One festival. Two days. More than three professional skateboarders. And more than four professional snowboarders. Lots of live music, and lots of amazing art. Great food, great vibes, and even greater people. Sounds, well, great, right?
Air + Style is a two-day music festival held annually at Exposition Park here in the always (seemingly) sunny Los Angeles, California. This year it was held from March 3-4, 2018. Aside from its fantastic live musical performances, it also includes custom built skateboard and snowboarding ramps for festival goers to watch the professionals hard at work. Due to its lineup last year and recommendations to go from friends, I decided to see what the fuss was all about myself. To be completely honest here, I had an incredible time - especially being the first time to attend a festival by myself. After attending, I had several people ask me: is it worth it to go? And my response remained the same - I mean, it depends on what you're into. And now, I am here to tell YOU why you should go to Air + Style next time around... depending on what you are into.
You should go to Air + Style if you enjoy smaller venues. As I stated before, the festival is held at Exposition Park - a large, recreational park in the backyard of my school - the University of Southern California. The venue is divided in half, with a stage on each side; “Summer” and “Winter”. One side houses the custom-built skate park, while the other houses the custom-built snowboarding ramp (yes, you read that correctly - snow). Walking from one side of the venue to the other only takes around five to ten minutes (depending on how fast or slow of a walker you are), leaving you lots of time to check out the sponsorship booths, merch tents, food stands, sporting events, and the art. Additionally, I have found that smaller venues create a more intimate setting between the festival goer and the performer; whether they are a musician or athlete.
You should go to Air + Style if you want more than the three festival essentials - music, food, and art. One of the main factors that distinguish Air + Style from most other festivals is the fact it incorporates two very entertaining sports: skateboarding and snowboarding. There were competitions held among the athletes, such as “best trick” or “skate ‘till you fall”, and it truly was one of the coolest things I have ever seen at a festival. Snow, or even just being “cold” in Los Angeles is a foreign concept, and Air + Style knows how to make it happen.
You should go to Air + Style if you like discovering new music. This year, I was only (actually) familiar with a few artists on the lineup: Mura Masa, GRiZ, Zedd, and Phoenix. This gave me the opportunity to see a handful of artists I didn't know. The set times were arranged in a manner where each act flipped between the two stages. There were no overlaps of performances, giving festival goers the chance to catch every single artist on the lineup (if they ever so desire to). One of my favorite parts of music festivals is finding new, emerging artists, and I found that Air + Style is perfect for this. Additionally, there is a variety of genres; ranging from indie rock and rap to electronic dance music - even to heavy metal.
With its small venue, athletic additions, and variety of music, Air + Style has received the stamp of approval from yours truly. It genuinely sparked my interest in skateboarding and gave me several new artists to add to my playlists. Even if it sounds like something you wouldn’t normally be interested in, it is worth trying out.
Check out their website here.
And to see some photos I took at the event, click here.
