Drug Hunt, helping to fight the suck of the cliquey vacuum.

“As a San Diego born-and-bred artist, I’ve always enjoyed the vast differences in culture and creative approaches that our city has to offer, and I’ve strived as an organizer to bring its creators and audiences together,” says Rory Morison. “Bad Vibes Good Friends Fest will feature all San Diego-based artists from Oceanside to Chula Vista, as we celebrate established and upcoming artists from different genres and mediums, from tattoo to fine art, cumbia to psych rock, and everything in between.”

Taking place Saturday, June 26 at Sideyard BBQ, the festival kicks off at noon and features Morison’s band Drug Hunt, as well as Earthless, Warish, Booty Basement, Wild Wild Wets, Los Pinche Pinches, Belladon, Fresh Veggies Micro Brass, Cumbia Machin, La Boogie Buena, and Spit Vipers, with a classic psychedelic projection light show courtesy of local outfit Operation: Mindblow. Featured artists include Dave Warshaw, Dove and Toad, CJ Troxell, Erica Joan, Eyegato, Mr. Dvice, Jake Fitzgerald, Strange Bouquets, Marianna Camacho, and This Girl Hugs Trees.

“This festival has been a dream since I started throwing shows under the moniker Bad Vibes, Good Friends,” says Morison. “However, this particular event fell into my lap quite uncannily. I was working on an art commission for the speakeasy at Sideyard, and after a few visits I got to know the good people over there and the unique spaces it had, and I asked in passing if I could throw a festival in the future.” Things came together quickly from there.

“As per the event and the pandemic, we were aware of the June 15 reopening, the vaccine rollout, and began to see other promoters booking dates in late June, which gave us a good indication. We modeled this event around the regulations of early May, just in case.” The festival will be an indoor-outdoor show, with limited 25 percent capacity.

The music lineup differs from most themed multi-band events, where the aim is to attract one specific audience. “The spirit of Bad Vibes and Good Friends was always to connect different communities, genres, and mediums of art and music. I was getting bored of playing and going to shows where every band on the bill sounded the same. San Diego has so much diversity to offer, but most of the time, it exists in this cliquey vacuum. The rockers with the rockers, the goths with the goths, and so on and so forth. This lineup thus reflects this spirit: the bands and artists selected exemplify the great diversity this city has to offer. As per the booking, my band Drug Hunt has been a part of the local scene for many years now, and the large majority of the artists and bands are my friends. It was relatively easy to get the bands and artists we got; it took very little persuasion, because we’ve been cooped up for so long.” 

Attendees will have access to several spaces, from an outdoor stage serving BBQ to a loft art gallery overlooking the city, a warehouse stage with liquid light projections, a speakeasy, a lounge area serving pizza, and access to visit neighboring Thorn Street Brewery and the new Kove tasting room. 

“Bands are chomping at the bit, they all have brand new material and the pent-up energy of a year and a half of not performing. The music will range from Latin funk to dirty blues, cumbia, weirdo brass bands, futuristic pop, post-surf, sci-fi psych, garage punk, and the cosmic out-of-body experience that is Earthless. And as if that wasn’t enough, there will be a bacchanal dance party brought to you by Booty Bassment. The artists are also showing never-before-seen work, and the mediums range from tattoo art to collage, graffiti, painters, and even embroiders.”

Morison’s alt-country blues rock band Drug Hunt was originally known as Bad Vibes when their debut album No One’s Safe came out in summer 2017. After its release, they signed to local Blind Owl Records and changed their name to Drug Hunt. The Sideyard gig will be their first full-band concert performance in 486 days.