Photo by Jose Cordon.

Music festivals. They’re those super-expensive, kinda-bad-in-retrospect, exhausting experiences that we force ourselves to say we enjoyed so we can Instagram pics later and tell ourselves the internet is jealous of our life.

Well, usually that’s the case. Long Beach’s MUSIC TASTES GOOD left a good taste in my mouth. Good taste in my ears? You get it. Either way, Music Tastes Good is a product only Long Beach could produce.

Every niche on the social spectrum you’ve seen around town was well-represented—the local yuppies clinging to their nostalgia and fading youth (as well as fading band shirts), the crust punks, who seemed disinterested in most of the event, and even a kid in a dinosaur costume—all casting their surface-level differences aside to convene for a congregation of music, food, or hell, just a way to kill a weekend.

You could see reunited 80s cult-act Ween if you were so inclined (I’m a dope and had no idea who this band was, forgive my ignorance), bob your head to Built to Spill or revel in the riot grrrl power of Sleater-Kinney, and then immediately afterward hit up a chef’s talk in the taste tent to learn about where your food comes from and where it goes, or the importance of tax incentives for vacant lots to host farmers markets and better serve our communities.

If nostalgia acts and #WOKE food talks weren’t things that would’ve tickled your fancy, you had the chance visit your favorite local Long Beach spots (The Attic, Good Bar, Lola’s, etc) and have a gluttonous Saturday or Sunday in the beautiful downtown Long Beach sun.

This year’s MUSIC TASTES GOOD is an event that heavily improved upon its past. It was well-organized, well-kept, and diverse in its flavors of food and musical acts. What the Josh Fischel-inspired festival cooks up next year is anyone’s guess, but the city can be certain it’ll taste good.

SATURDAY

Photos by Jose Cordon.

SUNDAY

Photos by Jose Romero.