San Luis Obispo’s Shabang Festival is anything but boring as it continues to build a space for artists and festival-goers to celebrate their love for music.

Sitting atop the gorgeous green hills on Dairy Creek Golf Course in San Luis Obispo, Shabang’s eleventh year started with well… (cue dad joke) a bang! The festival, which started as a small gathering of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students who had a mutual passion for music, has continued to evolve into one of Southern California's most anticipated arts and music festivals. It features an electric mix of indie artists and DJs, with this year’s headliners including Wallows, Jungle (DJ set), Goth Babe, Odd Mob, Kream, and Briston Maroney.

Early Friday afternoon, as festival-goers danced onto the grounds, they began snapping photos in front of the enormous “Shabang” sign at the entrance. Dressed in clothes, à la Coachella in the mid-2010s, they explored the vendors scattered throughout the field. There are food trucks aplenty, as well as a merch bar that features items from the artist, as well as original pieces from the festival.

The opening act of Shabang was a three-piece band from Los Angeles, called Acolyte. It was their first festival, earning their spot as winners of the Los Angeles Battle of the Bands. They played on the smallest of the three stages, Cuesta Ridge, which allowed new fans to interact with the band as much as possible. The group, despite taking the early shift, drew in a crowd and kept them there with punchy vocals and surf-rock influenced guitar riffs.

Over on the Funk Safari Stage, Linska kept the groovy vibes going, mixing some of her music along with hits like “Girls” by The Dare. The largest stage, Laguna Lake, was home to Slow Pulp’s dreamy shoegaze during golden hour. Despite the name, the stage overlooks Dairy Lake and provides scenic views for festival-goers and artists alike.

Indie fan-favorites, Almost Monday, took the final slot at Cuesta Ridge on Friday night. They’re a three-piece band from San Diego, and their music reflects the city’s bright weather; this set the mood as the sun began to set. They started their show with “is it too late?” and lead singer, Dawson Daugherty, sporadically bounced around the stage, throwing his curly blonde hair back and forth. His energy was infectious, with members of the crowd mimicking his movements, as well as trying to get a better view of the natural-born performer.

Goth Babe, the musical project of Griff Washburn, closed out Laguna Lake Friday night. His music is the perfect mesh between electronic, indie rock, and folk. Washburn couldn’t help but hold back his excitement while performing, grinning through the first few opening songs. In the middle of his set, he asked if anybody would be willing to crowd surf on a giant inflatable Pop Tart. The lucky winner - a girl named Mikayla sporting Goth Babe merch - climbed atop the inflatable and enjoyed the rest of the set, surfing the crowd.

The last act of the night was a DJ set from the UK funk band, Jungle. They took over the Funk Safari Stage and threw, what felt like, a massive after party for the entire festival. The band delivered funky beats and added their hit songs into the mix to create the most appetizing recipe amongst fans.

Day two of the festival started a bit colder, although this didn’t seem to change the energy of the festival-goers. They were just as excited (possibly even more so) for that day’s performers. The lineup for Saturday consisted of acts such as Foxtide, SLO natives Toad and Margot Sinclair, Briston Maroney, and indie heavyweights, Wallows.

Toad is a four-piece band originating in San Luis Obispo. Annie Pagel, the lead singer of the band, seemed to draw each passerby in with her silky yet steady vocals. Groovy, jazz-influenced basslines supported the bright tone of her voice and the guitar’s chime-y distortion..

The three-piece band Foxtide took over the Laguna Lake stage early Saturday evening. The San Diego natives arrived onstage with so much confidence and charisma, you would’ve never guessed that this was their first festival appearance. Their music, which seems to be influenced by early 2000s indie rock acts such as Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes, was well suited for the large stage they were playing. The title track from their 2024 album, Chaos, was the standout from their set. When introducing the song, lead singer Elijah Gibbons-Croft described the song as the band’s reaction to witnessing atrocities occur across the world and their shock that people turn a blind eye.

Back at Cuesta Ridge, Margot Sinclair was ready to take the stage. The San Luis Obispo-based band had a passionate fan base, as a large group was waiting for them long before they came onstage. The energy from the crowd was well-received by the band; they came crashing onto the stage like a tidal wave. Dirty basslines echoed through the rolling hills as the sun started to hide behind clouds. Lead singer Kyle Mix showed off his dance moves by skipping along to the beat of the drums.

The last two acts on the Laguna Lake stage were Briston Maroney and Wallows. The ‘Freakin’ Out On the Interstate’ singer waltzed out in wicked sunglasses and free-flowing curly hair, greeting his fans as he held his guitar pick up to the sky. He flew into ‘Body’, a track from his 2023 album, Ultrapure. The crowd watched, mesmerized by the singer’s rhythmic movement across the stage. “It almost feels like we’re at Woodstock right now, but not the 1999 Woodstock with Limp Bizkit” he proclaimed. That sentiment seemed to resonate with the crowd; the festival felt like a safe space to express love through music.

Wallows were the last acts of the festival, and you could feel the excitement radiating off the crowd. People were packed in from the barricade, pouring to the outer limits of each side of the stage and further back. When the Los Angeles-based band took the stage, they opened their set with their newest single, “Hide It Away”. The song packed a punch as red and white lights flashed onstage, not yet exposing the band to the audience. Signs asking for drumsticks, guitar picks, and setlists floated in the sea of people before them, but one sign in particular caught lead singer Dylan Minnette’s eye. During the song “OK”, he jumped off the stage and ran to the barrier, high-fiving fans as he passed by. Eventually, he met two girls holding a sign that read “OK us” and encouraged them to sing the bridge of the song into the microphone. Throughout the night, they played the classics (“Scrawny”, “These Days”, “Pleaser”, “I Don’t Want to Talk”), as well as new hits like “Calling After Me”, “Coffin Change”, and “You (Show Me Where My Days Went)”. With the night coming to a close, the band asked the crowd to give them “their all”. The audience returned the favor by shouting Clairo’s nostalgia-threaded feature from their three-times platinum single “Are You Bored Yet?” back to them. There was no need for the question being asked; it was clear that the answer was a definite “no”. The crowd could never be bored at a festival like this.

Review & Photos by: Katie Romo

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