After debuting last September with a lineup that featured The Killers, No Doubt and Zac Brown Band, KAABOO Del Mar is looking to up the ante this year.

The three-day festival’s 2016 talent roster will include Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz and Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band. As of now, this is the sole scheduled performance anywhere this year by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Aerosmith.

“We feel it’s a huge coup to get Aerosmith, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said KAABOO mastermind Bryan E. Gordon. “We tried to create a lineup in a similar vein to last year’s, but — hopefully — with a little more oomph to it.”

1 / 19 Amy Le enjoyed herself at sunset with friends as they listened to Ben Harper. (John Gastaldo) 2 / 19 The crowd listened and swayed to Michael Franti and Spearhead at the Harrah’s Resort Grandview Stage. (John Gastaldo) 3 / 19 Brian Do and Jen Quon from Los Angeles and San Diego respectively, lie on a hammock in the middle of the crowd gathered at the Grandview Stage. (John Gastaldo) 4 / 19 Sarah Gross gets a free fill-up at the Hydration Station from Lucio DiPace on her way to see the Killers Sunday evening at Kaaboo Del Mar. (David Brooks) 5 / 19 Fans went crazy when Michael Franti headed into the crowd as Spearhead played on. (John Gastaldo) 6 / 19 Fans went crazy when Michael Franti headed into the crowd as Spearhead played on, especially Debbie John of Maui who grabbed onto the singer as he was going from one side of the crowd to the other. (John Gastaldo) 7 / 19 Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals performed as the sun went down on the west side of the fairgrounds. (John Gastaldo) 8 / 19 Legendary surfer Rob Machado, right, joined Switchfoot on guitar at Kaaboo. (John Gastaldo) 9 / 19 A decorative art display of yarn hung from the ceiling in the Palate / Indulgences building during Kaaboo Del Mar. (David Brooks) 10 / 19 MarchFourth! played a spirited set at the DSD Trestles set. (John Gastaldo) 11 / 19 A short balloon ride in the Hendrick’s Gin balloon was something that attracted the VIP crowd. (John Gastaldo) 12 / 19 Michael Franti and the band Spearhead got the crowd into the spirit, then he jumped into the crowd. (John Gastaldo) 13 / 19 Grace Potter and her band convened around the band’s drumset to add to the atttac of its last song. (John Gastaldo) 14 / 19 Ben Harper with his band the Innocent Criminals delivered one of the last sets on Sunday’s Sunset Cliffs stage. (John Gastaldo) 15 / 19 Trista Tapia, center, receives complimentary hair and make-up styling from, Autmn Mercy, left, and Carley Williams both from The School, Paul Mitchell during the Kaaboo Del Mar Sunday evening. (David Brooks) 16 / 19 Art Marin with Hit & Run in the Nordstrom’s pop-up booth makes free screen printed bags for passers-by at Kaaboo Del Mar Sunday evening. (David Brooks) 17 / 19 JJ Grey and Mofro closing out the weekend at the Trestles stage Sunday evening at Kaaboo Del Mar. (David Brooks) 18 / 19 JJ Grey and Mofro closing out the weekend at the Trestles stage Sunday evening at Kaaboo Del Mar. (David Brooks) 19 / 19 Bee Martin serves up free water at the Hydration Station provided by Event Water Solutions. (David Brooks)


Aerosmith will be joined at the Sept. 16-18 festival at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on a bill that includes fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Gregg Allman, Daryl Hall and John Oates. Other newly announced KAABOO 2016 acts include Fall Out Boy, Cypress Hill, The Chainsmokers, Flo Rida, Capital Cities, OneRepublic, Ludacris, Steve Aoki, Steel Pulse and G. Love & Special Sauce.

The festival will also include the San Diego debut of Colvin & Earle, which pairs acclaimed singer-songwriters Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle, and “15 emerging and local artists,” who have yet to be announced. (The full list of music performers booked thus far appears at the conclusion of this article.)

KAABOO Del Mar 2016

When: Sept. 16-18


Where: Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar

Tickets: $249 (general admission 3-day pass); $749 (Hang Five 3-day pass); $2,499 (Hang Ten 3-day pass)

Phone: (855) 798-5995

Online: kaaboodelmar.com/passes/


A total of 71 new music acts are being announced today for KAABOO’s second edition. They join seven previously announced bands and solo artists, including Jack Johnson, Goo Goo Dolls and Gavin DeGraw, and a previously announced comedy lineup that features Dana Carvey, Janeane Garafolo and Darrell Hammond. Like Aerosmith, tropical troubadour Johnson has no other scheduled performances so far this year.

For now, prices for three-day KAABOO ticket packages are $249, $749 and $2,499 (per person). Prices will go up when the current allotment of tickets sells out. Single-day tickets may go on sale shortly before the festival, if it is not sold out at that time.

The unveiling of new acts comes barely two weeks after the producers of KAABOO signed a contract extension with the Del Mar Fair board. Board members said the financial benefits the festival brings to the community outweigh noise complaints from residents and vowed to fine the event’s organizers if predetermined volume levels are exceeded.

The new contract will let Kaaboo Del Mar LLC stage the upscale music, comedy, food and drink festival for the next five years at the fairgrounds. The agreement also provides the option for additional one-year extensions to follow for the festival, which will again feature performances on five outdoor and two indoor stages.


“KAABOO is here to stay!” said festival mastermind Gordon, 53. “We hope to be a fixture in the community for many, many years to come — hopefully, long beyond the 10-year contract.”

Gordon is the chairman and managing director of Madison Capital Management, a multibillion-dollar private investment holding company based in Denver. He conceived of KAABOO as a “mixperience” that combines live music and comedy with gourmet food and drinks.

1 / 28 Stacie Davis, second from left, who came down from Los Angeles got the chance to dance and sing on stage with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Kaaboo’s DSD Trestles Stage in the paddock at the Del Mar Fairgrounds Sunday afternoon. (John Gastaldo) 2 / 28 Stacie Davis, who came down from Los Angeles got the chance to dance and sing on stage with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Kaaboo’s DSD Trestles Stage in the paddock at the Del Mar Fairgrounds Sunday afternoon. (John Gastaldo) 3 / 28 Actress and signer Minnie Driver showed her talents on the Harra’s Resort Grandview Stage at Kaaboo. (John Gastaldo) 4 / 28 photo (David Brooks) 5 / 28 Chelsea Prescott was selling lemonade and other products to keep cool while at Kaaboo, but when she wasn’t selling, she was cooling down the crowed at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. (John Gastaldo) 6 / 28 Vanya Denevares, center, dances with husband Mariano Denevares at Kaboo in front of the DSD Trestle Stage where they listened to the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. (John Gastaldo) 7 / 28 Scott Morielli of Sacramento is used to heat and knows how to cool off, in this case pulling up his shirt while walking through the paddock tunnel at the Del Mar Fairgrounds during Kaaboo. (John Gastaldo) 8 / 28 Josh Icuss, left, and Catherine Elder, both of San Diego, share a tender moment during the Dirty Dozen Brass Band performance at the DSD Trestles stage at Kaaboo. (John Gastaldo) 9 / 28 Kaaboo performer Donovan Frankenreiter was the first to perform on the Sunset Cliffs Stage sponsored by Mercedes-Benz. (John Gastaldo) 10 / 28 Lynn Altamura and husband Vince Altamura came to San Diego for a long weekend from Charlotte, NC which included watching musical acts at Kaaboo. (John Gastaldo) 11 / 28 A sign pointing out various stages at KaaBoo was ready for those attending and getting in just around noon Sunday. (John Gastaldo) 12 / 28 Guitars adorned by artists Billy Barnett, left, and Tara Alvarez were on display and up for auction at Kaaboo. (John Gastaldo) 13 / 28 Keeping hydrated was the name of the game on Sunday when temperatures soared. (John Gastaldo) 14 / 28 Koko Midori, left, from Sacramento, and Chrissy Nye of Aspen, Colorado came out to Kaaboo and danced to the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. (John Gastaldo) 15 / 28 David Aviles, center, and Paulina Briones, both of Malibu came down state for Kaaboo and enjoyed dancing to the music. (John Gastaldo) 16 / 28 Krishanda Struble of Santa Barbara danced to the music of Donovan Frankenreiter on the Sunset Cliffs stage Sunday afternoon. (David Brooks) 17 / 28 Music fan Jennifer Carney from Colorado jumped at the chance to sing on stage with Donovan Frankenreiter Sunday afternoon. (David Brooks) 18 / 28 Troy Andrews frontman for Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave. performed Sunday afternoon on the Sunset Cliffs stage. (David Brooks) 19 / 28 photo (David Brooks) 20 / 28 Madison Tenaglia traveled to Kaaboo Del Mar from Detroit to see 311. She passed the time dancing during Donovan Frankenreiter’s performance Sunday afternoon. (David Brooks) 21 / 28 Fans of Grace Potter braved the heat Sunday afternoon at the Sunset Cliffs stage at KAABOO Del Mar where temperatures hovered in the low 90’s. (David Brooks) 22 / 28 Music fan Jennifer Carney from Colorado jumped at the chance to sing on stage with Donovan Frankenreiter Sunday afternoon. (David Brooks) 23 / 28 Fans of Donovan Frankenreiter braved the heat Sunday afternoon at the Sunset Cliffs stage where temperatures hovered in the low 90’s. (David Brooks) 24 / 28 Switchfoot lead singer Jon Foreman performed at the Grandview stage to a capacity crowd Sunday afternoon. (David Brooks) 25 / 28 Drummer for The J Band Brian Rogers practiced with a hula hoop as he listened to Donovan Frankenreiter at the Sunset Cliffs stage. (David Brooks) 26 / 28 Donovan Frankenreiter was the first to perform Sunday at the Sunset Cliffs stage. (David Brooks) 27 / 28 photo (David Brooks) 28 / 28 Grace Potter entertained the audience at the Sunset Cliffs stage with a high energy performance Sunday afternoon. (John Gastaldo)

The festival also offers an array of VIP amenities that cater to an older, more affluent audience. The amenities include an on-site swimming pool, which overlooks the main stage; cabanas; a personal concierge; access to the backstage artists lounge; preferred seating in the HUMOR ME Comedy Lounge; valet parking; and more.


“KAABOO is a three-day live music and entertainment experience targeted at a more sophisticated and discerning audience than a traditional music festival,” Gordon said during a phone interview Monday. “It combines a whole series of elements, with music — of course — being the lead actor in the play.”

Last year’s inaugural edition was well-executed, especially for such a large, first-time festival with no track record. With one KAABOO under his belt, Gordon plans some changes this year, including tweaking performance times to avoid overlapping sets whenever possible.

“The biggest negative we heard (from attendees) last year was that there was too much of a good thing,” Gordon noted. “So we’re trying this year to be more mindful of counter-programming. We have tried to eliminate as many (scheduling) conflicts as possible, so people can seee as much of the music they want to.”

1 / 12 Jeff Condino and Melody Skipper danced during the live performance of the Zac Brown Band during Kaaboo Del Mar Saturday night. (David Brooks) 2 / 12 Zac Brown performs at the Sunset Cliffs stage at day two of KAABOO Del Mar. (Misael Virgen) 3 / 12 Zac Brown and his band perform at the Sunset Cliffs stage at day two of KAABOO Del Mar. (Misael Virgen) 4 / 12 Zac Brown performs at the Sunset Cliffs stage at day two of KAABOO Del Mar. (Misael Virgen) 5 / 12 Zac Brown performs at the Sunset Cliffs stage at day two of KAABOO Del Mar. (Misael Virgen) 6 / 12 Zac Brown and his band were the closing act Saturday night on the Sunset Cliffs stage at Kaaboo Del Mar. (David Brooks) 7 / 12 Exene Cervenka of from the punk band X performing at Kaaboo Del Mar Saturday night. (David Brooks) 8 / 12 Zac Brown Band fans, from left, Kate McCoy, Megan Murphy, Lauren Shapiro and Megan Cray hanging out at the Sunset Cliffs stage at Kaboo Del Mar. (David Brooks) 9 / 12 Cody Leck danced during the Zac Brown Band concert displaying his homemade California flag. (David Brooks) 10 / 12 Exene Cervenka of from the punk band X performing at Kaaboo Del Mar Saturday night. (David Brooks) 11 / 12 Exene Cervenka of from the punk band X performing at Kaaboo Del Mar Saturday night. (David Brooks) 12 / 12 Kailey Hooper, left, from Oceanside and Haley Kakadelas from Encinitas enjoying drinks in the Bulleit Bourbon woodie at Kaboo Del Mar on Saturday night. (David Brooks)


In addition, Gordon said, KAABOO’s indoor comedy and electronic dance music venues are both being moved to larger locations. The festival’s second-largest outdoor stage, which last year faced the grandstand, is being relocated to the center of the racetrack. Gourmet food and drink offerings will be expanded, with more vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.

“All of our guests gave us incredible feedback about what a lovely time they had last year, so that’s why we’re doing this,” Gordon said. “We’re in the hospitality business and we feel like people had a very hospitable experience at KAABOO last year.

“There are things we learned about being more efficient and easier ways we cold do things. Mostly, we’ve been focusing on enhancing the experience this year, as opposed to fixing the experience. So, hopefully, we’ll have an even richer and more exciting experience for people. We’ve tried to add some additional bells and whistles.”

Gordon happily discussed his festival at length. The only area he declined to discuss is how many people went to KAABOO last year, a number subsequently described in a press release as “tens of thousands.”


“We’re not interested in commenting publicly on attendance levels,” Gordon said. “Our comment on attendance is: ‘No comment.’”

KAABOO Del Mar 2016 music lineup

Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band

Aerosmith


Jack Johnson

Fall Out Boy

Lenny Kravitz

Daryl Hall & John Oates


The Avett Brothers

OneRepublic

The Chainsmokers

Steve Aoki


Goo Goo Dolls

GROUPLOVE

Jason Isbell

Third Eye Blind


Capital Cities

Flo Rida

Gavin Degraw

Echosmith


Ludacris

Cypress Hill

Gregg Allman

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness


Steel Pulse

Citizen Cope (solo acoustic)

St. Paul and The Broken Bones

Collective Soul


Shakey Graves

Blues Traveler

G. Love & Special Sauce

The Struts


Colvin & Earle

Sugar Ray

Shovels & Rope

Gin Blossoms


The Wild Feathers

Matoma

RAC

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe


The Green

Donavon Frankenreiter

ALO

Rooney


Dumpstaphunk

The Mowgli’s

Matt Costa

Orianthi


The Record Company

American Aquarium

The Aggrolites

The Knocks


Finish Ticket

Steve Poltz

POWERS

Judah & The Lion


Bomba Estéreo

Lawrence Taylor

Bahari

FRENSHIP


Emily Warren

Future Thieves

LEX

Andrew Luce


The Kickback

george.varga@sduniontribune.com