The Last Shabang
Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the legendary festival – Shabang in San Luis Obispo. This was the 10th anniversary of Shabang and the festival started when a bunch of college students got together and put on live music and called the event ‘The Last Shabang’. The name was coined and the festival and has only gotten bigger and better throughout the last decade.
Being that this is on the smaller side of the festival, camping & parking was incredibly easy. The campsite itself only had a few hundred people which made it cozy and intimate. The majority of people ubered or drove in, and even then there was parking at the festival and across the street. If you wanted to get to Shabang, you could absolutely do it.
After unloading our car and putting together our campsite, it was time to head into the festival. Only a 10 minute walk from the campground, the entire venue was before us. 5 stages, food vendors, clothing vendors, art installations and tree houses, this was absolutely a place we couldn’t wait to explore. The lineup was absolutely fire and you can check it out in more detail here. On day 1 we saw Nala, Noizu, and Peach Pit. They all put on such excellent performances I didn’t want to stop dancing when the night was over. Luckily, we had tickets to the afters at the Dairy Creek Siren Clubhouse (really a 10 minutes walk away) and got to see DJ Mandy and Nala. Once again, an amazing performance. I really loved how easy it was to get from place to place.
Saturday morning was a slow start, the gates of the festival didn’t open until 2pm so we slowly woke up and got ready. Unfortunately it was also pouring Saturday so we did hide in the tent for a bit. However, the rain was not going to stop us from seeing our favorite artists! Going in first to see the one & only Thundercat, who surely put on a once in a lifetime show. Seriously – if you haven’t seen him live – you need to. Luckily the sun finally started to come out and we saw Walker & Royce and then SidePiece. Of course we had to dance the night away and see Walker & Royce again at the afters.
Overall, it was a really great event. The vibes were high and I would absolutely go again and can’t wait to go next year. The people were great, the music was spectacular, and the food was delicious. And guess what! I have great news for you – tickets are going on sale THIS WEEKEND for next years festivities. Make sure you sign up for emails here so you can get all the up to date information. Thank you Shabang, for a magical weekend and we will see you next year!