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Coming to SoCal
June 29th, 2026 by Traci Turner
A new outdoor music festival is headed our way and its Y2K theme will be celebrated by the masses for certain. The Dial Up Festival will revel in the culture of the late 1990s and early 2000s with performances from Sugar Ray and Nelly, plus additional “iconic artists who helped define the crossover sound of the era, spanning pop, hip-hop, rock, punk, and alternative radio.”
This new festival will stop in multiple states, but launches November 7th at Castaic Lake Park, just outside Los Angeles. This date’s lineup features era-definining music from Nelly, Sugar Ray, Lit, Alien Ant Farm, and Unwritten Law.
Nelly will certainly be an entertaining headliner thanks to his classics, “Hot in Here,” “Dilemma,” “Country Grammar,” and “Ride Wit Me.” The multi-platinum, Grammy award-winning rap superstar is an iconic symbol of the era but continues to be relevant today thanks to stints on “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Voice,” and “The Next.”
Sugar Ray’s music absolutely reflects a party vibe, perfect for this festival! Cofounders Mark McGrath (vocals) and Rodney Sheppard (lead guitar) remain, giving every performance the energy of their ‘90s selves. We can certainly expect classics “Fly,” “Someday,” “Falls Apart,” “Every Morning,” and “When It’s Over.”
Perhaps THE best party vibes band though is Lit. The Popoff brothers and crew, born of the OC music scene, gave us the anthem that remains with “My Own Worst Enemy.” Seriously – does anyone NOT know this song? They continue to release music that carries the party on and this festival will not be an exception. P.S. I expect we will also hear “Miserable” and “Zip-Lock.”
Alien Ant Farm and Unwritten Law round out the Castaic date and they surely will not disappoint. Both bands have continued to tour and put on incredible shows, so they are worth a viewing as well.
Dial Up is built around “the music, fashion, drinks, games, and shared pop-culture memories of the pre-streaming generation” and “brings the Y2K era back to life through the sounds, visuals, references, and social experiences that defined a generation raised on mixtapes, burned CDs, flip phones, landlines, mall culture, music videos, disposable cameras, VHS rentals, and early dial up internet.”
The festival will feature a full day of music, plus “themed bars, specialty cocktails, food vendors, interactive games, photo moments, and immersive experiences inspired by the late ‘90s and early 2000s.”
Other locations include November 21st in Chandler, Arizona, and December 12th in Fort Worth, Texas. Tickets for all three Dial Up Festival dates are on sale now.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
SID 260631 | JIMMY ALVAREZ | EDITOR
DialUpFest.com