Is KAABOO Music Festival happening in 2024?
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A three-day music festival held annually at the Del Mar Fairgrounds between 2015 and 2019 has been lingering in limbo since that pre-COVID year. Local music lovers have been left wondering, is KAABOO Music Festival ever going to return?
The highly-anticipated event was sold to the Padres and scheduled to move downtown, but lawsuits and the pandemic prevented that from happening. That’s when a new group of investors and promoters squared away the rights, announcing a comeback slated for September 2024.
Ahead of the musical festival’s return, the city of Solana Beach filed a lawsuit against the Del Mar Fairgrounds for its approval of the multi-day event, claiming its governing board did not adequately take into consideration the event’s environmental impacts.
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The suit claimed the board for the fairgrounds, which straddles both Del Mar and Solana Beach, overlooked things like increased air pollution, public safety concerns and traffic among other considerations heading into KAABOO’s first event since 2019.
That suit was settled back in April, allowing the festival to go forward with measures to satisfy those environmental, public safety and noise concerns. With the dust settled, why have there been no announcements about the festival’s dates and lineup?
Well, that changed Thursday when the chief communications officer for the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Tristan Hallman, sent out an official press release detailing what’s next for KAABOO Music Festival.
As explained in the release, the 22nd District Agricultural Association, which owns and operates the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and the Festival Licensing and Acquisition Corporation (FLAAC) have been working towards a September 2024. That, however, is not happening.
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Why?
“Because of a shorter-than-expected timeline combined with myriad other external challenges, both parties have agreed that the organizers should turn their focus toward 2025,” the press release noted.
“We want FLAAC to have enough time to put on the best event possible — one that is worthy of the fond memories the people of San Diego County have of KAABOO,” said Carlene Moore, CEO of the 22nd DAA. “We look forward to having KAABOO return home to our cherished community gathering place in September 2025.”
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FLAAC also released the following statement on the extended timeline:
“Producing a music festival is already a tremendous undertaking — one we are familiar with — on an ordinary timeline. But we want to do more than just put on a music festival; This is KAABOO, a festival known for its quality experience, high-caliber acts, and fun atmosphere. With this additional time, we are confident that we can put together a memorable KAABOO that our guests will love. We look forward to making lineup announcements in the months ahead.”
For San Diego music lovers who are eager to again enjoy all that is the KAABOO Music Festival, it looks like another year of waiting is ahead.
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