The first-ever Wonderfront Festival kicked off on a Friday afternoon in San Diego, CA. Bad Suns was the first artist to grace the C3 Bank stage, which overlooked the water. The crowd found their way to the stage as the sun went down, and Bad Suns frontman Christo Bowman mentioned how this festival set had a much chiller vibe than their normal shows. The band could see jet skiers and boats pass by as they played songs from their latest album, Mystic Truth. Later in the evening, New York rock band X Ambassadors warmed up the night with their lively set, and Pepper brought some reggae fun to the Uncle Ed’s D*mn Good Vodka stage.
At Wonderfront, there were four main stages within 1,600 feet of each other, and a few other auxiliary stages extending from Broadway Pier down to the Bayfront. Fans that were able to make their way to the Univision & Estrella Jalisco stage on the bayfront were treated to acts like comedian Greg Santos and Latin American boy band CNCO. Dedicated CNCO fans waited at the stage all day, so Santos decided to improvise part of his second set since much of the crowd had already seen him earlier. When it came time for CNCO, the screams echoed along the bay for the five-piece boy band.
The adjacent KUSI and Stella Artois stages in the center of the festival were home to a plethora of hip hop and rap artists. Duckwrth owned golden hour while Lil Baby and Aminé took to the stage later in the evening. The energy from the crowd for all three of these artists gave new life to this young festival.
As the first night went on, festival goers had the option of three headliners: Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Miguel, or Don Omar. We were able to catch Miguel’s dreamy set, and he sang the crowd sweetly into the night.
Fans were able to catch this Friday lineup for just $79. For a first year festival, day one was definitely not a disappointment.
Check out the festival —
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