The third annual Same Same But Different Festival (SSBD) returned this September 9th through 12th in full force, representing all that is freedom and love in the hidden gem of Lake Perris, California. A beautiful, hot weekend perfectly complimented with a cool dip in Lake Perris was a combination made in heaven. Gleaming the best of the best vibes out in everyone, having a bad time at this camp-out festival is literally impossible. Throw your hammock up on one of the trees by the car camping or bring your tent in by the beach for ultimate morning views. Bringing in some big name EDM headliners, such as Big Gigantic and CloZee, the big beach party has a magical way of being just that — a giant fun party. With tons of easily accessible water, a simple festival layout and no lines for anything really, the experience was unique and one of the happiest places on earth, genuinely. Even the staff and police are happy to be there!
SSBD 2021 featured four stages.
The “Main” Stage on the beach, facing Lake Perris, was fully equipped with all the big fancy lights, as well as state-of-the-art sound and production. Any way you looked, it was a fantastic view, especially during that sunset during Moontricks‘ performance on Saturday. The “Different” Stage was slightly smaller, yet with just as many big sounds and lights, operating opposite schedule of the Main Stage so that the audience could enjoy a full set of all artists (which was a personal favorite of mine!). The “But Jungle” Stage held incredible sessions of reggae, rock and jam bands for some extra daytime relaxation. The “Coconut Club” Stage ran right next to the water during the daytime, overlooking a vast sea of floaties (commence the Floatopia!) in any and all sizes and shapes. The festival also placed some climbable big ladders in the water to enhance the viewing experience — another nice touch! If the festival could be known for anything, it should be the almost 4,000 people on lake floaties or dancing away on the beach, while being slashed with water to keep cool. One. Giant. Beach. Party.
The artists represented on these four stages showed up and showed OUT for this festival. Most of the artists kept a cool, bass-heavy vibe, but these artists did NOT hesitate to get funky. From the blaring trumpet and clarinet features from Balkan Bump to some cool violin vibes by Dirtwire, the party kept going all night. The blend of the artists was seamless, with upbeat deep house and techno from the likes of Chrusocolla and Donald Glaude, getting down and dirty at night with some funky bass vibes at night thanks to STS9, Sunsquabi and the one-and-only LSDream. Other incredible acts seen this weekend included Jesus Gonzales, Sex Pixels, Helena Holleran & The Chi Machine, Green T, Universe Peoples, Ofier, Vindata, Aviator Stash, Giant Red Panda Project, Boostive, Eric Long, Shakedown Sting Band, Zen Money, Maximo, One Hot Planet, Fresh Veggies Micro Brass, J. Worra, Gene Farris, CAPYAC, Cofresi, Megan Hamilton, The Polish Ambassador, Groovesession, Saxsquatch, Boombox featuring Backseat Brass, MDRN HSTRY and Many A Moon.
As if all this wasn’t enough, one more icing on the cake was just that… the food was AMAZING! They were really good fruit smoothies, poke bowls, your festival classic pizza and also reasonably priced essentials around the corner at the General Store, which stayed stocked all weekend long. What also sets this festival apart is the variety of yoga, breath work, aero-yoga, sound baths and many other spiritual meditations and open discussions for any attendee to join at any skill level.
As I look back on this beauty of a festival, I realize that not many are left that are like this.
It was a place of general happiness, freedom, safety and a beautiful space for it all — what more could you ask for? My recommendation to you? I REALLY suggest you stay tuned for SSBD 2022. You’ll wanna grab your ticket before the secret is out!
Same Same But Different 2021 official after movie:
Photography by Franny Kovacs
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