Mission Bayfest 2025: Day Three

Whoa, fam! We really killed it at Mission Bayfest 2025! The last day of the event was more insane than ever on Sunday, with vibes at their highest. This year, we were spoiled yet again with a lineup that delivered utter bliss and sunshine all day, every day, reminding us why this festival stands out as one of the best annual events in San Diego.

The day kicked off stacked with nothing but heat.

Divina (one of my favorite singers who’s also part of the band Boostive) and Helena Holleran opened things up with their crazy good R&B-soul that made everybody pause like, “yo… who is THAT singing?” Straight goosebumps. Then, Doah’s Daydream came through with her signature island-grunge vibe, mixing tropical warmth with gritty edge. She fired off with her bold, high-energy anthems, then surprised us all by flipping into a new awesome K-pop-inspired banger that brought five adorable dancers onto the stage and, of course, had her unicorn friends holding it down both onstage and in the crowd.

After that, Oceanside’s own Chicano multi-instrumentalist and all-around vibe machine Obed Padilla slid into the mix with his Latin alternative energy, pouring R&B/soul into a melting pot of influences that just works. Vana Liya kept the vibes rolling with her super sweet vocals that floated over her cool mix of reggae and pop. Every time she steps on a stage, you can just tell she’s leveling up. And to wrap the early acts was Trish Toledo with straight lowrider/soul vibes. Her voice is legit butter — so warm, classic, super smooth!

I’m telling you, she’s so good live….

By midday, everyone went crazy for Aurorawave‘s ‘reggaecore’ sound; it’s actually kinda crazy how they’ve been able to make metal and reggae work. I didn’t think those two worlds could blend like that, but I’m really into what these boys are doing lately! After head-banging, there’s this guy I recently discovered — Eddie Zuko — who came on with Imperial Valley flavor. Seriously, I’m so impressed with his amazingly smooth hip hop style, mixing in all the Latin sounds he grew up with. He switches between English and Spanish, and it sounds amazing! But, when The Hip Abduction came on? They threw down such a unique mix; it’s like Afrobeat and dub got together with a dash of indie-pop. And the result is delicious.

Later in the evening was the final run of bands that took us into the sunset — you know, the heavy-hitters. Up next? The Elovators. I swear, I light up every time they’re on a lineup! I play their stuff nonstop and I don’t think I’ve ever skipped a single song. They came all the way from Boston to bring Mission Bayfest their smooth, feel-good reggae rock set. And, honestly, it’s always a struggle for me to photograph them because the second they start playing, I’m dancing way too hard!

Next came Rome, who seriously showed us why he’s such a legend!

Solo following his run with Sublime, Rome’s own stuff is so honest and fluid. His killer guitar skills and soulful songwriting emit moments to just breathe and really appreciate your blessings. After Rome wrapped up, Pepper came on and the place went nuts. You know Pepper, right? Total reggae rock Hawaiian legends. The second they hit the stage, the whole bay matched Pepper’s energy for the rest of the set — we got loud, explosive, and fkn bananas!

It was then when the night hit that final, perfect moment with Rebelution closing out the weekend. We were already riding a high from the whole festival, but reb managed to push us even higher with their best feel-good songs. And, get this, they put out a ton of smoke-filled bubbles that drifted across the entire park — it looked unreal. I was out there popping them like a little kid, not even gonna lie. The whole thing felt like the perfect ending to an already insane weekend!

By the time we were walking out of the park, still covered in bubbles, it all kind of hit me — Bayfest really does something to you.

Either Bayfest proper or Mission Bayfest, you get three days where the world just pauses and you get to live inside the music with all your favorite people. We laughed, we danced way harder than we meant to, we lost our voices, and we made another weekend of memories that we’re 100% going to bring up until the next lineup drops.

Honestly, if this weekend proved anything, it’s that Bayfest never misses. Every year, it somehow levels up and — every year, I swear — I can’t wait for the next one even more than the last! So yeah… Mission Bayfest 2025, you were a dream. Same time next year? I’m already there!!!

Photography by Olivia Valdes

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