CRSSD Is For (House And Techno) Lovers [EVENT REVIEW]

That’s a wrap on yet another weekend for the books from the CRSSD crew. The spring edition of the biannual event just finished up in San Diego, filled with quite a few noteworthy performances that left us blissfully content. Offering two days of nonstop dancing from some of the best house and techno names from across the globe, CRSSD definitely brought the heat this time around.

The Music

I don’t say this lightly or often, as I’m picky when it comes to artists – but every single artist I saw this weekend blew me away. A few of the highlights included a Friday evening at The Palms stage with Sacha Robotti throwing down his eclectic take on darker, wobblier techno (a very welcome transition into this sound, we might add). Then there was Patrick Topping‘s incredible adventure into groovy tech house, and a powerful performance by the dark lord Gesaffelstein.

Pig and Dan performed quite the enticing live set that had us entranced from start to finish. Carl Cox and Charlotte de Witte finished off Sunday night at the City Steps stage with an incredible dive into some proper European techno, leaving us sore and satisfied beyond belief. And for the finale, RUFUS DU SOL closed out the Ocean View stage with some of their much-loved classics – seeing them perform Innerbloom before heading out was an absolute treat.

A Welcomed Transformation

I attended CRSSD in its first few iterations, but had taken a break for the past three years. It was interesting to see how much things had changed—and how a few had stayed the same. The entry line was much smoother and things moved more quickly than in past years. However, the security team didn’t seem to be on the same page as the rest of the event. I appreciated their attempt at offering more environmentally-friendly drink options with metal water bottles immensely, since past years had seen tons of plastic left on the ground as the even ended. I noticed tons of trash on the ground throughout the event, which had bothered me about years past – but there were more staff cleaning up said trash throughout the day as well.

All in all, it was great to see this event become more conscious of the initial drawbacks many people had complained about, and I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend with incredible music, food, and vibes to match. Our team is looking forward to checking out the next edition!