Big week. CRSSD takes over Waterfront Park Saturday and Sunday, so most of the good afters and warmups cluster around it. If you are not doing the festival, there is plenty else: a couple of strong Thursday shows, the Padres closing out the regular season at home, and a sake festival Sunday to finish it off.
19 picks, Thursday through Sunday. This is the SD Scoop email that went out Wednesday morning; read it on sdscoop.co or get next week's in your inbox.
Parties
CRSSD Festival Fall 2026
Sat, Sep 26 · 12pm through Sun, Sep 27 · Waterfront Park, Downtown
The fall edition, two days on the grass by the bay with the skyline behind the main stage. Ben UFO and 999999999 are the reasons to go, Carlita and ARODES will pull the bigger crowds. Bring sunscreen, get there before the sun drops, and plan your exit before the Palm stage empties.
LED presents Mochakk with Ben Sterling and Jackie Hollander
Thu, Sep 24 · 5pm to 10pm · Gallagher Square at Petco Park, East Village
An early set inside the ballpark, done by 10, which is exactly how a Thursday should work. Mochakk is one of the best house DJs touring right now and this is the night to catch him before the CRSSD crowds land. Crack a SUNGOD on the walk over and get in for Ben Sterling, who opens.
Birds of Paradise with Fabri Es, Julian Ortega, Justo
Sat, Sep 26 · 6pm to midnight · Bar 1924, Point Loma
Minimal and dub techno in a small room, cover is ten dollars at most. A smart move if you skipped CRSSD Saturday or left early and want something slower and darker. The kind of night where the crowd knows the DJs.
GU3ST LISTE with Jen Cardini
Thu, Sep 24 · 8pm to 2am · 3oz Dive Club, Pacific Beach · $15
Jen Cardini in PB is a strange and good sentence. Techno and ghetto tech from a longtime Paris and Berlin selector, with Krissy Marchante and Kale on support. Fifteen bucks, and we would go for the headliner alone.
Sweat Dot Biz: Vaporwave Dance Night
Sun, Sep 27 · 9pm to 2am · Whistle Stop, South Park · Free
Disco and vaporwave at the neighborhood bar, no cover. The right Sunday closer for anyone still standing after the weekend, and Whistle Stop is one of the few rooms in town that gets a small dance floor right.
Shows
Kelela with keiyaA
Wed, Sep 23 · 7:30pm · Observatory North Park, North Park
Tonight. Kelela does club-leaning R&B better than anyone, and the Observatory is the right size for her. keiyaA opening is a bonus, get there for the full bill.
Kruder & Dorfmeister
Wed, Sep 23 · 7:30pm · Sound, Del Mar
Thirty years of the K&D Sessions, the downtempo record everyone owned in the late nineties. A rare US stop, and Sound at the fairgrounds is a big enough room to do it justice. For anyone who wants to sit down at a show and still leave happy.
Vieux Farka Touré
Thu, Sep 24 · 7:30pm · Epstein Family Amphitheater, UC San Diego, La Jolla
Malian desert blues guitar outdoors on a September night. Son of Ali Farka Touré, a serious player in his own right, and the UCSD amphitheater is a nice open-air room most people still have not been to.
Gilbert Castellanos & The New Latin Jazz Sextet
Thu, Sep 24 · 6pm · Lou Lou's Jungle Room, North Park
The best trumpet player in the city with a full Latin jazz band in a tiki bar. Early start, so this works before Mochakk or as the whole night. Sit at the bar if you can.
Food and Drink
10th Annual San Diego Sake Festival
Sun, Sep 27 · check the link · JULEP Venue, Middletown
Ten years in, this is the one sake event in town worth the ticket, with enough breweries pouring that you actually learn something. Pace yourself, eat before you go, and ask the importers what they drink at home.
Taste of Shogun
Sun, Sep 27 · check the link · Embolden Beer Co., Miramar
Japanese food, vendors and performances at a brewery in Miramar. Smaller and looser than the sake fest across town the same day, and the better pick if you want food first and drinks second.
Oktoberfest in El Cajon
Fri, Sep 25 · 4pm · German American Societies, El Cajon
The real one. A German cultural club with a band flown in from Baden-Wurttemberg, folk dancing, and beer that is not a pumpkin ale. Skip the bar versions downtown and drive east.
Sea Monster is coming to Mission Valley
Mission Valley
New Hawaiian and Japanese leaning cafe doing poke with locally caught bluefin, spring rolls, housemade sauces and a lot of matcha. Mission Valley needs it. Read up before it opens.
Out
Padres vs. Diamondbacks, final regular-season homestand
Fri, Sep 25 · 6:40pm · Petco Park, East Village
Last regular-season weekend at Petco. Whatever the standings say by Friday, this is the last cheap chance to sit in the park until spring, unless October goes the way we hope. Friday is the night to go, before the weekend crowds.
Cruisin' Grand, last Friday of the season
Fri, Sep 25 · 5pm · Grand Avenue, Downtown Escondido
Classic cars and live bands on Grand every Friday from April through September, and this is the last one until spring. Not cool in the club sense, very cool in the actual sense. Eat in one of the old bars on Grand after.
Becoming Heirlooms: A Craft Desert Exhibition
Wed through Fri, Sep 23 to 25 · from 12pm · Central Library, East Village
Craft and art objects treated as things that carry meaning, not just decoration, put together for Handwork 2026. A quiet hour downtown before dinner or before you head to the ballpark.
This week's order
Dish of the week
Triple Threat sandwich
Carnitas' Snack Shack · Embarcadero
Pork loin schnitzel, pulled pork, bacon and pepperoncini on a bun, eaten on the waterfront. Messy and worth it, and the Embarcadero location puts you a short walk from Waterfront Park if you need real food during CRSSD.
Drink of the week
A neat pour off the whiskey wall
Aero Club Bar · Middletown
A dive with one of the deepest whiskey shelves in the state. Skip the cocktail list, tell the bartender what you like and let them pick a bourbon or rye you have not had. The Queerqxrl day party is here Saturday if you want a reason.
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