On March 2, when Poolside took the stage at San Diego’s waterfront CRSSD festival for their performance on the Ocean Stage, it marked an unprecedented experience for this long-standing Southern California band.
This performance was significant as it marked Poolside's first show since their lead singer and co-founder, Jeffrey Paradise, lost his Altadena home along with everything he owned during the Los Angeles wildfires two months earlier.
"Paradise mentions that it seemed strange to use rental gear," he says. Diwida | A reminder of everything I've lost. However, it also made me realize how much support we received. My buddy Robb offered his studio space at K St. Creative for rehearsals, Fender provided instruments for us to use, Roland supplied equipment, and many of you generously contributed funds to help us recover and move forward.
Using this gear, the ensemble created an energetic, jazzy, and frequently trippy late afternoon show on the main stage at the dance festival. Their set featured their 2020 Panama collab “Can’t Stop Your Lovin’” along with their crucial 2012 cover version. Neil Young ’s "Harvest Moon," featuring an extended saxophone solo. Listen to the full performance exclusively below.
"San Diego, my hometown - nothing feels better than coming back to where it all began and after losing my home and studio in the L.A. fires," Paradise continues. "Stepping onto that stage for my first show since meant everything. And to do it [in San Diego], with my band, in America's finest city, on the waterfront, was the kind of healing I needed."
These festive feelings were far removed from those in early January when they were still recovering from the disaster. wrote On Instagram, they said, "Each item of equipment, every guitar, every flyer I kept; each record I searched for over many years—all of it vanished in a moment."
Some days have been incredibly challenging," Paradise goes on about the March sessions, "but [CRSSD] was not among them. I am immensely thankful for the love, the music, and the amazing individuals who make this experience truly extraordinary.
- The Los Angeles Fires Claimed It All. For Many, 'The Music Industry Is Supporting Me.'