KAABOO Festival Update

The anticipated return of KAABOO San Diego was drawn out but short-lived. The festival, which has been on hiatus since 2019, was scheduled to make a comeback at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in September 2025. However, due to the organizers’ failure to meet contractual obligations, the event will no longer take place.

The Latest

The 22nd District Agricultural Association, responsible for managing the Del Mar Fairgrounds, terminated their contract with the Festival Licensing and Acquisition Corporation (FLAAC)—the current organizers of KAABOO. This decision came after FLAAC failed to pay a $50,000 deposit due in November 2024.

Now What

The future of KAABOO remains uncertain. Which has really been the only certainty all along. Plans for the not-inexpensive festival of music, comedy, art and food known as KAABOO San Diego were cancelled for 2021 and optimistically rescheduled to return in 2022 due to complications from the then-spiking COVID pandemic. This did not happen. Meanwhile, 2023 has pretty much come and gone. Then news surfaced that KAABOO may be KAA-BACK. (Sorry.)

As of now, there are no confirmed plans for KAABOO’s return to San Diego.

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Kaaboo Lineup

The 2024 lineup was expected to be announced January. That has come and gone. Optimists now anticipate an announcement in February 2024. Rumors persist and rumored artists on the bill are being tossed around to appear at the oft-cancelled festival. But until an act is confirmed, none will be posted here.

A post on social media to simply “Stay Tuned” and follow KAABOO on social media for updates, is the first correspondence since the KAABOO Instagram in May 2021: “We are pleased to announce that as our world is beginning to return to regular programming, we have been hard at work tuning our strings for the highly anticipated return of KAABOO. Stay tuned for exciting news and announcements coming soon via social and email. We appreciate your patience and continued support of the brand. More soon…”

KAABOO and Petco Park

In 2019, there were plans to move the KAABOO from the Del Mar Fairgrounds to Petco Park, accompanied by a name change to “KAABOO San Diego.” However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its corresponding airborne pathogens took all the fun out of traditional large live festival entertainment. Additionally, a breach of contract legal dispute arose between KAABOO and the San Diego Padres, which KAABOO organizers denied. Both parties filed lawsuits against each other.

About KAABOO

Formerly known as “KAABOO Del Mar,” and just as frequently mis-known as Kaboo, Kabboo, Kabbo, and Kabooo, the three-day Southern California festival had a five-year run in North County and featured bands such as: Kings of Leon, Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, the Cult, Boyz II Men, Dave Matthews Band, Black Eyed Peas, One Republic, Switchfoot, Mumford & Sons, Duran Duran, Sheryl Crow, The Bangles, Foo Fighters, Katy Perry, Robert Plant, Post Malone, Wiz Khalifa, Big Boi, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, P!nk, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube, Aerosmith and the Killers.

The move to host KAABOO at Petco Park was intended to give the festival the infrastructure for more space, safety, parking and amenities to take KAABOO to the next level. But. Yeah.