A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend this year’s Aftershock Festival held in Sacramento’s Discovery Park. I am not usually a huge follower of rock music, but when I arrived at the music festival I could feel the energy and excitement exude from the festival grounds and into the atmosphere. The festival featured 4 stages, providing the park with nonstop music.
37,000 people attended this year’s festival and still managed to dance through the heat. Now that fall is upon us and the weather will start cooling off, I’m getting excited for Sacramento’s new 3-day festival, TBD!
Formerly known as the Launch, this year’s revamped, 3-day TBD Fest will take place Oct. 3-5 on Riverfront Street in West Sacramento (hence the name change to TBD–The Bridge District). This larger venue is big enough to host this year’s much more impressive line-up! The Fest gives festival goers a variety of music from hip-hop and R&B, alternative, dance music and instrumentals. The beauty of TBD is that there are only 2 stages so you don’t have to sacrifice missing any acts since stages will play one at a time. And they recently started selling single day passes for $69.
The TBD Fest website has the full line-up and details, however, below I listed some of my favorite acts that I’m looking forward to see at this year’s festival!
Friday
Autumn Sky – Sacramento songbird; I’m always excited to check out local talent!
RAC – I am personally a diehard fan of Andre Anjos, musician, producer & songwriter that also goes by the name of RAC! He brings an indie twist to the world of dance music with an uplifting sound. RAC is based out of Portland, OR, and has worked with artists such as Pink Feathers, Tegan and Sara, Penguin Prison & more recently, Matthew Koma on his latest hit “Cheap Sunglasses.”
Dillon Francis – Dance music lovers get ready to “get low” to this set.
Saturday
Danny Brown – Hip-hop is slowly becoming more dominant on music festival line-ups and he’s quite an act to see. Last year I witnessed his set at Treasure Island Music Festival and I was so excited when I saw that TBD added him to the line-up last minute.
Empire of the Sun – If you’re a music festival junkie, this act is no surprise to be on this list, but if you’ve never heard of this electronic duo then you’re in for a treat at TBD Fest!
Sunday
8th Grader – This r&b vocalist is a San Francisco native but is not a stranger to the Sacramento music scene. 8th Grader made his first appearance in Sacramento at one of Launch’s opening night shows in 2013, and this year will be returning on the Sunday line-up for TBD.
Blackalicious – Sacramento natives making their music festival debut at TBD Fest! Everyone should be sure to check out this hip-hop group and be sure to give them some hometown love if you’re attending this year’s festival!
If you’re missing out on this festival, don’t fret! Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco is another alternative that’s happening October 18 & 19. It’s featuring many acts who have made debuts at Sacramento’s Launch in the past. Similar to the TBD Fest, Treasure Island also features 2 stages allowing everyone to see all the acts on the line-up and also provides festival-goers with an immersive art installation experience as well as featuring local businesses and art. This festival is primarily focused on alternative and electronic music, however Saturday’s line-up has slowly begun introducing more and more hip-hop acts. This year’s headliners consist of Outkast, Zedd, Alt-J & Massive Attack. Check the website for more details!
Check out the photos below of Aftershock and be sure to follow me on Instagram (@toraaae) for updates and photos from these festivals!
Photos by Tori Kobayashi
