Arroyo Seco Festival Weekend
Pasadena, CA- The hot and humid weather in Pasadena this past weekend caught us a bit off guard as we strolled alongside the Rose Bowl headed for the inaugural Arroyo Seco Weekend Festival.
Thankfully on Saturday, the heat dissipated as the sun ducked beneath the hills and the "chill" crowd and atmosphere offered the perfect antidote to the hot spell. The Arroyo Seco Weekend was getting underway.
The ever evolving concert festival scene had us once again trekking down to Southern California to experience a weekend of great music, scrumptious food and frosty, cool libations. In a twist, the festival took place adjacent to the Rose Bowl, spread across three stages at the sprawling Brookside Golf Course. The greens and sand traps were carefully fenced off while vendors were conveniently situated along the edge of fairways. The music stages were spread out perfectly to avoid overlap of sound.
The festival experience is much more enjoyable when there's room to roam and we suspect this model for festivals should only grow in popularity.
The setting provides a feel more akin to hanging out at your local park with friends and family but with the benefits of world class music and an endless array of gourmet food and beverage options.
Our only quibble was the fact that due to the crowd size, more than a fair amount of fans had very obstructed views due to the trees. Perhaps next year, we'll see the addition of video screens and speakers to better reach the fans in the back.
Sitting in the middle of the golf course fairway, listening to great bands perform against the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mts. while enjoying a drink and a bite as you gaze at the swirl of people around you is about as fun and relaxing as it gets.
Put on by concert and festival pros Goldenvoice, Arroyo Seco Weekend artfully blends a family friendly, county fair atmosphere with that of a concert and food festival. Hassle free parking and air-conditioned shuttle from the Parsons building was effortless even for those completely unfamiliar with their surroundings. Goldenvoice continues to set the bar for delivering a stress free festival experience by focusing on the needs of all age groups. The audience encompassed a mixture of every age group from young kids to 60's plus and they all seemed to be having a blast.
Done right, concert festivals no longer involve the chaos and hassles of a bygone era.
While Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Mumford & Sons headlined the two evenings, fans came out with equal excitement for the wide array of acts throughout the bill. It's refreshing to see the current generation of young music fans possessing a broader palate of appreciation for the different genres and styles of musicians than we've seen in quite some time. Festivals are a terrific way to discover bands to add to your repertoire of playlists and Arroyo Seco Weekend helped us add more than a few.
All in all, Arroyo Seco Weekend was a fun and entertaining experience for all ages in a beautiful Pasadena location. The hassle free weekend was a worthy trek from our Northern California base. Arroyo Seco Weekend will be back in 2018 and so will we!