The Inaugural Ye Scalywag Music and Beer Festival took place on October 22nd and presented quite the pairing of punk rock and craft beer. While punk rock is definitely no stranger to alcoholic beverages the craft beer scene is still relatively new to punk rock. However, with craft breweries slowly embracing alternative subcultures a music festival like Ye Scalywag was only a matter of time. As far as the festivals first outing goes I think the crew did an excellent job with maybe only a few minor tweaks necessary to improve upon the festival. You can buy beats and try to make your own music. And who knows maybe next year you could be on stage at the scalywag music festival.
I’ll start with my most major gripe about the festival; the lack of vegan food options present. While there were tons of tasty options for the meat eaters and vegetarians, there were impressive cooking demos and killer samples, as a vegan I was left wanting more. My only option the entire day was fries, granted they were very delicious, but I was left somewhat dissatisfied in that realm. On the bright side of this conundrum I was able to drink more beer due to the space unoccupied by food!
My other gripe was the conflict of band schedules versus tasting times. When a band was playing you had to make the decision of whether you wanted to watch them or take advantage of the beer tasting as you couldn’t really see much of the stage depending on which tasting line you were in. If it were possible maybe set changes could be longer to allow for more relaxed drinking time. Possibly even start the bands a little later so that there is less conflict with th testing and the music. I was able to see part of every bands set but I definitely felt rushed at points between grabbing a pour and then hoofing it to the stage area.
However, despite these two minor set backs the promoters did a killer job with the show. The line up was superb and save for Against Me it was basically like having a locals only smorgasbord of the California punk scene. The festival definitely had vibes of a more grown up, laid back warped tour. Due partially to the fact that most of the line up was comprised of Warped Alumni. Though the outdoor aspect, great weather, relaxed nature and abundance of Dickies definitely helped as well.
What was interesting to note was the crowd. Half the people there were punks looking to get drunk but the other half were just people looking to get drunk. Not a band thing at all if you ask me but it was definitely a weird vibe to see normies in attendance amongst the punk with no intentions of seeing any bands. They just happened to be there casually sipping beer and wine in the hot Fall sun, not knowing who the bands were or really caring. But you know they were nice people so it was chill
Speaking of the bands. I gotta say, Against Me easily stole the entire show. Playing a set that was able to pull a little something for everyone for everyone including the not often played gem “Tonight, We’re Gonna Give it 35%”. A song I don’t think I’ve ever heard them play and I’ve been seeing them religiously for about 12 years now. Of course they played some new songs from their most recent record but they sadly didn’t play my favorite song from the release. Even in spite of that my face was thoroughly melted that afternoon.
As far as beers go I was able to sample approximately 30 different beers, give or take a few beers. What I really appreciated was the amount of local San Diego breweries represented at the event. Belching Beaver, Pizza Port, and Ballast Point were but a few of the breweries representing San Diego that weekend. Though in all honesty all the organizers brought the best breweries from all across Southern California and beyond if you ask me.
Overall Ye Scalywag had a fantastic first show. In fact, they ran their show better than some promoters that have been putting on events for years. Should they hold the event again, which from what I can tell they will, I would attend in a heart beat and bring a bigger posse.
See you guys in the pit at Ye Scalwag 2017
( yes that is my not so subtle hint to the promoters to bring rancid next year
All photos were taken by Brittany Woolsey. To see the entire gallery check out her site here.