With more than 40 local acts, and three outdoor stages, the North Park neighborhood will be transformed Friday and Saturday for the North Park Music Festival.
One of those local acts is Chula Vista’s own Jackie Mendoza, who said she's proud to be a part of the action.
“It's just kind of full circle to be able to perform in front of friends, family, along with other artists that I know like Parque de Cometas from Tijuana,” the artist said.
Mendoza draws her musical inspiration from both sides of the San Diego-Tijuana border, singing in both English and Spanish.
She described her sound as a blend of a lot of genres, which started with musical theater in her early years.
“As I got older I started being influenced by electronic music, techno, psychedelic rock, Latin pop — so it's really a blend of all that,” Mendoza said.
This is the third year of the event, and this time there’s an extra push to highlight artists from Southern California and Baja.
“I think we have everything from bluegrass and jazz to hardcore and electronica and indie rock, so kind of everything in between,” said festival organizer Jim Sakrison.
He said the festival also includes a wide variety of local food, drinks and art.
“A lot of the visuals, a lot of the art will be best at night because it is projection, light mapping and things,” Sakrison said. “I definitely encourage people if they do come in the afternoon to stick around and wait until after dark, that's when a lot of the magic is going to happen.”
Headliners for this year’s third annual event include Fantastic Negrito, Particle Kid, Ty Segall and a special reunion show for one other act.
“We have a very iconic San Diego band, Louis XIV, coming back for the first time in 10 years, so kind of a 10 year anniversary for them,” Sakrison said.
He said North Park Music Festival is family friendly and runs from 4 to 10 p.m. on Friday and noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday.
Tickets can be bought online at northparkmusicfest.org.
