Don’t Worry, Be Happy at Doheny Days!
Every September, The Doheny State Park is host to a wonderful music festival, Doheny Days, featuring great music acts, food, drinks, vendors & FUN for everyone of all ages, all right on the beach in gorgeous Dana Point. I finally made it this year & cannot wait to return next time! It was my first experience with reggae music, as it is quite present at The Days, & the vibes were great. Everyone was so happy & dancing & making friends with one another.
One of the highlight sets for me was Grammy winning Britan favorite reggae band, Steel Pulse! These guys have been going strong since 1978, & I have always heard of them, yet had no idea how awesome they are.
My friends will tease me for these shots zeroing in on Sailor Jerry’s, but I do love rum! Between their sponsorship & Wahoo’s Tacos of the event, you can guess that I was in my glory….yet, I was good, just 1 Jerry lemonade & a 2 plate combo;-)
Next up were OC’s favorite ‘Dirty Reggae’ band, The Aggrolites. Boasting they have a PhD in ‘Feel Good Music’, you definitely could believe that with their lively set! They had so much energy their entire set that I felt tired afterwards! You could see the love of hardcore fans among a newbie like myself. They are recording in Canada at the moment, yet flew down just for Doheny Days.
The highlight for me was when they did their cover of the children’s song from Nick Jr. show, Yo Gabba Gabba, Banana! This is obviously a fan favorite, as everyone went nuts (or bananas??) & really got into this! I love gigs & all kinds of music, & moments like that are just great; everyone having fun & singing silly fun songs!:)
After their set (which included an encore for us since we hated to see them go), my friend & I headed over to see Rebelution. Another Reggae-esque band with feel good don’t-worry-be-happy good vibes! I loved the audience among me over there at The Sailor Jerry Stage; there were middle-aged people, families, high schoolers, young couples & kids all soaking in their lyrics. I filmed a bit of them & you can check it out on my YouTube here. Enjoy! xo
*All photography by Along Comes Mary. Please contact her for permission BEFORE using in your own media. Thank you!