I went to San Diego this past weekend for CRSSD Fest, a two-day music festival that takes place at Waterfront Park, one of the prettiest places I’ve ever seen live music. The ocean is less than a half-mile distance from the fest. The weather is pretty temperate (though there was a light drizzle Sunday afternoon) and the vibes are the most chill.
On Saturday, I walked in a little after noon and saw this older woman dancing her heart out at the Palms Stage during Boys Don’t Disco B2B Paul Najera. The next day, I caught her at the City Steps dancing during Peggy Gou’s set. It was then I decided I had to talk to her and find out what brought her to this mostly underground electronic festival.
Meet Terese. She’s 63 years young and moved to the area in the past year. She was taking a stroll last year and could hear the music emanating from CRSSD’s fall edition of their festival and told herself she’d come check it out the next time it came around. She said that she used to ballroom dance, do the rumba, and a number of other moves that are way beyond my own capabilities. She said she loved the vibe of CRSSD because you didn’t need a partner to dance there and she loved the tribal feel of some of the music that she heard. When I asked her if this was her type of music, Terese said “No, but it is now.”
Terese said she danced from noon to about 7 PM on the first day before heading home. She had a knee replacement and was still getting down as hard as anyone I saw at the festival. I asked her what she thought of all the interesting costumes that people were wearing and she said she loved it and that that’s right up her alley. I asked if I could shoot a video of her and she gave me the green light.
I stood to the side for a bit and watched as people came up to her and chatted her up, even dancing with her from time to time. I know that I hope I am as cool as Terese when I’m in my sixties. I told myself I’d hit the festival circuit hard and then re-evaluate when I hit 30. Terese has me re-evaluating my plan to re-evaluate.
Probably my favorite thing about CRSSD and music festivals in general is that it makes live music more accessible. Dance music in particular can often be confined to clubs where the vibes are a bit uptight and there isn’t much room to do your own thing. Open-space festivals like CRSSD allow everyone to partake, and as long as you share the love of the music that everyone has, you’re welcomed with open arms.
Visit our Instagram post and tag a friend that you think will be Terese in 30 or 40 years!
