Entering the parking lots at Cal Expo the weekend of Oct. 11-12, the signs told a story: One sign pointed left for the two-day electronic Breakaway Music Festival at the Cal Expo Racetrack; another pointed right, where the reggae-rock Rebelution: Good Vibes Cali Tour would be held that Sunday at Heart Health Park.
A week after the four-day Aftershock festival at Discovery Park that hosted 160,000 attendees, the two relatively low-key touring festivals at Cal Expo — at two very different venues — gave thousands of concertgoers a chance at some fall outdoor music and spectacular lights on two pleasant fall evenings, just a day before the first significant rainfall of the season hit the region.
The racetrack — closed to harness horse racing earlier this year — was the former home of the popular California State Fair shows of the late 1970s and 1980s which drew upward of 20,000 fans for major artists such as The Police and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Cal Expo Amphitheater opened in 1983 at virtually the same location as the current Heart Health Park.
The grandstand area was transformed for the two-day EDM Breakaway festival, which is held at various locations around the country and had previously been in the Bay Area but never Sacramento.
Fans enjoy the Good Vibes Cali Tour reggae rock music festival on Sunday, Oct. 12 at Heart Health Park in Sacramento. (Photo by Steve Martarano)
The festival, which drew an estimated 8,000 a day, featured 20 acts, including Elderbrook, Tiesto, Malaa and Martin Garrix.
About a half-mile across the vast Cal Expo parking lot at Heart Health Park — the current home of Sacramento Republic FC — the facility has hosted numerous music events over the years since 2014 when it was called Bonney Field, including the City of Trees (2016-2019) and Sad Summer Festival.
Almost 5,000 people attended the reggae rock festival featuring headliner Rebelution and other acts Pepper, Aurowave and The Elovaters.
The festival was produced by Nederlander Concerts, the same promoter with exclusive rights to The Backyard amphitheater at Cal Expo.
The good vibes at both festivals were a feast for music fans with alternative tastes, providing a post-Aftershock close to the outdoor summer music scene in Sacramento.
This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics and protocols, the city had no editorial influence over this story and no city official reviewed this story before it was published. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, CapRadio, Hmong Daily News, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.
By Steve Martarano
