Kaaboo

My issue is not with Kaboo, but with the company that runs it, The Madison Companies. I was offered a temp-​to-​hire job with them and the day before I was supposed to start, I was told that the job has been put on hold indefinitely because they want to hire us permanently. A week and a half later, I was given the «our most SINCERE apologies, but…» BS and informed that the position had been eliminated because they couldn’t afford to pay it. You know, something they should’ve figured out BEFORE they hired 6 or 7 people.
The way this company treated me and the other people they agreed to hire is beyond unacceptable. I waited almost two weeks, two weeks that I could have used to search for another job, something with a legitimate company that has its act together and doesn’t string new hires along with false promises.
To Madison/​Kaabooworks: I and several others were relying on a position that you dangled in front of our faces like a carrot, and you just led us on. We were counting on this job, and you just lied to us. To anyone who is considering working for this joke of a company or attending its events: DON’T. They place ZERO value on other human beings. They are completely unethical, unorganized, unreliable, and dishonest.

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.

We paid to see No Doubt and Lewis black. We enjoyed No Doubt but after waiting in line for 20 minutes we were told the Lewis black venue was full. So we only got to see half of the performances that we paid for. I would like half of my money back.

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, Über; 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!

This review is coming from a person who LOVES music festivals. I live for music festivals, in fact this was my 8^th music festival experience. I’ve been to Coachella 3 times and Outside Lands 3 times, so I can really compare and contrast between the festivals.
I’m going to start off by saying that Kaaboo was overpriced and the lineup just didn’t measure up to Coachella or Outside Lands. I paid less than than $ 300 for my 3-​day Outside Lands 2015 pass and who were the headliners? Some very small and unknown bands named Mumford & Sons and The Black Keys. And who closed the festival? Some guy named Elton John, no big deal. The passes for Kaaboo were $ 299 without the fees, and the headliners just didn’t compare to the other music festivals that have a similar price range. I love the Killers, they’re my favorite band but they’re no Paul McCartney which has performed at both Coachella and Outside Lands.
From the moment that I stepped foot at the festival I knew that this was organized by someone who doesn’t know much about music festivals. It seemed like it was trying way too hard to be up scale, when the reality is that people who come to music festivals expect to get sweaty and dirty. If I want to go chill by the pool, I’ll just go to a hotel not a music festival. The VIP area was just what you would expect, rich North County people who were incredibly stuck up and rude to the bands. You know things are bad when both The Killers and Ben Harper call out the VIP section for just standing around with no interest.
The food at Kaaboo was also incredibly overpriced. I paid $ 12 for a plate of fries with nacho cheese on them, and that was one of the more «affordable» options. The second day I settled for a slice of pizza which happened to be cold. I also checked out the indulgences area which offered cheese platters and an $ 8 slice of the tiniest grilled cheese imaginable. For those prices I’d rather just go to the restaurant before the festival and stuff my face before the festival. By the third day I just snuck sandwiches in because I wasn’t going to pay $ 8 for another slice of pizza. I wish they would change the rules like Outside Lands who lets you bring in unopened food into the festival.
Another complaint, the parking. Oh man, I could talk about the parking forever! You know when things are not going well when the parking lots are practically empty when compared to the fair season. It was $ 80 to park inside of the fairgrounds and $ 30 for the lot that’s typically free during fair season. Yes, $ 30 to park around 2 miles away from the venue! At least the shuttle was «free» but it was such a waste of money. Save the time and money and just get Über/​Lyft.
To be honest, this festival gave me Street Scene vibes. Whoever organized this event got even more cocky than the Street Scene organizers and look at them now, their last year in business was 2009. Why? One of the factors was the high ticket prices for the 2-​day festival. Once again the prices were too high for the acts that were scheduled. Does this sound familiar? If they don’t bring it bigger names then I can expect the demise of Kaaboo, music fans are not going to spend $ 300+ on a 3-​day pass that doesn’t include a big name. And if you want people to travel from Los Angeles, Baja California, and other parts of the west coast, then you NEED not one but several big name acts. That’s how you assure that the festival is going to sell out! You know it’s not a good sign when passes end up on Groupon.
I had a great time at Kaaboo, but it was mainly because of the company I was with and the fact that I got to see The Killers and Joel McHale. If you want this festival to become the next Coachella or even Outside Lands, the festival passes need to match the lineup. $ 300+ passes need to guarantee a big name, not just contemporary bands with a decent fan base. Not every fan is willing to shell out $ 300 or $ 100 for a short set. Also, something needs to be done about the food since it was incredibly overpriced.
The 2016 dates were announced on the last day of the festival and honestly I’m not 100% if I’m willing to give Kaaboo another shot. It will all depend on how strong the lineup is, but I wouldn’t pull a cold turkey and get passes before the lineup is released like I’ve done with Outside Lands. By now I don’t mind traveling to Outside Lands from San Diego because I’m in love with both their lineup and the whole Outside Lands festival experience. We’ll have to wait and see how things go but I can assure you this, Kaaboo is NO Coachella or Outside Lands. Kaaboo wants to be those festivals but it really fell short.

The festival was well done, all the reviews are mostly true, lots of stuff that could be improved on, some good stuff like… air conditioned bathrooms lol, An available pool for $ 50/​day, cabanas for $ 500/day…however, my main thing was that I did not like the Kaa Boo promoters telling us who bought the 3 day passes in the very beginning (lots of $$$$ for me) that no day tickets were going to be sold and hyping that this venue would be sold out and then at the last minute started selling day passes. F/​U. Should have kept your word. Fear based promoting. No thanks. Probably will never go again or wait until the last minute to buy a day pass (I’d rather go to the Belly Up all year at that price). Have some integrity… that’s what bugs me the most. … but you probably won’t and now it will cost you because no one will buy tickets until the last minute next year (if you can) and now all the people who will come for one day and screw it all up will come… and ruin it for everyone, you know how picky the city of Del Mar and Solana Beach were… you ruined it. Also, for a VIP ticket, people talked and talked like it was some cocktail party when you are trying to listen to a great artist. Stupid ignorant people. I feel ripped off because your integrity is poop.

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!

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?

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!

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 Unilocalers everywhere seem to cherish. (I have 3 pair red Unilocal 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, Château 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

For the first year of a brand new festival, I thought Kaaboo was a success. The music turned out to be way better than I expected. No Doubt, Killers and Spoon were awesome. I also really enjoyed several bands that I knew very little about beforehand, including Lucero, Switchfoot, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, and Lettuce. Slightly Stupid killed it, and Gabriella y Rodrigo were excellent guitarists. One of the reasons I love Coachella is finding great bands that I had never heard of before, and I thought Kaaboo delivered in this way as well.
I made a couple of mistakes thinking that it would be more like Coachella in terms of crowds. The fast pass and valet parking were complete wastes of money as there were no lines. The only time I had to wait was to get out of the parking lot after No Doubt, and having valet parking did nothing to help that. I wish I had saved that money to spend on beers at $ 9-​$ 11 a pop and cocktails at $ 16. I did not think that food was that overpriced. I enjoyed going into the palate tent to get gourmet food. One thing I thought was odd is that it was not very obvious how to buy non-​alcoholic drinks. I found one small general store booth that sold water and sodas, but other than that it was no easy to figure out how to buy non-​alcoholic drinks. More signage is needed in this regard.
The stages were set up very nicely except I thought the Zuma stage was awkwardly placed up next to the racetrack seating. We were very impressed by the size of the main stage. The Trestles stage was my favorite as it was small, well shaded, and on grass. I personally think that too much space was allocated for the VIP sections. At Coachella the main stage is divided into ¹⁄₃ VIP and ²⁄₃ everyone else. At Kaboo it was ⁵⁰⁄₅₀. I even think it affected the performers to look out on a packed general admission section on one side and a sparsely filled VIP section on the other. Frankly, I hate the whole concept of VIP tickets and I hope Kaaboo reduces the space of the VIP sections in the future.

Good lineup. Incompetent people running the VIP areas. My Friday experience was far better than Sundays due to my VIP passes getting us into most of the lounges with comped drinks and nice chill areas to watch the shows. Sunday, they were worthless and the staff treated my wife and I like 2^nd class citizens. The wristbands that can get you samples of wine and various booze were super expensive and a very weak pour. No Doubt and the Killers were who we came to see and they did not dissapoint. If Kaaboo does a festival in San Diego again, I hope they learn from some of there mistakes.

The pros —
Great venue location. The coast is so much better than the middle of the desert, a la Coachella.
Lots of great shows, I think Trombone Shorty and Grace Potter were both amazing.
The food was great and not that pricey and the overall layout was good.
The lodging booked through the event was nice, and somewhat reasonable.
The restroom facilities were top notch.
The cons —
Selling single day passes when the early buyers only got the option for 3 day passes.
Stupid expensive parking… I believe $ 40 a day
Stupid expensive beer and alcohol…$ 10 for 12 oz. of beer. That adds up very fast when you’re there for 10 to 12 hours a day. I averaged over $ 200 a day on food and drinks for 2 of us.
The event booked lodging but it was all 6 miles from the venue and there was no shuttle service. We had to rely on Lyft.
There were very few places to sit down.
It was an expensive venture to say the least… I spent over $ 1700 for the weekend but it was my birthday so a little splurge is ok.

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 :))

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. Unilocal 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)

I had such high hopes for KAABOO. Having a 3 day music festival billed as an «adults version of Coachella sounded pretty interesting. I imagined finer, more organized service, nice décor, lush accommodations, etc. Especially for the prices they were asking for the 3 day passes. I purchased 2 tickets for the 3 day pass. Then they released the line up. What a let down. Aside from about 20 bands over the course of 3 days, everyone else on the lineup were very little known bands or just local bands we have seen multiple times. Definitely NOT a Coachella style lineup. On top of that, they didn’t get the ticket sales they were expecting, so they started offering one day passes in an effort to get people to go. What a disappointment to the people who were NOT given that opportunity in the beginning!!!
After months of discussions with the town of Del Mar, Kaaboo was forced to basically shut the whole festival down by 10pm to comply with the city’s noise ordinance. This had a HUGE impact on the overall feeling of the festival since it was primarily dead all day until around 6pm. Once the headliners were done @10pm, the entire place was shut down. No shopping, no alcohol sold, no lights, nada, closed! And you don’t have to be a genius to figure out that if your festival is expected to receive x amount of people, and your selling tickets for them to enjoy certain concerts or entertainment AFTER 10pm, then you should probably provide an area large enough to house your guests. I was looking forward to seeing Icona Pop and Lewis C. Black but was unable to because the buildings they were in were too small and packed to solid w/​people. At 10 everyone had to go inside 1 of only 2 different buildings provided. One building was the «Encore» where the EDM DJ’s played, or «Humor Me» building to see stand up comedy. Both buildings were stuffed to the walls instantly at 10 leaving pretty much the majority of the festival goers out of luck to see who they paid MONEY to see and forced to party elsewhere around town. Which we ended up doing. What a disappointment.
They did hand out plenty of free goodie bags which were actually sunglass pouches with the KAABOO logo, and filled with a tube of sunscreen and a Lara Bar. So that was nice. But upon entering, the whole place lacked any sort of pizazz or feeling that you were indeed at a «festival». It felt empty, lack luster, no color (although they really tried to add color with the art), but all in all we didn’t walk into an environment that made you want to party. Just a whole bunch of plain white easy up tents with plain green signs listing various foods or drinks. Most places had no menus, didn’t know their prices, and were all generally a hot mess of chaotic confusion. Nothing seemed organized or set up. The only «general store» they had for basic needs while at the festival was a ratchet stand selling very few general store items such as pain meds, chap stick, sun screen, sun glasses, etc. It was a joke. I couldn’t believe that with all this billing they did to be the best, THIS is what they provided their guests??! The main stage was probably the best part. That area was set up quite nicely, full of colorful sail awnings, seating, a sandy beach leading up to a massive stage. In fact all the stages were pretty impressive. However a few of the stages were not marked at all so if you wanted to know which one it was you had to consult your super tiny brochure they handed you while entering the festival. Otherwise, there was absolutely no way to know which stage you were at for most of them.
The «Indulgences» area was small and very badly set up. Most of what they did have there was just «OK» but not nearly enough for the the prices they charged. The «Palate» area was overpriced and plain! The marquee lettering and chandeliers were their only saving grace to be honest.
One of the HUGE issues I had with this festival was that they advertised towards adults. Claiming this was a classier version of Coachella. When they first began advertising in our little town, they made it clear on their website this was adults only… must be 18 years or older to attend. Yet after very poor ticketing sales, Kaaboo organizers seemed to panic and change everything they had advertised simply to sell tickets. As of last month, they now allowed children to attend. Which was so bizarre given the fact that there was absolutely NOTHING there for kids. It had a heavy influence of alcohol advertised pretty much at every turn, and adult themed experiences. I was very VERY upset to see babies and small children running around in a place meant and designed for adults only. Bad form Kaaboo. You should have held your festival somewhere else in San Diego. Ask any native here, Del Mar is not the place for you to thrive. Better organization. Stop changing your policies to suit ticket sales. Earn a reputation with San Diego. We need more from you next time or I doubt San Diego will welcome you again.

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!

KAABOO! It’s the all NEW three day, music, art and foodie festival at the Del Mar Fairgrounds!
The layout for this event was mighty impressive and I can’t think of a better place in San Diego to pull it off! A solid variety of bands and vendors came out for this first time event.
My husband and I love a good festival and we like many types… film, culture, balloons, food and wine, you name it! I am not going to go into detail like a menu of everything there is to see and do. Sometimes, it’s nice to try something different and be surprised. If one goes in with too many expectations you may be disappointed. It’s much more fun to be surprised (in a good way of course). I am going to share my thoughts and experience… from a participant or observer and share what we personally tasted or enjoyed.
You will find art throughout the festival village — murals were the rage! We observed one artist working on a pair of lips. I have the before and after shot in my photos to view. Various cocktail, whiskey, tequila, craft beer and wine booths were scattered near each stage. I might state the vendors for the event were well planned and organized. However, staff training left a bit to be desired.
There was a lounge area with an info screen sharing everything from how to download the app to where to smoke cigars. There were also picnic tables and cozy floor chairs to sit on!
Street food was mostly outside and some of San Diego’s finest restaurants were serving up inside, including but not limited to Puesto, S&M Meat, Venissimo Cheese, Bling Bling Dumpling and Torch S’more (these are the places we chose to eat at on the first day). Each section of fine food and wine inside was set up with colorful chandeliers and a glitzy name, such as Rojo or Honey (more pics to check out).
The husband and I were looking forward to tasting at Château Montelana (although the wine showed up late, part of our expectations in the marketing was tasting wine from specific booths that were at Kaaboo). Château Montelana had their film Bottleshock on display. We enjoyed a nearby live talk and Q&A with author, Rex Pickett of Sideways fame, a solid choice with book signing. Pinot Noir rules in my book!
My favorite wine of the day was the Grenache Noir from Domaine Artefact! I’m ready to head over to this vineyard and winery! We learned at the booth that it is now open 7 Days a week (previously only the weekends). For a bit of nostalgia, we visited Adobe Quadalupe a vineyard and inn from the Baja region of Mexico… this was the place we got engaged. We had a few laughs with the owner on how my husband is not a fan of the mescal, for good reason! lol
The real highlight for the day was seeing both Foster the People and Gwen Stefani perform… No Doubt they were the reason to come out! Foster the People put on a real psychedelic light show and No Doubt are experts on their craft and style of music!
Tickets to the event were typical for a festival of this magnitude with diverse offerings.
I must admit we would never invest in a 3 day pass. For us, it’s an age thing, we want to go, but we don’t have the capacity for engaging crowds for 3 days in a row
There were tons of vendors giving away items to keep us hydrated, nourished and protected! Starbucks frappucinnos, Larabar cookies, Kettle chips and Coola sunscreen to name several!
Guest service booths were set up to assist with questions throughout the day and night!
Paul Mitchell School had a styling station at the event and Vix Swimwear had an outdoor booth near the pool and cabanas (something we did not have time to partake in…(but good for someone with a 3 day pass to enjoy)!
Did I mention the quantitity of whiskey bars? We didn’t try them, as we tried other things such as potsicles, I mean popsicles! lol We also loved the coffee coconut water and Belching Beaver Honey Beer!
The husband invested in valet service for $ 68 per day and it was worth every penny! It was the most efficient way in and out of the event. The festival allows one exit and re-​entry per day! Never have we gotten in and out of any concert, performance or festival this quickly!
Why 4 stars? It’s good to have something to improve on, especially being a new venue! One big thing for us: Kaaboo needs to change the wristbands for the wine tastings. They provide 5 pull off tix, but the vendors are told only to redeem 2 for a 3 oz. pour. Well, for those of you who don’t know numbers… you have one extra ticket left from your band and what are you going to do with that? Boo Kaaboo! I hope this is NOT a Kaaboo way to encourage everyone to purchase 2 wristbands! Aww, that’s just not right! In addition, I think more people would have enjoyed the wine tastings, but it was overpriced. $ 25.00 per wristband. We have experience in the wine industry.
Kaaboo did a good job pulling this event off for the first time and it could be a fine event for San Diego and North County.
#KAABOONEW
#NoDoubt
#FestivalLIfe