KAABOO Del Mar Music & Art Festival + Interview with Art Director Amandalynn

Only at KAABOO Del Mar can you Skank along with a catchy melody from No Doubt while your eyes drink in a massive mural of tripped out pattern work from Jet Martinez, or sing along with The Killers while you wrap your mind around all of the brilliance of a 3 story tall monster painting from Tatiana Suarez.  For 3 days Southern California hosts KAABOO,  a masterfully curated all inclusive experience including a music festival, mural painting event & full tilt art show.

beautiful.bizarre recently got the chance to ask artist Amandalynn about the KAABOO art experience, how the festival came together & what we can expect in the future from KAABOO.

Amandlynn photo by (Dylan Maddux)

Amandalynn: I was presented with the opportunity to Art Direct the KAABOO experience in December 2014. After creating and installing a large scale canvas mural in the KAABOO headquarters in Denver, CO, the owner, Bryan Gordon, invited me out to have a drink. When I showed up to the bar there was a huge site plan map of the Del Mar Fairgrounds…and so it began!! I think I was not really aware of how massive it would become at the time, but I am overly grateful to Bryan and my design team for having faith in me, and trusting my artistic vision.

Ian Ross photo by (Dylan Maddux)

Jade Rivera photo by (Branden Shigeta)

Jet Martinez (photo by Dylan Maddux)

 

BB: What an amazing lineup!  Tell me how you picked the artists for the show? 

Amandalynn: I love all the artists as well! I am a huge admirer of each one of the artist’s that were chosen. Several of them I have collaborated, painted, or exhibited with before. It was really a chance to highlight the work of some truly talented individuals that definitely deserve recognition. Everyone did such an amazing job, including the galleries – it really was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, and I am humbled by everyone’s collective efforts.

I do have several stories, most of these artists and galleries I have known for years, or at least admired for a long time. Tatiana Suarez was sitting on my couch last January with me when I was getting ready to go to my first KAABOO meeting in Sausalito – I looked at her and said something like ‘I think I am about to make something crazy happen, get ready, cuz you are coming with me!’ And thanks to her and everyone else included, it was beyond crazy!

Tatiana Suarez (photo by Zach Tutor)

Was there any particular musician you were really excited to see perform or got the chance to meet? 

Amandalynn: Well No Doubt was the first band I ever saw live in concert at age 16, so it was pretty epic to see Gwen Stephanie climbing the stage with my art hanging alongside her! I didn’t get a chance to see as much of the music as I would have liked, but my friend and live paint KAABOO muralist, Dirty Bandits, did convince me to dance my ass off at the late night dance party with Girl Talk!

Dirty Bandits (Photo by Jason Wilson)

Photo by Micah Wright

Brendan Monroe (photo by Dylan Maddux)

Celeste Byers and Aaron Glasson

 

BB: Is this an annual event, will there be a KAABOO next year?

Amandalynn: Oh yes! The dates for next year are already set, September 16-18th, 2016 at the Del Mar Racetrack, CA. My design team and I are already fired up about how we can make things even crazier for next year, so expect an even bigger visual explosion for 2016!

Erin Yoshi & Gloria Muriel (photo by Jason Wilson)

Photo by Brandon Shigeta

Hueman (photo by Zach Tutor)