The largest Louisiana-themed music and food festival this side of the bayou returns to San Diego's Spanish Landing Park this May 9-12, and promo code SDVILLE saves on tickets! Gator By The Bay offers attendees four days of live music with more than 100 musical acts on seven stages, as well as a delicious array of southern cuisine, including 10,000 pounds of fresh crawfish trucked all the way from Louisiana.
Since its inception in 2001, the Gator By The Bay festival has grown to showcase a diverse selection of music genres including blues, salsa, Zydeco, Cajun and country. Grammy-winning artists directly from Louisiana, legendary Chicago and California blues artists, rockabilly and roots performers and award-winning salsa and Latin bands have performed each year. The highly anticipated event has become an annual must-do for enthusiasts of all ages who travel to San Diego from throughout California and most of the other U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia.
This year, the festival has enhanced its music lineup to include the 100th birthday celebration of Clifton Chenier, the king of zydeco music, featuring his son C.J. Chenier, Sonny Landreth and Marcia Ball. Plus, making their Gator debuts will be blues headliners Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Nikki Hill, Southern Avenue, Nick Moss as well as roots legends Rosie Flores and James Intveld.
The French Quarter Food Court features the authentic tastes of Louisiana with many vendors making the cross-country trip just for the festival. Attendees can indulge their palates in Louisiana-raised crawfish, boudin sausage, catfish, alligator, barbecue and oysters. And the cuisine wouldn’t be complete without well-loved favorites like gumbo, jambalaya, po’ boys and etouffée. Satiate your sweet tooth with decadent beignets, sweet potato pie, homemade ice cream, pralines and bread pudding. Aspiring Southern chefs and home cooks can visit the Taste of Louisiana Food Pavilion, where Louisiana and local professional chefs will host instructional cooking demos and yummy tastings of classic Southern dishes.
All areas of the festival are open for children to enjoy the music, color, spirit and activities of the weekend celebration. Special family fun activities include the costumed Mardi Gras parades, outrageous hat-making with the Rad Hatter and colorful face painting. The market area also offers a curated selection of retail vendors, featuring Mardi Gras-inspired goods and clothing, art, hand-made jewelry, dancing shoes and accessories.
Tickets for Gator By The Bay are available online, with reduced pricing for Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Daily festival tickets range from $60 to $75. Children 17 and under are admitted free with a paid adult. Hosted Patron VIP Passes are available for Saturday or Sunday, and include reserved seating at 2 main stages, catered lunch (crawfish too!), complimentary wine, beer and soft drinks, upgraded restrooms, discount on official GBB merchandise and personal meet and greet with festival headliners. Promo code SDVILLE saves $5 per ticket when purchasing online.
For more information on the Gator By The Bay festival, tickets, lodging options, parking and free shuttle info, visit gatorbythebay.com and enter our giveaway opportunity below for a chance to receive 2 Sunday Patron Passes (a $500 value).
