Vibes were high in San Diego to kick off 2026 at Proper NYE – a music festival that I’ve dreamed of attending for years but never seemed to be over in North America over the holiday to experience for myself.
And as a first time attendee I must say – it absolutely lived up to the hype! Complete with world-class production value, top-notch festival atmosphere, and an unbelievably stacked line-up – Proper NYE delivered an incredible party and such a wild way to ring in the new year.
1) Arguably the Best NYE Line-Up in the World
NYE is the biggest and most iconic party night around the world, and even people who don’t go out often find the energy to stay up until midnight and welcome the new year with friends.
There’s not a touring international DJ who isn’t booked during this period, and working in the festival industry—constantly browsing festivals and line-ups—I’d confidently say there was no better NYE line-up anywhere in the world than Proper.
I mean, c’mon—just look at it. It was absolutely stacked. I managed my time pretty well and got to see so many artists across the two days.
The people behind Proper NYE, FNGRS CRSSD, clearly know exactly what they’re doing.
It’s their consistently stacked line-ups that have made Proper NYE such a bucket-list festival for me. Year after year, I’d watch the announcements roll out and be completely blown away.
For fans of electronic music, especially house and techno, you really won’t find a better NYE festival with this sheer amount of talent all in one place.
2) 5 Different Stages of Sounds
Proper NYE featured five different stages spread across Petco Park, each offering its own unique vibe and experience.
The most challenging part of attending a festival with such a stacked line-up though is deciding which artists to see – as there are an insane number of time clashes between some of the festival’s top acts.
So if you’re reading this and planning on going in the future, I’d highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the map and set times in advance so you can go in with a clear plan of action.
While there were five stages in total, my friends and I spent most of our time at the three biggest ones: The Field, The Lot, and The Park.
The Field
Let’s go raving on a baseball field!
Located in the outfield of Petco Park, the Field was the impressive mainstage Proper NYE and hosted the biggest artists on the line-up like Skrillex b2b Four Tet, Disco Lines, Sammy Virji, Chase & Status, and Justice to name just a few.
While it did feel slightly overcrowded times and navigating the entrances/ exits to get here proved to be a bit challenging at times – it was an epic stage and glad I caught plenty of acts here.
The Lot
Located in the southern tip of the festival you’d find the Lot, which surprisingly ended up being my personal favorite stage at the festival! There was such an amazing vibe here tucked away from the rest of the festival complete with nearby porter potties and plenty of bars so you could stay for hours.
I also really loved the Lot as people also seemed a bit more courteous about space. Peak festival vibes were found here during Nora En Pure, Odd Mob, Purple Disco Sex Machine, and Walker & Royce.
I actually really wanted to check out the closing set here for a little bit of Gorgon City, but my festival crew (and myself) all agreed we should head down to the Park for Adam Beyer.
The Park
Located in the iconic Gallagher Square behind the outfield wall you’d find the Park stage. With booming bass pumping no matter where you stood and an impressive triangular design with epic lighting production – we surprisingly only caught a few sets here but the Green Velvet and Adam Beyer set were both stellar!
3) Stellar Lighting, LED & Sound Production
One thing that really stood out at Proper NYE was the insane level of production across the entire festival. Every stage felt thoughtfully designed, with massive LED screens, striking visuals, and lighting that elevated each set and matched the energy perfectly.
The sound was powerful and crystal clear throughout the park, making even the busiest moments feel immersive. Add in bursts of pyro at just the right times, and it all came together to create a high-impact experience that felt on par with some of the biggest festivals in the world.
While each stage had its own wow factors, the mainstage in particular was always a spectacle for the eyes as much as the ears.
4) Convenient Downtown Location at Petco Park
For San Diego locals, Petco Park is the “Home of the Padres” – and I was kind of laughing about how interesting it must be for baseball fans to see their beloved stadium turned into a massive rave.
With its premier downtown location in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, there were tons of hotels within walking distance which made getting to/from the festival super easy.
And while I would say I prefer smaller boutique festivals than these massive stadium raves – partying it up in Petco Park was a ton of fun! I certainly got my steps in averaging 25k per day stagehopping and exploring the venue, there were plenty of bathrooms, water refill stations, and food options that you’d find in the park.
5) Proper After Dark
Now since Proper NYE is located in downtown San Diego, there are tons of apartment complexes nearby and noise ordinances the festival needs to adhear to – so the festival ended at 12:30AM on NYE and super early at 10:00PM on January 1st!
So that means the city’s best nightclubs turned into after-parties for the festival, and there quite a few good ones to choose from each night! I fortunately managed to get guestlisted through a friend to go see Yotto B2B Cristoph at EQ nightclub and it was absolutely mental.
If you head down to San Diego for Proper NYE, always be sure to check out the schedule of Proper After Dark and secure tickets early for your preferred event/ nightclub as tickets do sell out quite quickly.
6) Southern California Festival Vibes
Last, but certainly not least, the festival culture in California will always be one of my favorite things about my home. I grew up here, and attended dozens of festivals around California – and there is truly is something special about the people that come and rave here together.
I’d say 95% of the time people were super chill and easy going, even if they were trying to get through the crowd at awkward times. I never really saw any negative interactions and came away from the festival having met a ton of great people.
Maybe it’s because I haven’t been to a California festival in quite some time, but attending Proper made me completely re-fall in love with the scene here. To those reading this who also attended – thanks for all the love and good times on the dance floor. It was truly a vibe from start to finish.
My Top 5 Favorite Sets
While this is always a bit difficult to choose from as I did manage to see a lot, here’s what I think were the standouts!
- Oddmob – Oh man, how I have been sleeping on this guy? When looking at the schedule I had no intention on attending his set, but thanks to my festival crew we made our way over to The Lot and it was absolutely insane. Banger after banger. Relentless.
- Green Velvet – It’s probably been 5 or 6 six years since I checked out Green Velvet, and he absolutely destroyed the Park stage early-on during New Years Eve. Never a bad time at a Green Velvet!
- Justice – Closing out the festival on Day 2, Justice delivered an absolutely masterclass of a show. Easily the best Justice set I’ve seen in my years of attending their shows. They truly took The Field by storm and threw it down hard!
- Purple Disco Machine – Another artist listed here that I wouldn’t have chosen to see but went for the crew, was some of the best vibes of the entire festival. There was plenty of room to groove and the entire crowd was just vibing with each other. The rain slowly started and watching it fall from the sky through the lights was mesmerizing.
- Skrillex b2b Four Tet – These two legends behind the decks together always create such an insane high-octave show. Mixing between genres and tempos regularly and always keeping the crowd engaged. While I don’t listen to much of their music, I’ll always be down to check out their shows! Such an insane time.
My Top Tips For Attending Proper NYE
- If you’re traveling from a different city/state/country, I’d highly recommend booking a hotel right there in the Gaslamp Quarter. It’ll make the festival experience so much easier!
- Really think about your must-see sets and stage hopping plans. It can take some time to navigate around the festival and get set-up at the next stage, so you really want to make a strategic plan so you’re not spending half the festival walking around the stadium and up and down a ton of stairs.
- Bring a rain poncho as it’s pretty common to have some precipitation at Proper NYE – but the event will go on rain or shine.
- Look at what you can bring into the festival very carefully and follow their rules. I know of lots of people who couldn’t bring in certain items.
- Learn the ins and outs of the festival grounds. There are some relatively secret pathways to get around that unfortunately I didn’t discover until later on Day 2. If I attend again in the future I’ll be much better knowledgeable!
- Arrive a bit earlier on in the day before it gets dark to get acquainted with the stages / layout.
Thanks Proper NYE For An Epic Start To 2026
Be sure you to follow Proper NYE & FNGRS CRSSD for more updates on future festivals and events. As a Southern California native, I can attest to them regularly putting on stellar events with amazing line-ups multiples throughout the year.
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