Dairy Creek Golf Course in San Luis Obispo, CA — May 4-5, 2024

California’s Central Coast was once again brought the mesmerizing beats and vibrant atmosphere of the Shabang Music, Arts, & Camping Festival, marking its triumphant tenth year at Dairy Creek Golf Course in San Luis Obispo. Taking place over the first weekend of May, the festival proved to be the perfect entrance into the spring and summer music season. Its blend of diverse talent from indie, house, folk, and electronic genres created an otherworldly experience that captivated attendees under rain and shine. Over the two days, over 40 acts performed across four stages. Headlining acts – Peach Pit’s electrifying performance on Friday, SIDEPIECE’s dazzling production on Saturday – capped off each day at the main stage, Laguna Lake, with a giant party.

With well-known electronic/house acts SIDEPIECE, Walker & Royce, Noizu, LF System, and Nala, as well as indie-alternative artists Peach Pit, Thundercat, The Walters, Sun Room at the top of the bill, as well as an incredible undercard, Shabang continues to impress each year with a stacked lineup. The indie, alternative, pop, and electronic acts were ingeniously curated to create a lineup that was so fitting to San Luis Obispo specifically, but also spanned all sorts of subgenres. The festival made it very walkable between stages, allowing constant musical experiences with art & acrobatic installations in between to round out the playful nature. Dairy Creek – set in between the rolling hills and San Luis Obispo’s iconic Nine Sisters mountain range – made for a picturesque backdrop that perfectly suited the type of music at the festival.

Music played from 3pm to 11pm each day. Friday’s warm day saw up-and-coming artists Swede & Skogen, George Clanton, and Nala at the three stages. Around 6pm, the festival grounds were filled out with electronic duo LF System leading a dance party at Funk Safari and surf rock band, Sun Room performing on Laguna Lake. Los Angeles based house artist Noizu brought an epic 90 minute set to close out the Funk Safari stage just ahead of his appearance at Las Vegas’ Electronic Daisy Carnival later in May, while Canadian indie band closed down the main stage performing many of their hits like “Shampoo Bottles,” “Alrighty Aphrodite,” and namesake “Peach Pit.”

NALA

LF SYSTEM

SUN ROOM

NOIZU

PEACH PIT

The music continued on Sunday, which brought in a rain storm – but a little mud never hurt any Shabang-ers from a dance party. In the first half of the day, singer-songwriter Kate Bollinger delivered an ethereal performance at the main stage, emerging electronic producer Jackie Hollander had festival goers dancing in the rain at Funk Safari, TikTok sensation DJ Mandy drew in a crowd at Silent Disco, and rising alternative band Couch Dog at the Cuesta Ridge stage. The Laguna Lake stage had an incredible lineup to the day, with The Walters getting the crowd amped despite the rain coming down at its peak. Near the end of their set, the clouds parted and the sun made its return alongside a full rainbow cascading across the sky. Talk about a moment straight out of a movie. Thundercat followed after The Walters, getting the crowd grooving with funk and jazz based music, Walker & Royce delivered a jaw-dropping audio and visual performance, and Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners bringing an acoustic-folk experience with a performance that warmed the soul. Closing out the festival at the Laguna Lake stage on Saturday, SIDEPIECE unleashed a set filled with relentless beats that kept the massive crowd dancing. Their high-energy set kicked off with snippets of “On My Mind,” their iconic collaboration with Diplo and blended with samples of hip-hop hits like “A Milli” and “Shabba.”

SILVER PANDA

THE WALTERS

THUNDERCAT

It was a party from beginning to end – Shabang delivered a weekend that properly and perfectly celebrated its tenth anniversary. It’s safe to say that this festival leaves all attendees eagerly looking forward to watching this festival grow and evolve in the coming years – here’s to many more years Shabang. The festival returns May 2nd and 3rd, 2025. Check out their website here for more information!

Words & Photography: Sabrina Poei