Hundreds of music fans descended upon Marina Green Park in Long Beach at noon on Friday and huddled around the entrance to the annual Cali Vibes Music Festival, waiting for the gates to open.
These passionate patrons — many of which commented that they took off from or blatantly just ditched work — showed up early to take in the first day of the three-day reggae, rock and hip-hop fest, topped by acts including Rebelution, Dirty Heads, 311, Snoop Dogg, Jack Johnson, Slightly Stoopid and Tash Sultana.
The cooler, yet sunny and breezy weather paired with the upbeat tunes provided by kickoff band Tunnel Vision of San Clemente, set the chill vibe for the day. Acts including Through the Roots, Ozomatli and Kabaka Pyramid drew sizeable crowds to their respective stages and kept fans dancing and signing along.
Over on the Boomyard stage, up-and-coming acts delivered sets as diverse as the cuisine being served up in the adjacent food court. The vendors offered authentic Kenyan, Korean and Caribbean dishes. The Irie jerk chicken wings and plantains from Nash & Proper were a surprising and delish flavor explosion and the heaping baskets of Kogi Korean BBQ fries were a fest favorite.
There were plenty of hot chicken options, including the plant-based hot chicken sandwiches from Wolfie’s Hot Chicken. Yonder Coffee was a perfect caffeine jolt and Burbank’s D.R.E.A.M. Donut Truck was a fine sweet treat.
Cali Vibes continues in Long Beach through Sunday, Feb. 19.
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