Last week, social media stumbled across what will soon be the first music festival held at the Del Mar Racetrack + Fairgrounds in San Diego county.

KABOO is an innovative music and arts festival held the weekend of Friday, September 18th to Sunday the 20th this fall. It features some of the most well-known artists and bands of the decade, such as The Killers, No Doubt, Spoon, Zac Brown Band, Sheryl Crow, and Slightly Stoopid. These bands are destined to dominate the seven stages with their most classic throwback tunes. Other recently popular performances by Cherub, Foster the People, and Girl Talk add a modern sound which caught my eye as well. KABOO also invited comedians like Chris D’Elia and Tim Meadows to the grounds for further entertainment. In summary, the festival does not seem to focus at all on acts who have released anything in the past year (like Coachella) or a certain genre (like Stagecoach).

Initially, I was surprised and somewhat impressed to see such big names on KABOO’s lineup for its first year taking place. The entire list of bands, artists, and comedians ultimately struck me as a festival targeted at an older adult audience despite the few DJ sets and underdog bands featured as well.  This might change in years to come (hopefully) if KABOO 2015 is successful and continues to grow – I would really enjoy seeing more musical variety and performances of other styles of music with time. With San Diego’s prime weather and location, I definitely see potential in its overall entertainment.

The downside? For college students, the pricing of 259$ for a standard GA 3-day pass during first semester can be financially discomforting. Compared to last summer’s lineup and price range of Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco, OSL is almost as costly and has been running for several years with (in my perspective) a plentiful amount of diverse artists and bands for the weekend. Overall, your location and personal taste in music should be carefully weighed when deciding whether or not the festival owns up to your money’s worth.

The official website includes the full lineup, travel tips, ticket links, and general information about what to expect at the racetrack this year. KABOO promises that they are not your average festival of the arts, thus, I am beyond excited to hear how the event turns out. Tune in to KCR Wednsay evenings from 4-5 PM to hear some bands featured on this year’s KABOO lineup!