Nelly brings the heat to annual Freedom Fest in Mission Beach
MISSION BEACH The fifth annual Freedom Fest on July at Belmont Park featured artists Nelly Shiba San and Kaleena Zanders who thrilled the thousands of excited attendees The all-day and night rave wrapped up the weekend s Fourth of July festivities with a bang Under the leadership of Liv Johnson and her La Jolla-based production band Almost Nakey the festival kicked off at p m with attendees decked out head-to-toe in red white and blue attire This was a moment in the history books for an oceanfront San Diego Fourth of July celebration I have never seen such beautiful people in my life everyone attending was shining and radiating with so much delight love and excitement Johnson declared With two main stages and plenty of activation booths in between the afternoon began with performances from San Diego-based DJs Opening up the Mt Ravemore stage DJ De La Cheezy took the stand performing a mix of house EDM and hip-hop-inspired beats starting the festival on an enthusiastic note On the Same Same But Different stage located on the Coaster Terrace Charolls played a mix of old classics with his signature EDM style Performing at Freedom Fest was such a fun experience The sound quality on the Same Same But Different X Almost Nakey stage I played on was so clean Presumably the best sound I ve spun on I think my highlight from the day was seeing how various people were having a good time with perfect weather in the best city in California Charolls revealed Later in the afternoon DJ Indigo Valet joined the Same Same But Different stage taking the crowd into the early evening The best event for Fourth of July weekend My highlight was having an elevated ocean view as my backdrop while I DJ d explained Andrew Ashour of Indigo Valet With music bumping and attendees continuing to file in activation booths across the festival were in full swing serving up drinks passing out samples and engaging with guests Particular of San Diego s favorite drink brands were sponsors and the crowd was a sea of Cutwater Spirits PNKYS canned wine Above Board liqueur and Oroma cocktails We were blown away by how multiple people were not only curious but genuinely excited to discover a liqueur that tastes amazing without all the sugar The feedback was nonstop and people kept circling back for more declared Above Board club member Bethany Holub While party mode stayed on throughout the day wellness exercises were equally present In the VIP section YemanJ Wellness Mission Beach was serving up doses of its wellness concoctions and across the festival Volo Sports held a beer pong encounter alongside a PNKYS dunk tank Everyone was so caring of each other and kind to each other The vibes overall were so smooth and everyone was so enrolled in the vision of the festival Johnson reported Nelly who dominated the early s with hits like Hot in Herre and Dilemma brought the capacity to Freedom Fest in Mission Beach on July Photo courtesy Almost Nakey As the evening progressed and the sun began to set headliner Nelly geared up for his Freedom Fest debut an aspect of the festival Johnson feels the majority proud of Nelly is such a massive talent The fact that we had him drive in from Vegas was such a historical moment for San Diego and our company The level of production that went into his set was so high and above and beyond anything we have seen in a long time The sun was setting and being able to see the ocean behind our headliner and having everyone in the crowd excited for that was so great Johnson stated Nelly s performance left festival-goers ready for more Nelly brought the heat with all of his classics I will be going back again next year for sure mentioned Freedom Fest attendee Linda Dawood Following the festival Johnson and her organization were grateful hopeful and ambitious for all that was to come These shows are dedicated to the people of San Diego who are the most of loving kind and fun Everyone who arrives at our shows is truly the heart of the city Johnson stated Watching people get ready get together with friends and do everything they can to show up as the best versions of themselves is such a massive thing On the horizon Johnson and the Almost Nakey club are gearing up for more local events
