Mission Bayfest 2024: Day Two

Let me paint you a picture here: Day Two of Mission Bayfest was pure, unfiltered happiness, wrapped in sunny skies and reggae beats. As a photographer bouncing between stages, I had the best view of all the action — and believe me, there was a lot to see. If

Day One was a chill hang, Day Two was the best chaos.

The day started with Dubbest at the Under The Bridge Stage, where folks were still trickling in, early drinks in one hand and festival maps on their phones in the other. Dubbest has this way of easing you into a groove… their music setting the tone like a warm-up stretch. I snagged some shots of early risers swaying, looking like they’d just found paradise before noon. The set felt like, “Hey, welcome! Day Two is gonna be epic!”

Then Doah’s Daydream came out, and, oh man, it was like stepping into a cartoon (like her recent video for “Ready To Love”). She had some of her fans waving the most adorable cloud signs with one saying “Hope, Love, and Daydream” and friends onstage in inflatable unicorn suits, breaking it down and firing off massive bubble guns. I was so excited to capture all the colors, the bubbles, and the absolute sparkle. Doah really created her own mini-universe this day, with upbeat visuals that one hundred percent radiated her vibe. It was contagious, too, not just with people in the crowd, but I along with them couldn’t help but smile and get lost in the moment.

As I was catching my breath from that visual parade, Tunnel Vision took over Under The Bridge.

The band’s laidback, surfy tunes have a breezy, classic California sound — like something you’d play on a road trip down the coast. People arriving looked like they’d just walked into yet another epic SoCal party, with the sea breeze and Tunnel Vision setting a custom-made soundtrack for the Mission Bay backdrop. I caught a couple of beach hats and hands floating in the air to the rhythms.

Then I bolted over to the main stage to catch Artikal Sound System, who I was absolutely stoked to see again. It’s only my second time seeing them live (last at Cali Vibes 2024), and wow, they absolutely killed it. Logan Rex, their dazzling and delightful frontwoman, is this whirlwind of joy and fierceness rolled into one; she has this incredible way of connecting with the crowd like a friend and entertainer. And when they hit us with “Self-Sabotage” from their upcoming album, I swear the crowd was hanging on every beat. February 2025 can’t come soon enough — I’ll be camping out for that album drop!

Over at the Under The Bridge Stage, Bumpin Uglies cranked up this wild cocktail of reggae, punk, and ‘we’re doing things our way, so deal with it’ energy. It had everyone throwing their cares, and maybe a few dance moves, to the wind. Fans were all over the place, busting out goofy moves, shouting along, and basically having a full-on, joyful meltdown.

Next up, it was a main stage bounce-back with KBong & Johnny Cosmic.

These two were pure sunshine, like, ‘hand ‘em a guitar and they could probably bring about world peace’ levels of positive vibes. The absolute highlight? KBong casually called out his mom in the crowd, just chilling there, totally stoked to see her kid up onstage. And the whole crowd? They went nuts, giving her this massive, heart-melting round of applause. Honestly, it was peak wholesome content; I couldn’t resist snapping a few shots of KBong grinning ear to ear, looking like he just won the best-son-ever award.

Then came Tropidelic and, let me tell you, these guys are like a musical blender set to ‘wild’. This was my first time catching them live and they threw down a crazy mix of funk, ska, and pure ‘guess what’s next — bet you can’t’ energy. Each brass riff hit like a surprise party and the crowd? They were fully losing it, dancing like they’d just discovered a whole new kind of freedom. I was dodging dancers trying to keep up with these guys’ pace! But I did love every second of it.

By the time Rome & Duddy took the stage, things settled into a cozy acoustic groove. Watching these two play is like kicking back with old friends; you can feel that easy connection between them. The whole crowd was in on it, singing along, waving lighters (or phone flashlights — it’s 2024, after all)… it felt like we were all part of their jam sesh.

And Eli-Mac? She turned the vibe up a notch, as usual.

Eli-Mac stormed in with her insanely powerhouse vocals and a blend of reggae and hip hop that constantly hits hard. She’s super fierce, confident, and totally in control. I caught some killer shots of her in full energy mode.

Just as the sun peaced out below the horizon, Pepper blasted onto the stage, looking ready to blow the roof off… except, you know, it was outside. It had been a while since I last saw them, and they brought along a new guitarist and co-founder of Kona Town Recording, Jeff Nisen, who fit in like he’d been with them forever. Their set? Loud, raw, and zero f*cks. They hit the stage like they were on a mission and the crowd went nuts, screaming every word, thrashing around like they were squeezing the last drop of summer out of Pepper’s lyrics. It was a riot to shoot! And then, in a move no one saw coming, frontman (of two) Kaleo Wassman casually hopped offstage, headed straight for this adorable family with little kids in the crowd, and basically gave them a front-row, mini-concert of their own. Those kids were absolutely starstruck and let’s be real — the rest of us were, too!

And then, it was the perfect closer: Iration. These guys have such a smooth, mellow vibe that feels like the musical equivalent of a sunset over the ocean. Their latest tracks from Daytrippin’ had the crowd swaying, all the high-energy chaos of the day settling into a peaceful end. It was the kind of performance that wraps up a festival day with a bow.

Mission Bayfest Day Two was all kinds of wonderful twists and turns, with sunshine, bubbles, and blow-up unicorns, and, honestly, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The energy, the characters, the absolutely random surprises — that’s what festival days are all about! Stay tuned for Day Three.

Photography by Olivia Valdes