In an industry dominated by corporate music promoters and brands that attract social media influencers, the Same Same But Different music festival took another approach. The founders asked their fans to become investors, and they raised $750,000 on WeFunder in 2026, which solidified the festival held at Lake Perris State Recreation Area in Perris as a partially fan-owned enterprise.
Same Same But Different lives up to its namesake when compared to events such as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Don’t expect arena or stadium-sized headliners or massive fireworks shows at this festival with a capacity of 7,500. The lineup features a blend of mostly up-and-coming electronic, house, dubstep and rock acts, and other types of music.
When the festival returns on Sept. 25 to 27, the lineup will feature performances by LSDREAM, Of The Trees, Tape B, Gramatik, Andy Frasco and the U.N., Kasablanca, and many more. There will also be 75 health and wellness workshops, 40 interactive art installations, an arts and crafts zone, and more.
Cofounder Brad Sweet told The Desert Sun that the event is aimed at a different type of festivalgoer seeking a more intimate and immersive experience.
“Scale is something that we’re not going to do and we’re not trying to do,” Sweet said.
With an intentionally smaller-scale event, that approach has paid off. According to the festival’s attendance data, the festival grew by 17% from 2023 to 2024, and it has a return rate of over 40% each year. Over 50% of its growth has been attributed to word of mouth and community advocacy.
Similar to the Joshua Tree Music Festival, Same Same But Different embraces a family‑style community atmosphere and offers health and wellness workshops. Sweet said having fans as owners provides a clearer sense of what people actually want, and it’s far more useful than sifting through Instagram comments that may not come from attendees. Investors have also encouraged organizers to book more bands amid the electronic, house, dubstep artists because they’ve been especially well‑received at the festival.
“The fans have equity and ownership in what we’re doing, but they’re also a great sounding board. It’s a group of people who care a lot about us. They’re able to give good suggestions on lineups, workshops, what we should maybe do in different places, where we should go, and just overall help with the festival,” Sweet said.
Those who invested through WeFunder hold equity that includes ownership and dividends, and the company had to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which Sweet described as “a whole hassle of a process and paperwork, but worth it.”
“What vote is higher than your dollars actually being in there? They are also advocates for the festival, too, they’re spreading the word, telling all their friends, and bringing everybody out to check out the festival with just as much pep in their step as anybody else who owns the festival,” Sweet said.
How Lake Perris inspired the festival
The idea for Same Same But Different took shape in 2017, when Sweet and cofounder Peter Eichar performed with their band at the Lake Perris State Recreation Area during The One Love Festival. That event never returned, but the location stuck with them. It was a perfect place for a festival and had everything they needed for what they wanted to do, including a beach.
“We came up with this whole list of everything we wanted this festival to be, which we thought was unachievable in Southern California. (Lake Perris) is beautiful, it’s got great infrastructure, to just offer free showers to everybody, and they have RV hookups, and there’s just a lot to work with there,” Sweet said.
The festival’s music lineup was built around the idea of “same same but different,” encouraging audiences to recognize genres they might not normally enjoy but could connect with if given the chance. Sweet said that even though the site has multiple stages, when the main stage is active, it’s the only music playing, which ensures the crowd shares the same experience.
In 2025, the lineup ranged from rock acts like Banshee Tree, Pocket Change, Natt Wise + The Atta Boys, and BOOGIE T.RIO — dubstep artist Boogie T’s jam‑band side project — to electronic artists including Zeds Dead, Dr. Fresch, and LSZEE (LSDREAM & CloZee). Sweet said previous lineups have followed a similar mix.
“We can make anything a lot of fun,” he said. “And it’s about experiencing something different that you didn’t know you were going to like, checking that out, and even though maybe you came for the dubstep or house music artist that you love, all of a sudden you’re listening to a country band that you had no idea you were going to fall in love with that you saw during a sunset set,” Sweet said.
The workshops at Same Same But Different include various forms of yoga, multiple methods of meditation, sound healing, and Reiki. For VIP passholders, the wellness lounge features options such as cold plunges, saunas, nutritional products, health and wellness speakers discussing subjects such as longevity, and more. One immersive experience that Sweet described was the “open jam” stage, where attendees can step up and play music on available instruments.
“If you’re coming to this festival, I want you to feel like you’re not just an audience member and watching people on stage, but that you’re participating, creating, and building. It’s an open canvas where some of what we do is curated, and we want to put on a great show, and some of it is made for you. If you are creative or have some outlet that you’d like to explore, you can do that too,” Sweet said.
Organizers also expanded onto the island at Lake Perris, partnering with the promoter Almost Nakey to launch “Nakey Island.” They’ve had to clarify on the festival website that it isn’t a nudist beach, but rather an additional area with stages and pop‑up performances that festivalgoers can access by boat and at an additional fee.
“If you’re coming to this festival, I want you to feel like you’re not just an audience member and watching people on stage, but that you’re participating, creating, and building.” — Same Same But Different cofounder Brad Sweet
Even though single‑day passes were profitable in the past, Sweet said organizers decided to discontinue them after realizing they were bringing a crowd that didn’t match the festival’s four‑day communal vibe. The passes brought in people who came only for a few sets and left quickly, which Sweet felt disrupted the atmosphere they were trying to build.
“People can jet out from Los Angeles, it’s only an hour away, watch the shows they want to watch, and they can leave. But I don’t think you take away the right experience. We saw a lot of people were coming out, partying, and those are the people that tend to trash the festival, or maybe steal a wallet or a purse, and it’s just not the right crowd we wanted. We want you to come in, set up your camp on Thursday or Friday, and we’re all in this together for a four-day experience, and leave as part of a community,” Sweet said.
The leap to fan ownership
The festival has had financial ups and downs, especially since COVID-19 canceled the event in 2020. At one point, Sweet said he sold his house to keep cash flowing, and the organizers debated whether to call it quits or seek the help of a single large investor to keep it going. That’s when Sweet said he was introduced to a representative from WeFunder, a crowdfunding platform that raised capital for businesses such as the immersive art company Meow Wolf, the online newsletter and blog platform Substack, and more.
According to the festival’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2025, the festival ended its latest fiscal year with a $911,994 net loss and more than $2.23 million in combined short and long-term debt. Revenue grew slightly to $2.19 million, while production and related costs rose. The WeFunder campaign launched in August 2025 and closed in May 2026, raising $759,989 from 131 investors.
“I had this long night of hoping and praying and came out of it with this understanding that maybe we could, rather than having one large investor, do this with a lot of small investments from the community and from people that cared about this festival. Then a lot of people came together and made that happen,” Sweet said.
Sweet said that after the successful WeFunder campaign, the future of Same Same But Different looks bright, even during a tough year for events due to the turbulent economy, the supply chain, rising costs, and high gas prices. Ticket sales are up by 26% for this year’s festival, and organizers say they have reduced costs by 14% without sacrificing the overall experience for attendees, or required services such as public safety, medical, and security staff.
Looking to the festival’s future, Sweet said they’re always innovating and highlighted a group of festival workers known as “The Creators Club,” who curate the themes and build areas throughout the site. The company is also doing immersive experience events such as RENEW, a one-day beachside wellness experience festival on Aug. 2 at Fit Social Club in San Diego, and has been doing a series of shows known as SUBmerged in San Diego and San Francisco with an immersive underwater theme.
“I like doing these events where it’s more than just going to a concert,” Sweet said.
If you go
What: Same Same But Different
When: Sept. 25-27
Where: Lake Perris State Recreation Area, 18-095 Lake Perris Drive, Perris.
How much: GA $446, VIP $692.99, Limitless VIP $1,905, Kids GA $191.43 for kids 7 to 13, $6 for kids 6 and younger. Camping and hotel packages are also available.
More information: ssbdfest.com
Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California music festival’s future was in doubt. So fans stepped in
Reporting by Brian Blueskye, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
