North Park Music Fest makes space for creativity, culture and community

Have you ever watched a musician play in a pet store? Or a heard a punk band in a skateboard shop? Or how about a country singer at a cider bar?

If not, your chance to do so is coming, at the annual North Park Music Fest, from noon to 9 pm Saturday.

For the second straight year, most of the performances at the fest will take place at neighborhood businesses, including a coffee shop, pet store, community park and, yes, even a skateboard shop.

Jim Sakrison, a member of the board of directors for North Park Main Street, the organization that supports arts, culture and entertainment in the neighborhood, said the reason for the diverse performance locales is to bring awareness to neighborhood businesses and what they offer, rather than have them just be a backdrop for outdoor stages.

“One of the roles of North Park Main Street is to promote commerce and business in thedistrict, and when we do the festival in a closed-off, fenced-off area, like we did in (20)23 and (20)24, the businesses don’t really benefit because everybody is staying in this fenced-off area,” he explained. “In this model, people get out, they walk about the district, they can have a beer and listen to a band at one place, go to the next place, have a taco, dance, go to the next place.

“And so, they’re getting exposure to multiple different businesses and while they’re walking about, maybe they’re doing some shopping,” he continued. “(We’re) really trying to integrate the full experience of North Park beyond just around the plaza, having some music there.”

That being said, there will also be a central outdoor stage at this year’s festival, unlike last year.

“Each year is a little bit different,” Sakrison said. “This year, we do have a stage in the North Park Plaza behind the Observatory, which is great because we didn’t have that last year. To activate that public space for the festival is exciting.

“The festival is a true hybrid where we have the plaza activated, plus 10 to 12 venues throughout the district,” he added.

About 30 acts are scheduled to perform at businesses throughout the neighborhood, with the types of genres ranging from the psychedelic soul of Brainstory to the pop-country of Elizabeth Bowersox to the hip-hop of producer-DJ Cut Chemist to the straight-ahead rock of
headliners Frankie and the Witch Fingers.

As part of the event, the North Park-based Walkabout app is hosting a green room-type experience at Union Cowork to serve as a home base for festivalgoers to connect with one another.

Although most performances require a paid ticket, some are free and open to the public, including those at the Pure Pawsh pet store, the Overload skateboard shop, Visual Art + Supply, Playground Art + Coffee and at Mediterranean-style restaurant Bacari.

More than a dozen performers are giving free shows during the event, including singer-songwriter Jesus Gonzalez, a San Diego native whose music incorporates elements of peaceful soul, cosmic psychedelia and spoken word poetry.

Out of all the artists, Gonzalez is the only one who’ll be performing twice that day: he’s scheduled for a one-hour set at Pretzels and Pints restaurant at 2 p.m., and is also playing for VIPs at the Granada House art and music events venue from 4-5 p.m.

Although this is his first time playing at the festival, he said he’s not stressed by the thought of doing two full 60-minute shows at two different locations with just a one-hour break in between.

“I love the opportunity to finish playing and enjoy walking around the festival for a bit and (then) starting the next thing,” he told Times of San Diego.

Gonzalez said there’s a handful of artists that he’s looking forward to seeing.

“I really like (blues-soul rock band) Gypsy Sally, those are good friends of mine and I love their music and the style they bring. And I love (hip-hop producer) Ohmega Watts, just such a down-to-Earth dude with an incredible selection of records. I know (DJ-producer) Gaslamp Killer’s gonna be really great, too. I’ve always dug his stuff and just his spirit as a person.”

Gonzalez said that the Music Fest is a demonstration of the strength and diversity of San Diego’s music community.

“It’s a testament to how incredible our community is, our community of musicians and how we come together to create a wonderful experience for people,” he said. “And thank you to all the listeners who are coming and enjoying. What would a musician be without people who want to listen and be receptive to it? There’s a special community of musicians in San Diego. It’s really awesome.”