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SIXTH ANNUAL DIA DE LOS
Live from Petco Park
November 5th, 2025 by Kevin Gomez
Dia De Los Deftones, the music festival cultivated by the Sacramento hard rock band, returned to Petco Park in San Diego for the sixth straight year and sold out as it does every year.
The festival originally started at Gallagher Square, the small park attached to the ballpark, but the festival – and the band itself – has grown to include the stadium itself.
I got there early specifically to catch Ecca Vandal on the Calaveras stage. “Came Here for the Loot” saw her rap over a steady drum beat that reminded me of fellow Sri Lankan artist, M.I.A. “THEN THERE’S ONE” was less than 90 seconds, featuring Vandal singing over a sitar.
She crushed “CRUISING TO SELF SOOTHE,” which went semi-viral earlier this year exposing her to a new audience.
She closed her set with a fiery performance of “BLEED BUT NEVER DIE,” which saw her dancing across the stage.
San Francisco’s Deafheaven has been described as “blackgaze,” which I can best describe as slowed down, or even melodic black metal. They sounded so incredibly heavy on songs like “Doberman” and “Magnolia.”
I saw teens shielding their ears, making me glad I had earplugs. “Revelator” was a straight up heavy metal song with screaming vocals from George Clarke and insane drumming by Daniel Tracy. Clarke promised the crowd, “We will back.” Before their last song, “Winona,” he called for a circle pit and the fans were happy to oblige.
Rico Nasty had one of my favorite sets all day. She immediately took control of the stage as the chorus for her first song blared “WHO WANT IT?” Rico went into “STFU,” letting the crowd sing back the chorus of “Shut the fuck up!”
Rico sang “Tia Tamera,” the song she duets with Doja Cat, which got everyone in the crowd rapping along. “CRASH” was a straight up pop song that sounded like it could have been off of a Paramore album and really displayed her beautiful vocals.
“Smack a Bitch” had a beat that could’ve been an Ice-T song from the ‘80s. Rico’s DJ asked the crowd to open a pit for the hard-rocking “SMOKE BREAK,” which they did. Rico then played the popular “Rage” before closing with the hard-hitting “SON OF A GUN.”
Although Regulo Caro was born in Los Angeles, he grew up primarily in Ciudad Obregón in Sonora, Mexico. He came out with a full mariachi backing band, complete with tuba and accordion. All of his songs were in Spanish and he spoke almost entirely en español in between songs.
“For those that don’t speak Spanish, we’re Mexicans,” Caro said midway into his set. “These are corridos, which are like gangster music for Mexicans,” which got a huge ovation. “Sería Un Error” featured a tuba solo, then they did “La Linea,” and covered the popular Spanish song, “La Chona.”
The hip hop brothers, Clipse, have been riding a wave of success since releasing the long-awaited, “Let God Sort Em Out” this summer.
Their DJ sang Kendrick Lamar’s part for the lead single, “Chains & Whips.” Pusha T and Malice were on fire as they rapped through “POV” and “Popular Demand (Popeyes).”
“M.T.B.T.T.F.” is short for “Mike Tyson blow to the face,” which they rapped while scenes highlighting the boxer’s career played on the video behind them.
They hit the popular “What Happened to That Boy,” which everyone sang along to, and “Momma I’m So Sorry.”
Their DJ sang Pharrell’s part for “Mr. Me Too,” which they followed with “FICO,” and “Ace Trumpets.” However, three times the group had to stop due to an emergency in the crowd. After the third time, the duo seemed frustrated, thanked the crowd and ended their set early.
One thing I know about Deftones is when they release a new album, they are really going to showcase it. As such, they dedicated eight of their 21 songs from “private music,” which was released in August. They opened with the lead single, “my mind is a mountain,” and played “locked club” for the first time live.
Guitarist Stef Carpenter (in a balaclava) shredded on his signature Kiesel guitar for “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” and “My Own Summer (Shove It)” while lead singer Chino Moreno sang, screamed, and ran all over the stage.
Moreno strapped on a guitar and began the intro for “Sextape,” featuring beautiful, melodic vocals.
Abe Cunningham proved why he’s one of the best drummers in hard rock playing on the ultra-heavy, “Rocket Skates,” but then slowing it down for “Ceremony” and even “Hole in the Earth.” “Rocket Skates” saw some of the most brutal pits all night.
Photo by Skylar Watkins
Moreno announced, “This may not be the place for it, but the fucking Dodgers just won the World Series,” which was met with a mixture of cheers and boos, this being the home of the Padres, after all.
Highlight for me is when they did “Street Carp” for the first time since pre-COVID, a song that too often gets left off the setlist. They went into their biggest hit, “Change (In the House of Flies)” before four songs from their latest album, including “infinite source.” They closed their regular set with “milk of the madonna,” which has been getting a lot of buzz lately.
For their encore, Deftones went into “i think about you all the time,” playing it live for the first time. Before they finished up, Moreno thanked the crowd: “It’s every one of you who keeps coming back each year and making it bigger and bigger.”
They followed that up with “Engine No. 9,” which saw no less than four or five pits going on a packed floor and the crowd kept up that energy for “7 Words.”
Another incredible Dia De Los Deftones… and I can’t wait for next year.
FESTIVAL PHOTO GALLERY
by Dan Siebold Photography
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SID 251106 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
