Review: At Wonderfront, Miguel delivers a strong and sensual performance on festival’s first day

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After a week of rain, the skies cleared just in time for the debut of Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival.

The three-day music extravaganza, spanning the downtown waterfront, started late on Friday, with the first band taking the stage at 3:30 p.m. Early birds entered the gates around 2 p.m., early enough to see the crew still setting up food stands, beer stations, liquor gardens and vendor booths.

A lot of the action took place at Embarcadero Park North, where two stages, a craft beer station, liquor activation havens and vendor booths dotted the peninsula.

With a 3:45 p.m. time slot, L.A.-based Bad Suns was the one of the first bands to perform to an all-ages crowd. Listeners up front danced along to the alternative tunes, while others lounged on a grassy hill, reminiscent to the vibe of San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival.

One of the enthusiastic fans was Emma, a 20-something Normal Heights resident. Her love of music, rather than a particular act, brought her out to Wonderfront.

“It’s great to have a festival so close to home. And the view is great,” she said, gesturing at the bay and Coronado skyline to the right of the C3bank stage.

But the skyline that drew many to the festival — with the tagline “where the city meets the sea” — quickly faded. By 5 p.m., the sun had already began to set, arguably making Daylight Savings Wonderfront’s biggest enemy. For those who came to the festival later in the day, the dark made it difficult to comprehend and navigate the festival’s layout along the coast, which required a lot of walking.

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Though the flexible re-entry policy was a plus, hard-to-see and sparse signs made it easy to get lost. Event staff continually rerouted people away from dead ends, and the boat transportation options, intended to decrease travel time, was more sporadic and less reliable than expected.

But once festival-goers finally made it to their destination, most of the performances embraced the early nightfall. From indie hip-hop artist Duckwrth to San Diego rock band The Schizophonics, the sets brought high energy and colored strobe lights to the stage.

“We’re lucky to be here,” Schizophonics frontman Pat Beers told the audience between songs. “This could have turned out like Fyre Festival. So many things had to work for this to happen.”

During livetronica group Sound Tribe Sector 9’s instrumental show, two young women sat on a nearby curb. Las Vegas resident Kaui just moved to Chula Vista the day before. When her friend Kanoe came to visit for the weekend, they found out Miguel was playing a show in San Diego.

“We didn’t know the festival was happening, but when we looked for Miguel’s concert we saw it was here (at Wonderfront),” Kaui said. Though they knew a few of the other acts, like X Ambassadors, Miguel was the reason they bought tickets.

And Miguel was likely the reason many attendees bought Friday tickets. Many camped out after Lil Baby’s set in order to secure a prime spot. Judging from the crowd of mainly 20- and 30-year-olds jumping and singing to every song, Miguel didn’t disappoint.

Despite a minor sound glitch — the audience repeatedly yelled out “Turn your mic up!” about five minutes into the set — the R&B headliner delivered a personal and sensual performance that sent fans wild until Wonderfront’s 10 p.m. end.

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Overall, Wonderfront’s first day ran without any major glitches. As long as fans arrive at the festival early enough to get a lay of the sprawling land — and wear shoes made for walking — the experience can be a pretty painless experience.



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