Shabang Live Music and Arts Festival will be returning to San Luis Obispo this weekend with a fresh lineup and tons of fun activities for attendees to enjoy.
The festival will be held in Laguna Park May 13th and 14th and includes four different stages for attendees to enjoy a variety of live music. On Friday, doors open at 3 pm and live music starts at 4 pm, and on Saturday, doors open at 12 pm and live music starts at 1 pm. The different stages include the Laguna Lake stage, Funk Safari stage, Cuesta Ridge stage and the Hush House Silent Disco. The lineup will have a mix of local acts such as Honeyboys, Couch Dog and Swede and Skogen, and will be headlined by TV Girl, The Knocks, Walker & Royce and STRFKR.
The festival’s activities don’t stop at the music, as their self-proclaimed “no need for fidget spinner approach” to interactivity will allow listeners to take breaks between sets to check out some of the art installations, as well as contribute to “community canvases” that will be set up for attendees to paint, as well as plenty of other artistic options. Shabang also will feature a Yoga and Movement area for attendees to experience “a getaway and mental retreat from the stagnant 9 to 5.”
Along with the option to make art, there will also be a marketplace experience available during the festival that will give music listeners the option the explore local vendors. There will be options spanning from various handmade items, band merch from your favorite acts and exciting new music from a new discovery.
Shabang will also be working with local food and beverage vendors like Woodstock’s Pizza and Whalebird Kombucha along with others to vend the festival when attendees need a bite to eat or a drink between sets. Those who bring reusable water bottles will be able to use water refill stations to stay hydrated and there will also be an option to buy aluminum cups for said water, no single-use. Via their Instagram, Shabang encourages attendees to bring their own water bottle to refill.
With festival safety and attendee well-being one of the larger conversations for the music industry to come in 2022, Shabang makes it clear how these conversations have been actualized at a local level.
Shabang has contracted out with a private security team that specializes in live music events. pressed assurance that this team knows how to handle situations that can arise at music festivals and have all of this in mind going into Shabang.
One of the biggest pieces of advice that Nikki Morgan, a public relations specialist for Shabang had for attendees was that this is a music festival where you should never think twice about asking for help.
“Do not be afraid to walk up to someone with a walkie-talkie or a badge. For the most part, we know exactly how you are feeling about something because we have all been to a festival or have had a similar experience. We want to make sure the people who are attending are as safe as humanly possible”.
