chainsmokers both end at the same time from the 2 main stages that were beyond packed.... the only show left of the night was ludacris/steve aoki...yet that room would fit only 1% of the people left at the fairgrounds.... i was stuck in a crowd ...maybe 20 feet wide and indefinitely in front and behind me...i realized that forward movement was no longer happening and this could be a dangerous stampede situation....i decided to move sideways.. attempted to get into the show and they said they weren't letting people in....i snuck around back (completely away from all crowds)...and made it into the show!! woo hoo that i made it in! i guess soon after i ducked inside police arrived outside ...people were pepper sprayed and a lot of chaos occurred...i am so blessed that i got out of there! OMG...how scary. They should have known better than to have the final acts in a small room with way too many people who wanted to see it...i am shocked that no one got serious injured.. My child texted me to see if i was ok cuz he was seeing all sorts of live streams from the chaos! while i was clueless inside as to what was going on! totally enjoyed the show. I was only lucky enough to see it because i'm scandalous and lucky! would i go again? Only if i can do it with an "crew" pass or "artist" pass...or if someone wants to buy a VIP ticket for me.... read more

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As most others have experienced and written this is the truth: Dangerously Unsafe, Completely Disorganized, Horribly Managed, Unprofessionally Run, Outrageously Expensive. An absolutely horrific experience, waste of time and money. read more

I had an awesome experience at the very first Kaaboo!! The event was organized and delivered what it promised. I got to experience new artists (food, music, and art) in a cool venue in Del Mar... I will be going back next year. Pros: -So many bands and stages, there was always something interesting going on. They got a good mix of artists, and I got to see people I had never heard of. -Every band I watched put on an amazing show. Top three: Train, Zack Brown, and the Roots, but every single show I watched was well done. -Everything started and ended on time, which I really appreciated -The Posh Nosh area was so good; five star restaurants form around San Diego had stands at a music festival, how cool? -The app worked really well, not only reminding me where I wanted to go, but offering a map too -The wristbands were high end and comfortable -Nice/clean bathrooms, some even air conditioned -The venue stayed pretty clean for a 4 day cochella type event -The people working there were so nice, I am seeing mixed reviews on them, but I found them to be well trained, kind people there to help -Loved the FREE Hydration Station -Appreciated that they let me bring in empty sports bottles to fill at the Hydration Station -There were so many ways to get there! Shuttles, Lyft, Uber; all easy and worked well. -All the freebies were AWESOME (chips, coconut water, energy drinks, tea, acacia drinks, and much more)... also the Mercedes Benz room was a huge hit. -Volleyball courts were a cool place to hang out away from the crowds -Good alcohol choices; they served more than just beer and wine! There were so many options. And the 21 & up tent moved quickly to check ID's -They had free wifi! I feel like this shows more than anything the organizers pulled out all the stops here... Cons: -At times it was hard to tell where to sit at places that should have been easy (IE at the Zumba/racetrack stage) they blocked so many VIP sections and sectioned areas off that I had a hard time finding a path to the seating area (I've never had a hard time at the races...) -It was flipping hot... that is not Kaaboo's fault, but more ways to stay out of the sun would have been appreciated -Tickets were pricey (but honestly - I might like that too since it kept it to a more 25 and up crowd) -The "Humor Me" area was too small, and I never got a chance to even try and get in -Very little to no crowd control, when people are pushing towards the stage this can be annoying... If they would allow lawn chairs or something that might help? Or am I an old fart for saying that? Overall amazing and well organized event. I can't wait to get back there next year! read more

We had Hang Five passes and like our other friends that paid for an upgrade, we felt ripped off. No one I know is going to pay for an "amplified experience" in the future. I went all three days, and as a veteran of Outside Lands, Crossed Fingers, Ohana, etc I was disappointed. Here is my main list of items that other festivals seem to have down, but Kaaboo still needs to fix: 1. Overselling tickets - Kaaboo stacked the lineup on Saturday, I'm guessing so they could have at least one sell-out day. But they were too greedy and allowed 40,000 people to fill an area that could really only sustain maybe 30,000. THAT'S why they ended up having to call in police, pepper-spray their patrons, etc. On Friday and Sunday crowds were mellow, and people seemed to really enjoy that. 2. Tressles Stage. This is where many of the bands I wanted to see played, and the entire area was WAAAY too small based on how many people wanted to be there. Regarding VIP it was a total rip off. They relegated Hang Five to upstairs where it was impossible to see a thing (we just walked in, turned around and walked out). Fortunately we had a non-upgraded friends that secured a table that morning at the 17-Hands restaurant deck. We commanded that thing pretty much all afternoon with a group, most who did not have VIP. The couple of us that had paid for Hang 5 felt pretty duped. 3. Scheduling of Acts. Like I mentioned, they overloaded Saturday which meant way too many bands playing at the same time. So there was no way to see everyone while meanwhile there were big gaps in the early afternoons when no bands were playing that people wanted to see. Examples: Capital Cities - Lenny Kravitz - Goo Goo Dolls all playing at the same time. And what was up with the comedy not starting until 11:00? That's an hour after the main stages had shut down. We had a reservation at Sarah Silverman, but when we saw the mess that was starting to happen around there, we bailed on it. 4. Bike Valet - by riding our bikes every day, we didn't have the "3-hours to get out of the parking lot" hassles that so many other people did. HOWEVER ... on the first night, the workers in the bike cage had no idea where our bikes were, and told us to "just walk around until you find it". They were so clueless that we totally could have taken someone else's bike, not to mention, with hundreds of bikes, it could have taken forever (fortunately we got lucky and found them quickly). Also it was pitch-black. Lights at the bike cage please! 5. VIP experience was so "meh". The lines weren't shorter in the VIP food and drink areas at the main stages, we saved just $1 on the hugely overpriced beer (big woop), the swag bags we were promised were totally lame. As mentioned, at Tressles the VIP area was useless. Sunset Cliffs stage was so crowded, it was hardly worth it. Fortunately I don't like washed-up 80's bands that haven't done anything interesting in 15 years, so we spent a lot of time at Grandview. And, since new music don't appeal to the average upgrader, we had the VIP area pretty much to ourselves. That was nice. Either way, a couple free drink tickets would have gone a long way. The positives: Del Mar Fairgrounds has a lot of promise as a venue. The "no porta potty" bathroom policy is awesome. Food was delish and much of it was reasonably priced (in comparison to overpriced liquor). Lots of free food handouts (Skinny Pop!!). And at least the lineup was better than last year. And bike valet was convenient and at the front. I'll be interested to see who they book next year. Hopefully, not so many Moldie Oldie Has-Beens. It's embarrassing when my friends from other cities see who we have headlining San Diego's only large music festival! read more

They hired this stand of "nacho taco" from Huntington Beach supposedly. Complete trash. The most garbage burrito that I've ever eaten in my life! Why do they hire such terrible food stands? I paid money for this ticket! This food is like I dug it out of the dumpster read more

I wish I could give 0 stars. Super disorganized, no one seems to know what they are doing. Staff was trying to be helpful and friendly, they were just not given the information needed to help. Overpriced subpar food, cheap watered down drinks, tons of unaccompanied minors mixed in with tons of drunk and stoned adults and way overcrowded. The music was great, if you could get close enough to hear it. It was a complete shitshow. KAABOO get your shit together! read more

Totally agree with other reviews. The first year was awesome. Even the previous years have been great. This year it seemed Kaaboo wanted to keep as much profits as possible. There was less vendors, the bars ran out of many options that were on there menu board, less art displays. Previous years I was bummed I didn't go all 3 days because I felt as if I didn't see and experience everything Kaaboo had but this year less then half way through the day I seen it all. I was very disappointed maybe if the was my first year I may have been impressed but given it was my fifth year and Kaaboo has cut back I will cut back as well. read more

Okay so my friend and I drove from Sacramento to this festival to see Foster the People and let me just say they blew my mind. This is my second time seeing them in the past 3 months and I didn't think they could get any better but they did. They were so breathtakingly AMAZING and such great performers. Their 90 minute performance honestly made my horrible experience at kaaboo worthwhile. So basically we drove 10 hours to San Diego and ended up getting there around 5 am. We bought off site parking for $27 because there was no way we were about to pay $70 just to have a guy park our car lol. So thinking off site parking was maybe a mile away oh god we were wrong. It honestly felt like 5 miles and the shuttle service didn't start till the gates open so that took away our option of being front row at the concert. Plus when we went to the off site parking there was no attendee to help us and it was literally in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere. So we ended up parking like a mile or so away in residential area even though they told us not too but it was better than this off site bullshit. So I guess we wasted money but whatever Anyways I'm just going to rant about the idiotic, rude, and unprofessional staff they hired for this event. I have never been so disrespected in my life at an event like this and I've been to a lot of concerts. So before we ended up parking in the residential area, we tried to find the off site parking. We asked an older woman that looked like a security guard in front of the gates and naturally she had no idea so she radios her boss. The boss comes after like 15 minutes and he's rude as hell and says "well you guys should have figured it out yourself, I have a million other things to do and this shouldn't be one of them." Like excuse me? Then he turns to the lady and says, "You're going to get dumb questions like this all day so just be nice and try to tolerate them." Like honestly? What a dick. Then we go and ask another guy and he says, "you're here too early, go sleep in your car or get some McDonald's and waste time." You can never be too early for a concert, come on I didn't come her to "waste time?" So after parking we try finding the entrance nearest to the main stage where FTP was going to perform. We go up to this guy working that entrance and ask him where we can line up. Obviously he has no clue so he radios someone to try and ask. The people on the radio ignore his questions and continue to talk about when their break time is and other stupid shit. All they tell him is the gate opens at 11. Like okay I already know that can you just tell me where to line up? Then the guy literally tells the people on the radio how he's about to kick us out because we're being annoying. Lmao okay fuck you. So he ends up saying that there is no entrance and no access from there so we have to walk all the way around the fairgrounds to another exit. DONT PUT AN ENTRANCE ON THE MAP IF YOURE NOT LETTING PEOPLE IN FROM IT, ITS DECEIVING. We end up at the other gate like an hour later and we approach another guy that works there. We ask if we can line up here and guess what he says? "I don't know let me ask." At this point I'm ready to go off on these people because they don't know SHIT!!! He walks away and that's the last we heard from him. Luckily we finally made it to the right place and got in line without the help of any of these idiots. The gates were supposed to open at 11 but I'm pretty sure they opened an hour late. The staff kept having team meetings because apparently they didn't know how to search people's bags or know what was allowed into the festival and what isn't. Inform your fucking employees before hand PLEASE!! So we finally get in and we have to run to try and get a spot front row at the main stage and yes we made it! Finally something good happened lol. The stage itself was beautiful and they put in fake grass and sand and it was so cool! The festival itself was alright, I mean I'm not 21 so I can't drink so basically it's pretty much just a music thing for me. The performances were awesome and as I said before FTP rocked my world. We end up leaving after FTP because we wanted to beat the traffic and we weren't really into No Doubt. They said there's no one allowed back inside past 8 and we left around 8:15. The guys at the exit says, "you're not coming back in right?" I say no and he says "good you guys should leave now and you aren't allowed back in anyways" idk if he was inferring that we looked young and we needed to leave but either way his tone was rude as hell. Then we turn around and see them letting in dozens of other people into the festival as we leave... Lol okay I'm done. Sorry this was long I felt like I needed to rant on how disorganized, stupid, and rude the staff was but otherwise the performances were amazing! If I could give this zero I would but I just added the 1 star bc I loved ftp okay thx for reading :)) read more

Kaaboo - The main stage! - Festivals Near Me - Del Mar, California

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Love KAABOO! have been coming since the first year and have been 3 so far. It is very fun and close to where I live. The line ups have been pretty good. I loved the first year! Love how you can get pretty close to the artists. You get pretty nice views to the stage. Got to ride in the Hot Air Balloon this year since it always fills up so fast. It was an interesting experience. It was free btw just have to sign up early at the Henedricks Booth. Lots of booths giving out some nice samples. So many stages with different genres. Lots of different age ranges all here to enjoy the music. I love the art all around. So many talented artist: some of them even doing live art. The only complaints is how crossing the street has to be administered better. two times people have been hit by a car for jay walking and we end up stuck in the parking lot. We have been stuck in the parking lot for hours due to these incidents. read more

Kaaboo - Hot Air Balloon - Festivals Near Me - Del Mar, California

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It is sooooo overrated :((( If you go for the first time to the event its pretty cool to see how they transform the fairgrounds from horse racing and the county fair into a large party where it seems like most of the activity is WALKING AROUND with really high teenagers LOL - but its not worth the PARKING FEE's and the COST of the ticket ... and when after you walked a half mile to get to another stage its so crowded that you really cant see the band :((( so you end up watching LARGE TV SCREENS like your at a large movie theater and its the biggest and most expensive movie you have been to. Not going back read more

2019 Del Mar had great atmosphere/experiences, but the sound was terrible!! I attended Friday and the sound for both WuTang Clan and Kings of Leon did not work. Really disappointing as no one could hear (I even made my way to the front for Kings of Leon and still could not hear) and you could tell the groups were frustrated/angry with the crowds booing for the sound to be fixed. read more

Agree with many of the other reviews of Kaboo 2019. Why have the main bands perform at the exact same time? You have all day to schedule them. I don't mind a little overlap because time constraints but not at the exact same time! I went in 2018 and was impressed with the setup. I was disappointed with the 2019 setup. Seems like they went cheap and cut back on costs. Last year there were seats and shade for the culinary stage. Nothing this year. You had to stand in the hot sun sun so we avoided it. Last year there was a shaded fake grass are with a canopy near Sunset Cliffs stage. This year very little shade throughout the entire venue. For the "Kaboo experience" it seems like they should be able to offer some shade on one of the hottest weekends of the year. Why don't events such as this double up the bathrooms for women? I wasted so much time at Kaboo waiting for my gf in the bathroom lines. The trailer bathrooms under the large tent should have double the bathrooms for women than men. It ended up that way because the women began taking over the men's lines which was totally fine given the lack of bathrooms provided for the women. read more

It is unfortunate that I need to write this review. I requested a bereavement waiver and the folks at Kaaboo2019 could not have been less sympathetic. 'Our rules are no refunds'. Over and over they repeated the same message. The ViP tickets are sold out, why couldn't they give me some percentage refund and then they could resell my tickets at full price? Seems eminently fair. I understand there are rules, but if I could document why my trip was cancelled, and the hotel and airlines were fully understanding, where does Kaaboo stand? 'No refunds'. Absent a change in their stance I cannot in good conscience support them again. read more

Every year it gets more and more crowded- they totally oversold tickets. The general admission areas were completely overflowing and way too packed to even move so we upgraded to try to make it worthwhile. Paid about $300 for the GA and then another $825 just to be one more level higher: Hang 5 Friday was great- got close to the stages, but Saturday and Sunday were ridiculously overcrowded- the Trestles stage was terrible- the band I was actually most excited to see was my favorite from years ago- Blondie. We were sssooo far back that I couldn't even see her and so far away from the stage where I couldn't hear their songs but music from the other areas- Waste of money!!!!! Also- UNSAFE: a drunk guy assaulted, groped, and had his arms around a 14 year old girl(!!!) and wouldn't let go of her! We looked forever for a security person and when we finally found one they said "well, there's really nothing I can do about it"!!!! Parking was EXPENSIVE: when we drove into the main parking lot we had to pay $50 to park in a dirt parking lot!!! They made it seem like we were gunna be really close to the entrance. Save ur money for concerts that have seats like Jingleball. read more

Start by saying I love the music and other entertainment at KAABOO. Great lineup again this year! And even the over priced food, which should be better quality, didn't spoil a good time. My biggest complaint is the fact that they once again, couldn't get open on time. Thousands of people baking in the hot sun for 40 minutes, with no offering of any explanation. The poor front line workers, who knew nothing, just had to stand there and take the brunt of the frustration. Much of it could have been alleviated if someone of authority had the courtesy and respect to come out and talk to the crowd and let them know the status. Maybe brought out some waters, anything. Lack of leadership and lack of caring. At least that's what it felt like. read more

I love kaaboo. It satisfies my my concert festival craving without much travel. Everything is pricey. However getting the hang 5 is well worth the price. Like others mentioned. The lack of read more

Where do I start? The bands were great, of the three that I was able to see. Came in Saturday for The Struts. They put on a great show and it was not to crowded, so it seemed pretty cool to leave on the break and use our one-time in and out privileges to get something to eat and grab a sixer of great local beer (Swamis IPA 16 ouncers) at the Quick Corner Liquor Store, walking distance and close to Solana Gate (that was the uncrowded back gate, for all of you suckers who opted to go through the main gate) for the same price of one beer at the festival. The Quick Corner even sells great sandwiches for only $5.99; way better than standing in line for over a half an hour for an ID checked wristband, another half hour for overpriced mediocre food, and another half hour for over priced beer and drinks. We ate and tanked up on two beers each, near the beach, and made our way back through the Solana Gate and my buddy got detained at the security check for a half an hour, because they caught him trying to save money, smuggling two airplane bottles in his pocket. That was his fault, but they made him leave and come back and both of us had left our phones in the car. He never showed back up, so I finally went in without him because, not only did I miss Third Eye Blind, but I was starting to miss Lenny Kravitz. My plan was to go back to our crew near the front where we had some land staked out. I thought I could meet him back there, so what better way than to hit the restroom and then bring up some drinks; wrong. Half hour lines for the restroom, then I got my "ID Checked" wrist band pretty fast, then stood in line with amateurs who did not know how to order drinks, like they were the only person in the world. Who are you people who dilly-dally in such huge lines?...order a drink for crying out loud! The bartenders acted like they were pouring leisurely cocktails at their in-home-kitchen, hanging out with their friends, slowly chatting and not pouring drinks with any speed or urgency. Nice touch, but highly inappropriate pouring skills for half-hour long lines. I finally got my drinks and took the most direct and reasonable and natural route back to the show, but was blocked by security and made to go around the long way; horrible layout. I made my way back through the now hostile crowd and spilled half of everything on the way as people shoved and pushed me one way and the other. I was physically assaulted at least twice and I evoked that I would call the cops for assault and battery charges to be filed, if they did not stop and finally had to settle inside of hostile territory, because I was blocked from returning to our crew. I did not move again until Aerosmith finished. I left through the back gate again, thankfully missing the tasers and pepper spray, disgusted with the entire experience. The traffic was not moving at all, but I took the back way out and had no problem, watching the stream of Sheriff's Deputies speeding down the 101, heading for the disaster. I am glad I got out safe. What are these festivals about anyway? It sure is not about the music for 80% of the people who were there. It was more about being in the scene. You ass-wipes who block and assault people are not doing any favors to your neighbors. Go to a reggae show and see how kindness and cooperation makes for a pleasant experience for all. You can move freely through the crowd and enjoy the music. It hurts no one to ingress and egress through the crowd, but when you block someone, that person has to stand right next to your angry ass for the entire show, dumb-asses. Yes, people need to pee, yes people like to ferry drinks back to their crew, sometimes people need food. You just don't get it and you make a shitty layout, shitty lines, shitty security, and shitty service that much shittier. I will never go back to KAABOO again, the minor bad experiences I had paled in comparison to the near-death experiences that took place after I left, and I feel for you people who got caught up in it, but really it is the management and organization of the entire event that ruined the experience for everyone. REFUND at least those who did not return on Sunday for more punishment. read more

I had a great time at KAABOO. I didn't get the VIP passes because they didn't make sense to me, but I still made the best of it by planning strategically to get to stages early for the artists I wanted to see. I agree it could have been organized better though... the stars I am giving reflect the amount of fun I had - can't hate on the event because I really had a blast. Here are some pros and cons of the event: Pros: - This one's personal, but... JACK JOHNSON!!!! 99% of the reason why I came to KAABOO. - The ART. I appreciate great art and I'm glad it was showcased in a nice, air-conditioned gallery that was easy to navigate. - Variety of booths with free giveaways - snow cones, chips, pop corn, etc. - Variety of good-quality food, including New York steak sandwiches & poke. - Relatively clean bathrooms. Cons: - Lineup was mostly men and older bands from the 80s and 90s. I understand the founder of KAABOO is an older dude - maybe he booked most of them? - Uncontrolled crowd - during the Jack Johnson concert, someone passed out and needed to be hauled out. Also, I noticed it was mostly the older ones (50s & 60s) who got aggressive! Didn't scare me though. - Segregation?? Okay, so the main difference between VIP and regular pass-holders was that we were basically divided into two groups (at least for the main concert stage) and given the same amount of space. So regulars were on one side and VIP's (less crowded) were on the other side. I was by the rail that divided us... they would look over on our side with the smug "we're better than you" looks... watching us being squished as they moved around freely. It was a bit annoying. - Parking - Yeah... it could be organized better. In conclusion... despite being a bit disorganized, I still had a lot of fun at KAABOO. Hopefully the event will have a good lineup next year. read more

First off, the performances were great. I'm not writing this review regarding the artists and performances. The organization of this event was awful. The worst part of Kaaboo 2016 was the riot on Saturday night. Two headliners finished their sets at the same time (Chainsmokers and Aerosmith). Everyone from those two shows then flooded over to see Ludacris, some people only bought tickets just to see him! But the Encore stage was indoors and could only host a small fraction of Kaaboo attendees. The crowd in front of the building was insane, people were pushing towards the front and knocking others over. Not safe. Then the riot police showed up and had to clear the area. I left angry and disappointed, as did everyone else, because we had to leave the festival. Everything else at Kaaboo was already closed. Getting into the Humor Me comedy stage for any performance was ridiculous. People would crowd and push toward the front instead of waiting in line, it seemed like the employees didn't have much direction for crowd control. Only on Sunday did I notice signs put up directing where the lines were. I read a review that said Kaaboo needs to take lessons from Disney on crowd control. I fully support this! There were many times when I did not feel safe due people pushing one another to get to different events. Del Mar is not meant to hos a music festival. I think Kaaboo is a great idea, but the execution of the event is VERY POOR. Where are all the decorations? Why are the popular artists playing at the same time instead of staggered? Kaaboo event staff have some serious planning to do if they want to SUCCESSFULLY plan a festival that can accommodate large crowds. read more

I had a lot of hope for Kaaboo. Great bands in Del Mar, couldn't have been that bad, right? Wrong. The whole thing was wrong. The event planners oversold on tickets. The stage times and locations made it impossible to walk from one concert to another. Security staff was so overwhelmed - they eventually threw up their hands, said 'screw it', and proceeded to allow mobs of people into the concert without checking bags or metal detectors. So, super safe environment. Chainsmokers and Aerosmith played at the same time. After my group decided to forgo Aerosmith to see Chainsmokers, we attempted to walk over to Ludacris. Turns out there was only one walkway, which made our supposed 'walk' into what felt more like a guided mosh pit. After being thrown around by the crowd, and not getting into Ludacris, we walked over to Sarah Silverman (figured we could use a laugh). Come to find the indoor theater already hit max capacity. Shocking. Well, good thing they had $12 beers to keep us entertained for the next hour. Steve Aoki was our one last attempt to see a show - which took place in the same indoor theater as Ludarcris (more kudos to the planners). As we walked closer to the show, we noticed police circling the place. Two young girls ran out in tears saying that people behind them were getting tazed by 'random dudes' (again, great work, security staff!). After many shows missed, we decided to get out of the place ASAP. All in all, make sure to leave your kids at home next year. Actually, just stay home with them, buy a 6 pack of beer, and throw your own concert. Cheers. read more

These guys have no clue how to run a festival...They can't even get the gates open on time...painful...created so many levels its like getting on an airplane,,, you know 1st class, sardine class, sub humane class... They restrict access to the Paddock stage, remove the second bank of speakers and the beach from the main stage, no grass to speak of - so I spent 3 days wandering the asphalt plains of Del Mar in search of short line to pay $15 for a drink...come on dudes... If you have been to almost any other festival you see these guys don't get...but they sure have created a "Carefully Curated Music Festival" -right - carefully curated to suck every dollar they can out of your wallet. One good thing - bathroom situation pretty reasonable So now off to Petco - oh and buy tix, before we see a map to see how many stages and how many areas require an upgrade purchase to access - I just don't trust them to do whats right by us...So having been to the last 3 KaaBoos, and bought my tix on the day after the last one...I AM GONNA WAIT til I get some details...Till I know, to some extent, what I am buying. Any thoughts Mr. Kaaboo...I doubt you'll respond...I doubt you care what I or any of us think. ACL in Austin or Bottle Rock in Napa...both way better. read more

Had a great time. Got there early every day, so I had great parking when it was time to leave. Bands were great. Saw about 8 a day. Only downside was overly drunk crowd members who think the world revolves around them. Maybe it's a lesson learned from other events, but if you want to see something or someone get there way earlier. Yes, you do have to sacrifice seeing some bands to see others. If you don't, someone will take your spot. People heading to the Encore stage should have realized that, if not, total rookie mistake. Ask any convention goer ever. In a culture of first come, first serve, we camp out as long as they let us to be first. For people leaving the Chainsmokers getting caught in that. They have a legit excuse to complain. That is the biggest reason this is not a 5 star review. Was Saturday oversold, and days unbalanced with popular acts? Yes. Be we knew that was going to happen as soon as the schedule was released. Not sure what people complaining about traffic were expecting, but it's taken me an hour to get out of the name changing amphitheater in Chula Vista. Two for this venue should have been expected. Avoid traffic? Arrive early, then leave early or stay late. Don't complain because you arrived 20 min before a show starts, and can't get in. It's a music festival, not your birthday party. The other reason this was not a 5 star, merch table for the band was in to far out of the way. read more

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This year the line up is not bomb. Although, Alanis Morrissette, Live, Garbage are awesome, that's only 3 musical acts that are all from the same era (the early 90s) and the other acts just did not fit in together. Ice Cube and T-Pain were bomb, but hardly anyone there could relate to it so you saw few people watching them. Honestly, I'm just going to keep it 100- there were no Black people there at all. Not a single one, which made me very uncomfortable. Tommy Bahama, old white men and their wives or two fat female friends types who likely own tons of cate, are what this line-up brought about. I dressed like a shark the first day and had very little glow or PLUR stuff on, but I was the sight to see. Everybody had something to say to me or wanted to stop me to take a picture every minute or two. That's how ordinary the people were this year. No one but my group was under 40. Probably there were a few here and there, but I did not notice anyone younger. Old people super drunk off Beer dancing really weirdly made me feel awkward and embarrassed for them. And, I'm a raver type who believes in doing what you do and wile out, get crazy and be a freak, but this was just a different situation. An old wrinkled lady in a jean jacket and the same color jean pants and a white shirt underneath and denim keds on dancing heel to toe in one spot with her arms like chicken wings trying to propel. It was a disaster. She was right in front of the Coors stand, which was big enough that many people were inside dancing too. Those, I noticed consisted of old fat white men with cowboy shit on. Then there were the (maybe) late 30s/early 40s types in their khaki shorts and blue striped shirts and tan loafers passed out all around randomly with a beer next to them. The reason I gave it 5 stars is because I was really impressed with how much stuff is offered to you there. The bathrooms are also nice and clean and non-typical of a music fest. There is great food, amazing art, and they have everything you could possibly want to do anywhere- A Medical Spa, Paul Mitchell to help people with their style, silent disco after the festival was technically over (the grounds stayed open for a long time after), stores, shops of all kinds, the nicest people I've ever seen work a festival- they were sooo nice. I am not used to nice people because I'm used to being in LA. I was super impressed with all the staff. Everyone was more than willing to help you, randomly, a supervisor would offer for you to go into a line without people on the end and then activate the wristband checker and you could go right in. The one thing that wasn't cool was at Pink's performance, the people were uppity and rude. That doesn't even cover it, actually. We were walking up towards the front and everyone had been chill until this old lady and old man said they are VIP so we cannot pass them. There was no logic in that statement but the comment did tell me a lot about him. He assumes a girl with tattoos cannot afford VIP tickets and even if I was VIP, he doesn't feel somebody like he should allow anyone to pass him. To me, he's insane. Entitlement is disgusting and is not music festival etiquette. So then the people next to those two, who were younger- the girl, her snobby ass says to the old man, "I like what you're doing here, let's keep it up." Which made me go from zero to 95. I was just about to possibly torch her with my lighter when her boyfriend, the biggest guy there hands down, at least 6'4" and 350ibs, on steroids for sure- no one gets like that without steroids, turns around all hyper, pulls back his right arm and hit me in the eye so hard that he dropped me and I fell back onto the silver stands that draw the boundaries for the crowd. He continues to hold me down and is stepping on my feet the entire time with all his weight or a lot of it, and I am not wearing socks and then he kicks my ankles repeatedly and I am bleeding already, but he is holding me down and trying to slap me or some shit so my wife and nobody else could even push this motherfucker to move him because he's like a brick shithouse and so my wife punches his bitch in the face, square in the nose and drops her all the way to where her friends had to try and catch her and she still couldn't get up. So, that got the guy away from me. That was the most odd experience I have ever had at a festival, but I'd say it was because he was looking to fight and hit someone because of aggression. But, I think he's a piece of shit for hitting a girl. The festival al in all is/was pretty fun, easier than other people warned about parking, and it's best to drive yourself there not use Uber. I heard horror stories from everyone about Uber. Also, I wish I'd stayed at the Hilton across the street from the venue. That would have been sweet. Next time for sure. Also, book your hotel way in advance. read more

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**BEWARE THIS FRAUDULENT ORGANIZATION** In Aug 2017, our podcast production company Infamousworks, were booked to attend Kaaboo Del Mar, in California . We had been confirmed the year prior and had already began promoting the event through our many social media and production outlets, booked our travel and arranged our team. Hours of planning went into the event and in the 11th hour Suzanne Bowman from Kaaboo and her colleague at Mason Jar Media, blindly denied our access. In fact they threatened us not attend their show or "deflame" their illustrious name. Since they violated our previous agreement with Kaaboo and completely disrespected and disregarded our show, we have received zero correspondence or compensation for the situation they created. As a result, we have been forced to file BBB claims against both companies. The representative for Kaaboo, legitemetly attempted to threaten us for trying to hold them accountable for their commitment and straight told us not to come to the event. Here is what Suzanne Bowman, the "Senior Consultant " for Kaaboo had to say to us. " Hi Jeremy.  I am on a flight to San Diego now.  I tried to call your cell last night.  I have been able to confirm that you and your firm will not be receiving media passes this year. Passes this year were limited and the selection of recipients is in KAABOO's complete discretion. No other entity can promise or authorize a media pass. To be clear, do not come to pick up a pass because a media pass will not be issued.   Sincerely, Suzanne Bowman. " She also stated "Hi Mr. Elder.  Mason Jar Media forwarded your email of September 10, 2017 to me.  As communicated with you previously, will not be providing a media pass to you or your organization this year.  You will not be permitted to enter the event/venue without a valid purchased pass.  It has also come to my attention that negative YELP reviews and other possibly defamatory information have been posted about KAABOO on social media channels (both of which may be attributed to you).  As I am sure you can appreciate, trade libel and defamation is a serious matter.  We are proceeding to investigate this matter with our attorneys.  If you have further questions, please direct your attorney to contact me and I will gladly put him or her in touch with our legal counsel. " As we all know, unless we have lied about our experience in some way or presented untrue facts, which we have not, there is obviously no defamation , we just wanted to make sure their threats were made public DO NOT TRUST this organization read more

PSSST.....Hey Kabooze, you're averaging a 2 star rating. Might wanna actually read the reviews of your customers and take note. Or try and salvage your customers by responding to their reviews with explanations. I attended KAABOO their first year here in 2015. (*see my previous review) It was a sh*t show then, and it's a sh*t show now. So disappointed. I had such high hopes that things had been revamped in order to satisfy your "festival" goers. But that didn't happen. How can the SD County Fair accommodate their guests so seamlessly and Kaaboo can't manage even half that amount of people??! Somebody needs to be fired over there. Can we talk about the uber situation? I have no words that could describe the sheer chaos that was "Uber/Ride Share Drop off Pick Up area". What crazy higher up executive of KAABOO approved that game plan?? The lock out method they used to keep their patrons inside a gate and trapped until their uber driver arrived an hour later was sheer torture. People throwing up everywhere. Fighting. Drunk. Mad. Not a good mix. And you were one of the lucky ones if your Uber driver didn't bail on you the minute they saw how chaotic it was. I ditched that area, found a dirt path around the back side of the track that lead up to the street on Villa de la Valle, walked about 1/2 a mile down the street and found my Uber driver still sitting in traffic. I got in the car in the middle of the road and we did an illegal u-turn to get out of that mess. The other 2 nights, I was stuck walking all the way to Denny's to catch an Uber home along with dozens and dozens of other people with the same idea. It was a MESS!! Based on that alone, I will not be returning to Kaaboo again. Not worth it. The bands all really performed their asses off and being they were all some of my fav's I absolutely enjoyed seeing the bands play. The bands were the best part. However, they were'nt exactly current popular bands either except a few. All the acts were all mostly from the 90's with a few modern bands (...mostly EDM or DJ style music) thrown in there for good measure. Line up was OK but made no sense. Which even if that's your goal..."variety".....there is a way to go about that. This seemed like whomever put together the line up was either high or they simply only booked the acts that actually said "yes" to them. I'm guessing both since almost everyone was from L.A. only 1 1/2 hrs away. Easy money for them. The cost for the 3 day pass would have been worth it if it weren't for the chaos of getting in and out of the event, the overpriced food and lack of variety of food, and the fact that just like 2 years ago, they don't stock up on alcohol on the last day so they run out of drinks pretty early in the day. If I'm paying over $100 for that day of festivities, dammit, you better keep it running full steam till the doors close!! I wan't my money back for Sunday. Security was a joke. I only saw a few of them the first day at the main gate with drug sniffing dogs to intimidate their guests. (Nice) After that however....nada. You could literally do whatever you wanted. Security was almost non existent. Safety was a real concern. Anytime I would see an altercation, there were never any security present or anywhere to be found. The grounds at night were VERY unsafe. Physically I saw several people trip over that stupid "boardwalk" they built around the Sunset Cliffs stage. At night it's not lit up bright enough on the ground and it's very hard to see. And who's picking up all the trash on the floor after each set? They had very very few people on trash patrol. Two HUGE factors in hosting any event this large and they dropped the ball. The joke of a map on their app and in their book is something straight out of a childrens book. How is that a map? I had to stop and ask guest services several times about food choices because things just weren't laid out correctly and the simplistic "menus" didn't state what the dish was. Just names. Made it very frustrating to find what you wanted to eat. In 2015, being a vegan then, I raved about all the famous LA based vegan companies that offered amazing food that year. This year there wasn't anything amazing that I found. Food was pretty crappy. I tried at least 6 different vendors and they all sucked. Crazy considering this festival is a "festival of food" as well. HAHA...ya no. In comparison to their first year, the decorations and set up took a HUGE nose dive. Their cabanas year one were very pretty. This year it was like being trapped in an easy up surrounding by blue tarps. Oh wait....here's a tiny chandelier. There, that's better. NOPE. And the Palette area year one was very pretty, as was the "indulgences" area hosted by Nordstroms and Top Shop. The free swag giveaways were amazing! This year they had NONE of that. Overall, the set up was lack luster. So disappointed as they could have really done a lot more to make this event amazing. But they didn't. Never going again. read more

Highly over priced , Highly Over Rated 26$ for 2 6oz cups of rosè, terrible crowd control, not a relaxing scene at all, they might as well call this the Millionaires Yuppy Festival, I will absolutely never be returning . read more

Horrible. Never received my ticket. Called them and they were supposed to get me another ticket. Never returned my calls. Never got ticket. I got ahold of them today, after the concert.. and the woman that answered hung up on me after I explained what was going on. I called back and a man answered. He kept trying to deflect that I did something wrong. Horrible customer service. Would not refund or even give a ticket for next year. read more

4 stars and I didn't get to see everything. Snoop and Steve Aoki where in an exhibit hall Encore and I was not going to stand in line over 2 hours. The freebies were nice because the price for food was not in the normal range. The performers were awesome!! The pool party was fun Friday!! read more

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First of all, this was the primere year of Kaaboo, so let's be honest there were a few kinks, but let's not ignore the fact that this was pretty fun. I enjoy the fact that had a few big names, and some bands that we SHOULD know better...just because I haven't heard of you doesn't mean you can't put on a good fucking show! I bought my passes the minute I was able too, for me and my kids...it wasn't some last ditch effort to get people to buy, kids were always allowed. And if you're promoting a more adult festival, well great, more adult people have kids!! Everyone was chill, respectful and had a good time. I felt the alcohol was varied and the food was an experience. YES, it was expensive, but what the hell do you expect. I saved on not driving out to the desert..so that trade off makes me happy. Spring for the VIP parking, very convenient!! Lastly, I will be going again! read more

Decent idea but not managed well. First of all we bought the regular hang loose pass for the whole weekend and tonight realized that we are sooooo far from the actual stage. You cannot get anywhere near the actual stage with the general wristband as the entire area with any viewing is VIP. Makes you feel the opposite of a music festival. Leaving the venue took an hour and a half with the security at the Uber exit preventing you from leaving the venue unless you had a confirmed car wAiting-I have NEVER been at a venue where you are prevented from leaving . . . A major safety violation on many counts Do not plan to go back. Major disappointment read more

After a year of waiting for a response from Kaaboo customer service, they have finally replied to my request for a [at least] partial refund: "Thank you for your note! KAABOO did not offer any refunds after the 2016 event and no refunds are available at this time. Please let me know if you have any further questions." My only further question is how this event managed to get approved after having to resort to riot police to evacuate the venue due to horrible crowd control. My girlfriend and I were at the front of the mob that formed outside of the Encore stage before Ludacris's set. We quickly decided that it wasn't worth dealing with the stampede, but that is when things went from inconvenient to scary. There was no way out, and with an endless crowd of people pushing towards the venue we pleaded to the security guards to let us through the walkway they had cleared. They downright ignored us, and we spent another 30 minutes to an hour trying to talk other patrons down from having panic attacks, sharing water, and trying to get answers from any staff that would talk to us (unfortunately, there were none). No one in our immediate vicinity had any interest in staying in the festival at this point, we all just wanted to go home, but there was no way with crowds from *two* headline shows pushing into one another. Eventually, the riot police showed up: pushing the crowd back with the bumpers of their SUVs, and threatening everyone with pepper spray and tasers. I tried to plead to one of the police officers to help clear the opposite side so we could exit, rather than just further press the crowd together, and that was when I got pepper sprayed directly in the face. I held my girlfriends arm as neither of us could see a thing, and thankfully other attendees helped us find the way towards the exit, albeit very slowly. One of the food vendors was nice enough to give us water bottles to wash the mace from our eyes. He explained that he had worked hundreds of events, and never seen one this disorganized. I have been to dozens of music festivals and I couldn't agree more. When we finally got our vision back, there was no onsite staff to be found. Only police offers cursing at attendees when they asked for help on what to do or where to find customer service. I won't bother talking about the parking disaster because this is already a novel, but needless to say Kaaboo fulfilled exactly zero of my expectations for the "luxury festival" they were touting. The least they could do is take responsibility for their actions, but instead they claimed the crowd was "unruly" and had to be removed. This couldn't be further from the truth, at least from where I was standing. We were trapped, scared, and looking for answers. The only real "experience" I came away with was my first and only experience with being pepper sprayed. tldr; horrible crowd control led to my girlfriend and I being pepper sprayed, Kaaboo accepts zero accountability for the situation and refuses a request for any compensation / future passes / etc. read more

Wow what a waste of money. We bought four Hang Five passes. Almost $4000. The lines for food and drinks were LONGER than what you could get for regular access. Don't want to be a DBag, but Kaaboo totally oversold and underdelivered this show. Total lack of staff and organization. read more

Very disappointed this year!! Prices went up, quality went down significantly!! No sand at the main stages, no access to grass/paddock area, horrible sound, secondary wristbands didn't work, no shade by the culinary stage, longest bathroom lines ever, far fewer areas to cool down and chill, stages right next to each other. We didn't notice any improvements!! So sad - we look forward to it every year. We will not be attending next year - horrible experience. read more

I'm kinda' laughing at all of the people writing negative reviews. It's a music festival, what do you expect? In comparison to many others I've been to, this one had better food, more areas to sit out of the sun, nicer bathrooms, and was overall cleaner. Yes, it was crowded, but you have to prioritize to see the bands you want to see, not ALL OF THE BANDS. Yeah, that kinda' sucks, but that's just the way it is with multiple stages. We often left a set early to get to the next act we were interested in and get a good spot (almost always on the astroturf, with the base level ticket). By being patient and polite we were able to get close to the front in nearly all the shows we went to, and all of the people around us were mostly really nice. We took the shuttle, which was super convenient. Just pick a time to go, and get dropped off and picked up at the entrance with very little difficulty. When I compare it to say Bottle Rock (an actual literal nightmare in every way), this is like 1000% better. read more

Very spacious area for a musical festival. Quite pricey though as you have to buy passes for everything. Everything is overpriced like everywhere else, but what can you expect, it's a music festival. The festival makes sure they are super specific with directions which is really helpful. Especially if you buy special VIP parking. Love the variety of bands offered here. When I came I mainly came to see The Killers and Switchfoot. Overall, I would come to another festival here. read more