San Diego Indie Music Fest

We go to this event every year and we are never disappointed. The heart and soul that goes into this festival is so obvious. Good people, good music and always a good time! We’re always in for an event that supports Indie Music… but beyond that… this festival is just exceptional. They stand for something and you can’t help but get caught up in their passion. Can’t wait for next year!

This was my third time at Indie Fest… I look forward to going each year! I was bummed about the change in location to Liberty Station… as it is less a part of the community, but there were a lot of good points too… such as lots of clean restrooms, restaurants and shops nearby.
First, I really love seeing local musicians. It is a small price ($ 25/​$ 22 students) to see lots of great bands. Some people have complained that they did not care for all the bands on the main stage, but I love how there are several stages to choose from. I think I always find a couple of new bands I enjoy. This year I liked Todo Mundo and Awol Nation the best! I also enjoy walking around and checking out the vendors… and got some great leather earrings this year.
I agree with Adriana P. that it would have been cool to know that you could go for free and check out lots of bands and buy stuff from the vendors.
The beer garden was better this year, as it took half the main stage so you could check out music while drinking. Further, I don’t care for beer, but they had vodka drinks and made them strong… for not much more than the price of a beer!
I never really care for the announcers at this event which is unfortunate as you have to sit through them to hear the music on the main stage… they are really obnoxious, but otherwise it was a lot of fun and I can’t wait until next year. I do miss the free mp3 with music from the artists that they used to give away every year.

Yesterday I went to Indie Fest for the first time. This year it was held at Liberty Station, parking was super easy to find and it was free.
The only thing I didn’t like was that my friends and I bought the ticket ahead of time and when we got there we found out the band we wanted to watch, Todo Mundo, was playing on the stage that was located in an area where you did not have to pay. It wasn’t a big deal because we planned to spend the entire day there and I know the ticket supports the festival and it’s participants BUT it wasn’t clear from the website that you could actually check out the vendors and many of the bands without paying. In the «Buy Tickets» area of the site it says, «IndieFest 7 tickets are Rain or Shine… absolutely No refunds. Your ticket is not a guarantee to see any particular band; first come, first served at each stage.» This is a little deceiving because there was only one stage where you needed at ticket. Anyways… I’m over it.
One of the coolest parts was when beer was 2 for 1 for 15 minutes!
The location was good. I liked that you could use the bathroons at Liberty Station and could walk to Von’s to buy stuff (read: DRINKS) .
I went to see Todo Mundo but checked out some other cool bands. Sister Speak was cool. I’m bummed I missed Jorge and Alexa Narvaez!
Will go back again for sure!

I had to take away stars b/​c this event isn’t in North Park anymore. Which is such a bummer — actualy, it totally sucks! Been going for years because I live in the neighborhood. It has always been my favorite event for our area. I love getting to learn new bands and see all the different stages. But that will be no more, they are moving it this year to Liberty Station, an area I don’t like at all, so the vibe is totally ruined for me. Very sad. Why did you move away from North Park? :(

I love Indie Fest.
Always fun to be here, I had a duty to fulfill Saturday to take pictures; From the Main stage to Mature Audience, Green Stage and Acoustic
stage. I got to see my favorite Saucy Monky. I love UBUV (Universal Beat Universal Vibe). Was a perfect day to be out and enjoy great music, and support our local artists.
Thanks for the great food served at the Cafeteria for the Crew/​Volunteers. Big thanks to Danielle LoPresti and Alicia Champion Indie Fest promoters.

I loved this. Usually around mid-​March, this Indie Music Fest is sure to catch on. They have several stages, so if you don’t like the band you’re currently watching, head on over to another stage! They have a student discount for admission (which was around $ 15?). There is one stage that is free admission, but to benefit from all the stages you must buy the wristband. You also get a free CD with songs selected from artists playing at the festival.
In addition to music, they have indie flicks showing in the «theatre». I didn’t get a chance to check this out.
My problem with this was that it was soooo hot, and there was almost no shade anywhere. Also, limited places to sit, so tiredness sets in rather quickly. Oh well…
There were a lot of vendors around selling really cool jewelry and things. The food was typical fried festival food, nothing to rave about. The variety of music was great! As a music lover in Southern California, you should never miss this event!
My favorite band from this event was Saucy Monkey, they were rad!

I had a rad time at this. It was my first year going. It was a lot of fun. The ticket price wasn’t outrageous considering the number of bands you get to see. Also, this is a NON-​PROFIT event! All ticket proceeds were to benefit a hunger relief organization.
I got to see Burning of Rome, Adam Joseph, Si Se, Alicia Champion, Danielle Lopresti and the Masses, and the debut of Juliette and the New Romantiques.
Everyone was excellent. Adam Joseph was a lot of fun… Si Se was really good too. Alicia rocked the house even on the verge of losing her voice. Danielle tore up the stage. Had no idea she had it in her! Those two are amazing and even more amazing for putting on such an awesome event.
The debut of Juliette’s new band was sick! It was so much fun!!! Then I got to meet her after the show and that was even better. She’s a super rad chick!!! Definitely going next year, and you should too!

I appreciate the effort and it was fun, but I feel it could have been a $hit ton better, especially for 20 $ and $ 5.50 beers. I wanted to stand around, watch tunes, and drink cheap beer, but all I felt I got out of the deal was a much lighter wallet and a couple mediocre performances.
There were 3 port-​O-​potties for the whole dealio (unless the others were hidden) and 1 pricey beer garden, which you had to pay 20 $ just to get to. I walked around but it was the same street fair/​farmers market tents you get every day of the week across the county.
The R&B singer — white kid — Adam Joseph — seemed talented, but not really my style.

Went today (’09) and enjoyed myself. I didn’t pay the (reasonable) $ 23 as I could only go for an hour or so but I certainly enjoyed the bands I heard (free stages and listening in over the fence at the ticketed stages), and enjoyed visiting the various merchants.
I was there from about 11:00 — 1:00 and there weren’t many folks there. The bands performing on the not free stages had almost no audience. The volunteers at that hour outnumbered the attendees. This probably changed later in the day but I felt badly for the artists early on.
I suggested (and this may have been tried previously but not worked) that they ask for a minimal $ 5 donation/​person (honor system?) and let everyone wander everywhere. I think in the long run they’d get more money, but then I don’t know. I did give them a $ 5 donation as I felt I certainly should follow up on my own suggestion.
I’d also like to suggest that they have more lower cost food vendors ($ 2.00 tacos, yogurt.) and people might spend more.
Thanks for the hard work putting this on.

For a small ticket price, you get a full day of independent music on 3 different stages. What a deal.
This was my first year going, and I probably will return next year, I would have stayed longer but my feet were getting tired from standing around, and I was starting to get a headache from the blazing sun. I tried to stick it out for Juliette and the New Romantiques, but didn’t quite make it. I was thoroughly impressed by the bands that I did see, which included Bitter Sober, The Citizen Band, Kyler England, Eric Himan, Jameson, The Burning of Rome, Adam Joseph, and Si Se. All of the performances were tight, and all of the acts I saw deserved to be signed to major labels.
There is an abundance of street fair type vendors. So you can buy merch, food, and whatever, but some of it is over priced. The sound quality was really good, but the acoustic stage seemed to be overpowered by the main stage. Maybe next year they can be moved farther apart?
If you are looking for a day filled with entertainment, I suggest you check this out next year. There’s a lot of talent out there in SD.

Went this year and had much fun! I saw The Burning of Rome, Citizen Band, Bitter Sober, Adam Joseph, Si Se, and Saucy Monkey. We were there from around 2:30ish until 7:00ish. I wish we would’ve stayed longer.
We also saw a few films: the Day of the Grackle, and the Story of Stuff.
There was a beer garden near the main stage with Green Flash and Karl Strauss. There were plenty of good eats too from BBQ to Thai.
One thing that was cool was the women’s stage at the Claire de Lune. You could order a nice coffee drink and pastry and then listen to some really good music. That was awesome. Also there was a free stage on Ray Street that had some great bands.
All and all I have to say I enjoyed the Burning of Rome the most. They were a very fun band, I even bought their CD.
Another thing that is good about this, not so much for me, but that this was an all ages event, except for the beer garden, so if you have teens, this would be a cool event to let them come too. I saw several families with their kids. Also it was a dog friendly event, with many dogs bringing their owners, or vice versa.
I think it is cool that they have a film and art portion to this whole thing. I love movies and I saw two cool movies that I would probably have never been aware of or gone too because they did not have a wide release. And it is good to see some art.
I hope next year they shut down 30^th Avenue and get some of the businesses involved like Bar Pink, that would be awesome. But we have to be thankful for the businesses that did get involved like Claire de Lune and the North Park Theatre building businesses. And all the volunteers too. I think I might volunteer next year too because it would be an inexpensive way to have access to this event and also help out the community.

San Diego Indie Music Fest is an annual music and film festival that spans various venues in the heart of North Park. It’s an eclectic celebration of independent music, business, art, activism, and thinking – and it’s fantastic. Don’t miss this when it comes around.
The talent the organizers managed to garner this year was truly stunning – I planned to catch just one or two performances (one by my good friend, vocalist, pianist, and electronic music master Linda Sargent. Yes, that was a shameless plug), but I ended up staying all day and all night because the bands (who came from all over the U.S.) were SO good. Between swooning and shaking to Semi Precious Weapons and getting blasted outta the room by Sistas in the Pit, I wondered aloud, «How have I never even heard of all these amazing bands?» The answer: independent music don’t get no play! And even when you seek it out, it can be hard to find and support (these days everyone claims «indie,» so it’s hard to spot the corporate fakers). Hence the importance of this festival.
I especially appreciated how independent business and activism was threaded through the festival. Indie Music Fest puts their money where their mouth is, so to speak. Oh, and speaking of independent businesses, North Park has really grown up since the beginning of this festival four years ago, so it was like an extra bonus to browse Kate Ross, Mimi and Red, Material, and the Rubber Rose in between seeing all those amazing bands and films. Go to San Diego Indie Music Fest in 2009 – even if you haven’t heard of any of the bands – and have a blast.
P. S. If you like queer punk performance pop, be sure to check out Semi Precious Weapons – I’d never heard of them, caught them not once but twice at SDIMF, and am now totally obsessed.