Pacific Festival: The Dunes

**Photo/Editorial Review September 3, 2012**

Pacific Festival: The Dunes rocked Newport Beach on Sept. 2, bringing Orange County the the hint of sun, easy living and fun that it’s known for.

The event seemed almost like Coachella, but without the hippy element. Full of young, college-aged people, the Pacific Festival exemplifies a youthful West Coast. Three stages had acts performing, with the Identity Village stage hosting some solid DJ sets.

The Newport Dunes Resort & Marina is like a mini beach inside coastal Orange County, and provided a sandy surface to watch a concert. For putting on a beach concert, it was perfect.

But headlining the event was Michigan-borne Mayer Hawthorne, whose love-oriented songs and soul-like voice are a hit with female fans everywhere. Hawthorne played guitar for a few songs, and just sang on others. Fans appreciated his 20-minute long encore performance at the main stage.

Capital Cities played a few songs that serve as a California soundtrack. The singer with the big beard couldn’t be missed while walking throughout the rest of the event’s grounds. Sneaky Sound System also provided an entertaining set that the crowd loved, and Dan Earnhardt Jr. Jr. rocked the set with their guitar-driven tunes.

But the Identity Village stage was the home to perhaps the best batch of tunes with all the DJ sets. Bag Raiders, Cosmic Kids and Goldroom rocked the crowd with hours of beats to dance to.

Overall, Pacific Festival is a show that represents the easy living of coastal Southern California. With great weather that was a lot cooler than that of Coachella, the scene was full of guys foregoing shirts and girls donning bikini tops. Certainly the premier concert for Orange County and the nearby Inland Empire every summer. Check out our pics below!

**Update**

The lineup for this year’s Pacific Festival: The Dunes on September 2 has been announced by festival organizers.

The event features live performances by Mayer Hawthorne, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Poolside, Fool’s Gold, Capital Cities, Mr. Little Jeans, Steed Lord, Tijuana Panthers, American Royalty, Wildcat! Wildcat!, Le Blorr, Snakebit Drifters & Indian Burn.

Pacific Festival will also have DJ sets by Bag Raiders, Cassette, Cosmic Kids, Fuss, Goldroom, Guns in the Sun, Justin Miller, Kedd Cook, Miami Horror, Mobroder, Moon Boots, Perseus, Rankin, Rusty Buckets, Tropicool & Yacht.

**Original Article**

Orange County is set to rock and vibe to some cool music again as the Pacific Festival: The Dunes hits coastal Orange County on September 2nd, Labor Day weekend. Pre-sale tickets are now on-sale, and the venue is moving from Oak Canyon Ranch near Irvine Lake to the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort and Marina, located right on the water’s edge of the Pacific Ocean.

The event showcases live musical acts, local foods and lots of other surprises that event organizers will announce as the event date nears. Last year, event organizers revealed that Snoop Dogg would headline Pacific Fest just weeks before the big day.

Are you ready to get wet? Event organizers are encouraging you to bring a towel and swimming suits. Who knows what they have in store, but you can check out their Facebook page as the rest of the details are rolled out. Also, check out our review of Pacific Festival 2011, that had Snoop Dogg headlining and sets by Cut Copy, Steve Aoki, !!! (Chk Chk Chk), and Calvin Harris. Here’s a link to our event preview article, t00.

If you’re looking to get pre-sale tickets, a limited batch of discounted GA tickets are available at $40. Once those are gone, you’re looking at spending $55 to $75. Just like other big concerts, it’ll have one main stage along with additional entertainment areas.