By aaron lee | may 19, 2025
Wonderfront 2025 was nothing short of amazing. Right along the water at Seaport San Diego, combined with good vibes and nice weather, was a recipe for success. Performances across the 7 stages filled the weekend, providing a variety of vibes for the weekend. The 2 main stages and the Hazey stage were our focus, filled with new and old performers alike.
The most exciting sets came later in the day, starting with Tennessee rapper Isaiah Rashad. He gave the Wonderfront audience a high-energy performance on his birthday, starting with his classic tracks as early as 2016, including “Wats Wrong,” and even teased a new album he’s been working on.
Hiding in the smoke, Daniel Caesar followed which was the fan favorite of the evening. He serenaded fans and had them all singing his love songs word for word.
Korean DJ Peggy Gou delivered an amazing EDM set, with immersive visuals and intense bass with her edits like “(It Goes Like) Nanana – Edit” and “like JENNIE – Peggy Gou Remix.” At the same time was Freddie Gibbs who I ran over to catch. Gibbs didn’t miss a word, all while throwing in humor between his songs. “Crime Pays” and “Something To Rap About.”
Saturday started off just as great with Magdalena Bay at the Cypress stage. I wasn’t familiar with them but the duo gained a fan following with their active and immersive performance. SiR followed, who unfortunately had his set cut short due to sound issues. The LA singer still made the most of his time with his beautiful vocals, with hit songs like “You Can’t Save Me.”
The legendary Janelle Monae followed at the main stage, delivering an empowering performance. Backed by a full band and backup dancers, she took over the stage with power and even left positive messages regarding reproductive rights and race issues in America. Massive bands Foster the People and Neon Trees followed, performing tracks like “Pumped Up Kicks” and “Sit Next to Me” and “Everybody Talks,” showcasing impressive instrumental skills, vocals, and dances.
Ending the night was Anderson Paak. and the Free Nationals, who provided an hour long groovy set. Paak even ended up performing tracks like “Smoking Out The Window,” in addition to his collaborations with the Free Nationals.
The festival ended on Sunday with vibes just as high. Starting off at the Hazey stage was Vacations, who delivered an impressive vocal and instrumental performance during tracks like “Telephones.” Following was Victorious star Leon Thomas, who showed his vocals through his rock-inspired tracks. He played fan favorite “MUTT” which had fans singing louder than ever. Khurangbin ended the evening, the trio came out on a stage backed by 3 window panes. Rarely using vocals initially, the band focused on the instrumental performances, with both main
performers carrying guitars. The colors and visuals were beautiful as well, as they closed off the festival with an amazing performance.
Wonderfront was my first festival experience and it was nothing short of amazing. Not a single artist I saw ended up disappointing me, and with the smaller size of the festival, it was easy to navigate and see everyone I wanted to.
Aaron Lee is a freelance photojournalist for Majestic Music Magazine. See more of his work here.
