I went to this event twice but both times I was at the Los Angeles location by USC. The first year…read moreI attended was in 2015 and Big Grams really stole the show. Wild performance! - I also attended the following year and thought the line up was well presented. I liked the people in the crowd and the atmosphere. Everyone was excited to be there and treated other attendees with respect. This is not true at all festival events so, I appreciated this vibe. - The snowboarding aspect to the event was unique and fun! I also enjoyed the art-focused pop ups. From what I can tell from the other reviews, the Pasadena location move has not been successful. I find this surprising because Pasadena offers more space, easier driving conditions and better parking options.

Designated alcohol area, cannot bring drinks out of the fenced area. The line to get in the…read moredesigned alcohol area was 400 people long, line to get a drink was another 100 people long. Not sure if I'll be back next year

I went in not knowing anything about this show except that it had a Christmas theme...and I am THAT…read moreperson. I love everything Christmas. The show was at the top floor of the Beverly Center, when parking in the structure, park by the grand court elevator which is on the side of the lot closest to Beverly. That way, you can avoid the long walk from the la cienega escalators. Though the website mentions parking validation, there is none but it's only $1/hr up to 4 hrs. Once you are in, you are in instagram heaven. So many things to pose with and the decorations are beautiful!! Once you are done, you are seated at a a table. It reminds me of an improv type theater for a comedy show. You can order your cocktail (or wine, etc.,) & food to enjoy during the show. The show itself was entertaining - it's rated R, I can see why there is an age restriction (18 +). It's a little of everything - comedy, drag, dancing, singing...hahaha! It's a fun evening out with your good friends.

Wow, what a FUN FUN & SEXY night! We had bought tickets to go with friends for my birthday and we…read moreweren't sure what to expect. Not only did they have cute and sexy and fun photo ops, the appetizers were sooo delicious and the show SUPERB! The talent these amazing actors have is incredible, the singing and acrobatics were out of this world and the sexy NSFW dances were fun & super sexy! I'll only post the PG13 pics but not the naughty ones. I highly recommend you go this Christmas season and experience it for yourself. It'll be a great date night or social occasion. We received great service from beginning to end when it came to ordering my cocktail and food. They were always attentive an prompt.

In terms of bang-for-the-buck, Sunset Strip Music Festival seems like a pretty good deal. It's $50…read moreper day, for 2 days. If you risk your life and go on Craigslist, like I did, you can get tickets for cheaper. On top of that, there was a promotion giving free uber rides to and from the event (we took advantage of that). Most of the music acts aren't huge, but a lot of the lesser-known names they brought in this year were very good! A rapper named Slim, and a band called Nightmare and the Cat were two good discoveries. I was originally drawn to this because Jane's Addiction and Empire of the Sun were headlining. There is a good amount of dust, so I would bring respiratory protection. There is also a lounge where you can sit and rest by one of the main stages that is a good place to rest your feet. We met a Hells Angel there and took a pic with him. The food at the food trucks is surprisingly good, especially at one called Me So Hungry - I would check it out! Also, feel free to dress a little crazy, you'll see some colorfully dressed people here. Overall, if you live in LA, I would check this festival out. I'll be going again.

As an event, you get 4 stars. If it were 2010 you'd get 5. As for this year's (2014) music…read morelineup, you get 1 star. So, I bumped it up a half point from the average for a 3 star rating. I was feeling generous. Went to Day 2 of the SSMF 2014, the headliner was Empire of the Sun. Not interested, but I've been wanting to go to this festival for years and I was either out of town or had nobody to go with. This year my friend wanted to go but he was only interested in seeing Day 2. I thought about going alone, but didn't want to feel like a complete loser, even though Jane's Addiction was the only band the whole weekend I even had the slightest interest in seeing. I wish I could go back in time to 2010 when Slash, Lemmy, Miles Kennedy, Semi Precious Weapons, Neon Trees, etc. played, or even the Marilyn Manson year, or last year's Joan Jett inspired year. But of course I had to go the year it was basically a hipster hell hole mixed with hip hop, which is basically my biggest nightmare, besides getting attacked by an overly made up clown, much like the one from Stephen King's 'It' only with giant talons as toe nails instead of clown shoes. Other than the music, it's a fun day to be outside in the awesome LA weather at one big block party. There are food stands and trucks and all the alcohol your liver never really knew it wanted. Something's got to give when your iPod holds your interest more than the band lineup of SSMF 2014. There are so few real rock n' roll venues and events left and I wish the Sunset Strip would stick to what it's good at, rock n' roll. There are plenty of EDM, hip-hop, hipster, etc. events. The Sunset Strip should be forever rock n' roll, no need to branch out, I feel like the attendance of this year's festival should be proof enough that a true rock n' roll lineup works better. Plus the fact that they scheduled it on the same weekend as the iHeart music event in Vegas makes me wonder what they were thinking...stop trying to 'be with the times and trends' and stick to what you know. It's like an Italian restaurant putting tacos on the menu, just doesn't work...

This is my girl's group. I came from a Polynesian dance background so I'm not givin them full…read morestars because of any bias, for real. I hired a couple of the girls to do a small show for my Goddaughter's bday luau and they did a wonderful job! They get full rate because of their professionalism at most. All the way up to the day of the party, they kept me in the loop and would call to discuss what I was expecting to see. They were absolutely sweet and lovely in every way, not an arrogant vibe out of any of them. The performance itself was amazing! Even though it was a simple laid back setting at a family party, they gave us a great show. They danced different forms and numerous costume changes. I like their creativity and overall stage presence. Everyone at the party gave real good feedback and the birthday girl absolutely loved it. That made it so worth every penny! =)

On Saturday, I had the good fortune of witnessing the premiere of The Lotus Eaters choreographed by…read moreLaura Gorenstein Miller for the Helios Dance Theater. Wow! The performance is an example of the awesome possibilities of live shows. It was spellbinding! The combination of choreography and costuming and music made me lose the moment. I was absorbed completely by the talented dancers on stage. Next time you see the Helios Dance Theater on the bill, do yourself a favor and go!

Became a fan after seeing them on the Santa Monica Promenade. Sooo Good! They were the band for my…read morebirthday party. So professional. Showed up on time, brought all the equipment. Super nice to all my guests and let the little kids sing and play with them. Just the nicest and easiest going guys who happen to be amazing musicians. Play every style of music and almost every song we threw at them. From classical to pop to rap. What a great time. Can't recommend them enough.

My husband and I were overjoyed to have Streetlight Cadence play for our wedding. If we can give 5+…read morestars we would! We wanted an entertaining band for our friends and family and we got it! Guests shared that they were wonderful and loved their music. Brian, the band manager and cellist is super easy to work with. He answered all our questions and the band was flexible and accommodating. We had Streetlight Cadence play acoustic music as guests entered the ceremony area, the ceremony music, cocktail hour and our first song. Everything was perfect. If you are looking for a fun, easy going band. Streetlight Cadence is your band!

One of the must-see shows in Knott's Berry Farm that you will want to come back for more. The…read morequality of the show and the talent that each musicians have is out of this world. It is a perfect way to end the day at the park by sitting back at one of the wagons and listening to their incredible music, act, and humor. As time goes by, you get lost in their show that it feels like you're at a campground in a canyon with the Krazy Kirk and Hillbillies fans. Very entertaining and brilliant that I strongly recommend to anybody who visits the park.

Always beautiful performance at Knott's. Love their music. I wish I could buy their music on CD"s.read more

It was my first time going to one of these events and had an amazing time! Went with a couple of…read morefriends and did one day only. Came to check out deadmau5 and Calvin Harris. Wished I got a chance to check out the other performers. I would suggest to get dropped off since parking is insane! Also, wear comfy shoes that u don't mind getting dirty. Be prepared to get dirt all over it and getting them stepped on by other people (rude!). A huge negative are the porta potties. DISGUSTING. I mean, I don't expect them to be clean or smelling like roses. But it got so bad that I stopped drinking alcohol And water just so I won't pee!!! Yea...that bad. I won't go graphic on how it looked. Also FYI they don't check bags as thoroughly as they do with you. They pat you down like nobody's business.

HARDfest's Halloween installment, wisely planned the weekend after Insomniac's Escape from…read moreWonderland, brought an impressive lineup and dense crowds to the Los Angeles State Historic Park. It was a BLAST. And now it's time for a breakdown! LOCATION & PARKING 5 stars here. LA State Historic Park is a 20-minute walk from Union Station (and even closer to the Chinatown stop of the Gold Line), and HARD worked with the LA Metro to provide free rides on all Metro lines for anyone with a ticket. SCORE. And if you planned ahead like me, you found a station with free onsite parking (although it may have been far away, at least you didn't have to sit in traffic to get to your destination!). A festival that encourages you to save money on both gas AND parking is already awesome in my book. GETTING IN & OUT This is the single biggest reason that this event wasn't 5 stars for me. Some things can't really be helped, like a rowdy crowd, but about an hour and a half after the music started, apparently some people moved some bike racks that had been used as barricades and totally messed up the lines to get in. HARD had to reset a bunch of stuff and so by the time I got there (punishment for being late?), I stood in a huge, nebulous crowd with no idea where the entrance was and no clue when I'd ever reach it. I can tolerate this bullshit when I have a bajillion decibels coming at me and lazers melting my eyes, but just to get in? I'm ready to murder the next person who so much as brushes up against my shoulder. Overheard in the crowd: "C'mon man, don't make me smoke all my weed out HERE!" I understand that bad crowds aren't necessarily the organizers' fault. BUT a bullhorn and a soapbox would have been really useful at this point. SOMEthing to let us know what was going on, or that we were even in the right place. Instead there was a slow movement as people were let in and eventually I found myself at the entrance, 40 minutes later, having missed the first set that I wanted to see. EVENT LAYOUT Super manageable. In some cases, almost too close. There were four stages with - true to form - a small variety of genres to please different palates. You had moombahton tucked in the back, dubstep towards the middle, the big headliners on the main stage, and even a smaller stage (charmingly called the Red Bull "DIscotheque") for funky house. This was a great setup, even though at some points there was a little sound bleed between the Red Bull stage and the main HARD Stage. But walking from one end of the event to the other was less than 10 minutes. There was an assortment of food and beverage vendors, but it was $4 waters for me all night. CROWD Yeah, so we talked about the bike racks. That aside, this was another super cool crowd. Less dressed up than Escape the weekend prior, I think, but overall super chill. I actually was meeting up with friends, but in some cases had lost them by the end of the evening, or didn't even get a chance to meet up with them before my battery went dead. No matter; there were plenty of people around and striking up conversations and making festival friends was a piece of cake...it's actually part of the experience. One note about cell phone service in the LA State Historic Park: IT SUCKS. Even with my robust Verizon 4G megamegamegabattery phone, it still ate up half the battery life just getting a signal. If the damn thing didn't double as a camera, I'd have opted to leave it behind. MUSIC Noooooo complaints here. Justice. Major Lazer telling people to throw shit up in the air (for reals! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151139787248920&set=a.391711083919.169340.7739623919&type=1&theater). Bro Safari. Knife Party yelling at some clown to get down off the truss. Soul Clap playing Ronnie Hudson's 1982 "West Coast Poplock" from which you'd recognize Tupac's "California Love" chorus, and making several new fans (one here!). Overall it was a ridiculously fun night under the stars and a great way to send out a spectacular Halloween week. Come for the music, come for the lights, stay for the experience, because it doesn't have to end just 'cause they're shutting it down at 2!