Five of the best CRSSD x Mixmag DJ sets

As the end of August nears and the leaves begin to fall from the trees outside, you may have been faced with the stark reminder that festival season is nearly over. But spirits remain high in for California residents and visitors, with CRSSD Festival’s fall edition just around the corner.

With a bi-annual event that marks the beginning of festival season in spring and its close in autumn, CRSSD bookends the summer with two yearly blowouts, bringing more than 50 acts to San Diego’s sunny Waterfront Park over the course of two days. After a warm-up 10th anniversary edition in March, CRSSD is set to return in just four weeks from September 27 - 28 to celebrate a decade since it began.

Next month, thousands will descend on the site – which flaunts three main stages across the idyllic San Diego Bay – to witness the landmark event. A huge bill featuring the likes of ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U, Caribou, DJ Gigola B2B MCR-T, Brutalismus 3000, Chris Stussy, Maribou State, and more is lined up for fall, bringing both local and international talent together as one.

To celebrate 10 years of CRSSD Festival, we’re revisiting five classic sets from the festival, as filmed by Mixmag, throwing it back to the beginning. Check them out below.

Run it back to the very start. This is legendary stuff: A back-to-back set from two greats in house music, gracing the first-ever edition of CRSSD back in spring 2015. There’s a real sense of new beginnings in the air, and some serious blends that’ll have you wishing you were right in amongst that crowd, hands in the air to some proper house anthems. 

There’s so much to love about this driving set from ANNA — a hallmark of pristine, punchy techno from CRSSD’s Spring 2018 edition. Complete with trance-inducing basslines and 303s that echo around a mammoth stage set-up, this powerful 75-minute set will transport you right back to that place, time, and feeling.

John Digweed really knows how to build up the momentum when he gets behind the decks, and you’ll see that captured perfectly in this performance from CRSSD Fall in 2018. A meticulous selection of minimal, electro, and house, all culminating in a high-energy finale. The half-million fans who’ve rewatched this one can vouch: This is an artist in his element.

In CRSSD’s second year, Felix Da Housecat made a special appearance under the glorious San Diego sun, bringing timeless house and some seriously smooth dance moves to the booth. You’d be hard-pressed to find a moment here where he isn’t beaming ear-to-ear – a real treat to rewatch.

This late-night foray into the deepest, most mind-melting corners of techno is a journey to behold — pure cinematic action over the course of 90 minutes. In this 2018 showcase at CRSSD Spring, Charlotte De Witte is completely locked in with the crowd, traversing industrial sounds to pummelling, groove-inflected techno.

Tickets for CRSSD Fall 2025 have now sold out. Grab yours through the official ticket exchange here.