Day Trip’s inland detour is chock full of sunshine
Three stuffed giraffes, 200 flamingo sculptures and thousands of fans flocked to the NOS Event Center in San Bernardino on Saturday for the debut of Insomniac’s Day Trip festival.
After more than a year with live music and festivals shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, fans braved the triple-digit heat and multiple venue changes to dance joyfully in the sunshine accompanied by a soundtrack of house music that included the likes of Diplo, Nora En Pure, Chromeo and others.
“Any situation that includes me, some friends and some house music is a good situation,” said 23-year-old Tyris Young of Fontana.
When it was announced last summer in the midst of lockdowns, Day Trip was originally scheduled to happen in San Pedro at the L.A. waterfront.
“It kept our hope alive,” said 29-year-old Biri Dominguez, 29, of Los Angeles, who bought tickets for the fest when it went on sale last year.
But two weeks ago, promoter Insomniac Events was forced to
relocate after the city said it couldn’t handle the capacity of the sold-out show due to the return of July 4 events bringing more parking and traffic congestion to the waterfront.
Insomniac then moved the festival to The Lot at Hollywood Park at the SoFi Stadium, but the quick turnaround wasn’t enough time to get permits procured with the city of Inglewood. So on Tuesday, the promoter announced the relocation to San Bernardino.
In an unprecedented move, Insomniac announced it was automatically issuing refunds for fans who bought tickets, but still granted them access to this weekend’s show as well as a free pass to another Insomniac show before the end of the year.
Dominguez said she already bought tickets for more of Insomniac’s upcoming events so she
Adriana Aguilar, left, and Liliana Pacheco share a hammock during the first day of Insomniac’s Day Trip Festival at the NOS Event Center in San Bernardino on Saturday. Fans seemed to appreciate the event despite the location change.
planned to use her free pass for a friend.
And for fans who traveled and had booked nonrefundable travel and lodging? Insomniac plans to reimburse those expenses, too.
“They’re considering the experience of the people,” said Jo Leon, 24, of Los Angeles, an attendee who works in festival production, commending how Insomniac
worked with the fans.
As the announcement was hitting social media, Justin Spagg, vice president of festival operations and experience for Insomniac, and the promoter’s production team of 15 management staff and 70 crew members started building at NOS in San Bernardino, a venue Insomniac has been working
with for decades.
The team laid down 180,000 square feet of artificial turf over the concrete and asphalt on the site, built two stages and installed multiple shade areas with misters. They also planned Insomniac’s first drone show.
They also set up photo opportunities around the space, including one with a big sign reading “Day Trip” in front of the lagoon, and another with a house that referenced Insomniac’s Virtual Rave-A-Thons they streamed online during lockdown, which attracted fans lining up Saturday to pose for snapshots.
“It’s nice for people to bring home something special from the festival,” Spagg said.
But fans were happy to be present in the moment, returning with friends to enjoy live music, which continues today with performances from Diplo, Justin Martin, Louie Vega and more.
And after more than a year in which they were denied the chance to get together
and dance, fans like Jacobo Arguelles, 26, of San Diego, who was attending the fest with his friends,
weren’t going to let the opportunity pass by.
“No weekends left behind,” he said.