Same Same But Different brings an eclectic lineup and a world of art, workshops, swimming, and spontaneous “side quests” to Lake Perris September 25–27, 2026, inviting festival-goers to follow their curiosity toward music and connection.

Imagine hot air balloons rising as you walk toward the music, stumble upon a live-painting mural, and discover what waits around the next corner.

At the edge of Lake Perris, festival-goers can kick up dust, dancing and smiling through the unexpected as people come together in Southern California. Same Same But Different Music Festival (SSBD) embraces creativity, joy, and spontaneous discovery as it returns September 25–27, 2026.

“So much of the festival happens in the wee hours of the night where you didn’t expect to stay up for a sunrise set, or randomly just take a side quest that leads to you finding something that you didn’t know,” Brad Sweet, musician and founder of Same Same But Different Festival, shares with Atwood Magazine. “We want to be part [of] curation, where you come, and you can take in all sorts of fun – dance, art, and workshops. We also want to be a canvas because [of] the people that attend. We have just such a huge creative community.”

At Lake Perris, the journey can start with just a few simple steps toward the warm sand and water. Festival-goers can bask in the sun while closing their eyes to sink deeper into the music. SSBD describes the setting on its website as “where music drifts through the trees, from beach days into damp nights, and every person becomes part of the story.” Sweet and co-founder Peter Eichar began creating the festival in 2017, with a few requirements shaping their vision from the start.

“We decided we wanted it to be camping-based and a multi-day festival. It had to [be] accommodated,” Sweet says. “We wanted it to be in between Los Angeles and San Diego, so that both cities could quickly get to it. So it’s not just so far off the beaten path.”

“We wanted a beach, water, swimming type of element there. The list goes on,” Sweet adds.

Both founders brought the festival to life through their shared vision and experience as touring musicians, making participation part of the experience alongside the performances.

“We have open poetry. We have just all sorts of ways that you can get involved. It’s all about pop-up moments and all sorts of very fine detail curated pop-up moments that we try to make happen,” Sweet says.

Same Same But Different’s programming spans five main stages, with an eclectic mix of sounds spread throughout the grounds. Acoustic and bluegrass music sit alongside electronic and live-band performances, reflecting the festival’s eclectic spirit and creating space for artists approaching music from different directions. This year’s Same Stage headliners include LSDREAM, Of The Trees, Tape B, and Gramatik, each bringing a distinct approach to electronic music. That range alone stretches from Tape B’s collision of old-school dubstep, contemporary bass, and hip-hop to Gramatik’s blend of hip-hop, soul, funk, and electronica, giving the main stage more musical breadth than the umbrella of “electronic” might suggest. LSDREAM, the project of producer Sami Diament, is also curating LIGHTCODE, a workshop that blends sound meditation and healing.

Those electronic textures lead into the InnerBass Stage, which dives deeper into experimental bass sounds. Festival-goers can find former BMX professional Lee Reynolds at Coco Cove, SSBD’s house stage, bringing his hypnotic, melodic grooves to the listening experience. Elsewhere, the festival’s But stage transforms into BUTwood, a Golden Age of Hollywood-inspired production where the Floridians bridge psychedelic guitar and synths within the weekend’s broader sonic landscape. Each stage adds something new, and Nakey Island offers an escape of its own: Accessible only by boat, the island features an open-air dance floor in the center of the lake for dancing, music, and workshops.

Sweet offers his insight on why SSBD remains a three-day festival: “We did single days one year, and I felt like the people that went for one day, [that was] the biggest complaint afterward, [participants] didn’t get what I feel like somebody should get out of the festival.”

Staying for the full weekend leaves room for more than moving from set to set.

SSBD allows participants to take in the landscape from hot-air balloon rides and enjoy a scenic view of the sunny Golden State, while art installations, yoga, and even a Saturday morning 5K expand the experience beyond the music. Keeping the festival relatively intimate is deliberate as well. Sweet reflects on its 7,500-person capacity: “The stages don’t have 50,000 people. I think it creates those bonds where it’s just way easier.”

That emphasis on discovery takes a more literal form this year through what Sweet calls “Side Questing,” which adds spontaneity to meetups and encourages the joy of unexpected moments.

“[What] we’re introducing this year is [that] we’ve developed our own app for the festival. People can join now. It’s our side questing app, and right now, there are fun interactive things to do, like sharing past moments and memories and ways to get involved, and you earn points, but on site is where it really takes off. We try to guide people through to get out of their comfort zone and go explore the festival.”

Sweet adds, “One other thing that we’re introducing this year is called meetups, and I think that’s going to be really cool, where fans or the audience can actually create their own things that go onto [their] own schedule, but people can save [it] so they can say, ‘Hey, we’re all doing a sunrise swim,’ for example. Dressed up as characters, or whatever they wanted to do, and then people can join, save it to their schedule.”

Rather than leaving discovery entirely to chance, Side Questing gives festival-goers another reason to stray from their plans, meet people, and find parts of SSBD they might otherwise have missed.

Besides a good set of earplugs for enjoying electronic soundscapes by the lake, Sweet shares three essentials to pack ahead of the festival:

“A good pair of comfortable shoes and enough water for the whole weekend,” he says, then pauses to add one more: “A reusable water bottle.”

Most important, though, is what he hopes festival-goers take away.

“I hope people find connection when they go,” Sweet says. “We want people [to] experience camping out as a collective and getting through the hard times, forgetting things, asking your neighbors, meeting people, and then seeing them again at the stages.”

“There’s just way more possibility to leave there having made meaningful connections.”

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