Same Same But Different, back for its’ second – year, is a very different kind of festival (in some very cool ways). The two-day festival took place September 20-21, 2019, in Perris Beach, California at the Lake Perris Recreational Campgrounds.
I arrived on Saturday afternoon in Lake Perris and I’ll be honest . . . it was freaking hot! Unless you roll up in a big RV with all the comforts of temperature control, make sure to dress light and hydrate! As far as accommodations go, you can camp out in an RV or setup a tent – even right next to the lake.
After grabbing all my gear I headed to the badge pickup and everything went very smoothly. One thing I am all about at festivals or any kind of event is great staff and Same Same has got it. The staff were super friendly and happy to help everyone there.
So I got the gear, grabbed the badge, now it was time to head in. Normally, when you enter a festival you immediately encounter a lively crowd – but it was hot and the festival’s waterfront location meant the crowd had headed for the water. This is one really neat aspect of the festival, because you can swim and float and still hear and experience the music. During the hot spells everyone would take their big floaties and make-shift boats and chill in the water.
After chilling on the beach and chatting with some campers, I headed for the music. The festival had dual stages but the acts do not play at the same time. While one is playing on one stage, the other is setting up on a second. This was a great perk because you don’t have to miss out on any acts. And to emphasize this again, the stages are also both so close that you could enjoy the music from the water.
All the bands were amazing!
Later in the early evening, as the sun began to set, everyone began to emerge from their tents and mingle more. The first band to go up for the night was Boostive and they were a treat. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what genre they are. Dub, jazz, world, hip-hop all rolled into one. Everyone was feeling this band and the vibes really took off from here! Hula hoop dancers, crazy costumes, loud music and lots of vibes.
As it grew darker, the music also grew more and more wild. By 8 o’clock it was electronic dance in full force. Everyone brought out their crazy costumes and went nuts. Cofresi with his mix of djing and live drumming was a blast and I could not resist dancing to his fire remix of the classic Mr.Sandman.
The last highlight was all the artwork around the beach. The fine artists acted as kind of performers themselves since they were creating pieces live (sometimes even with the musicians on stage). I spoke with Los Angeles based artist Chris Param who creates incredible collages out of magazines. Later I caught him by the music stage dancing away.
That was the best thing about the festival. It was a very loose experience where you could be watching the artist on stage and later end up dancing with them by the end of the night. No egos, just artistic freedom.
