Festival Review: Dia Los Deftones 2024 at Petco Park in San Diego, CA

Deftones might hail from Sacramento, CA, but for the past several years, the band have transformed downtown San Diego into their own mini kingdom with their massively popular Dia Los Deftones music festival. On November 2, the band returned to Petco Park for the fifth installment of their Dia Los Muertos (Day of Dead) themed extravaganza featuring a wildly eclectic lineup of support acts and a blistering, rain evaporating set from the mighty Deftones themselves.

HEALTH were rocking the main, All Souls Stage, inside the stadium as we arrived. The second, Calaveras Stage, located in Gallagher Square directly behind the main stage, was blessed by the indie rock icons in Duster immediately after. Fans flocked between stages, while others choose to hang out on the lawn in Gallagher Square or check out the classic cars on display nearby.

New arrivals flooded the GA section of Petco Park’s field every moment. Dressed in their favorite Deftones-related attire or rocking iconic Dia Los Muertos face makeup, the fan’s passion and enthusiasm is the intangible X factor that makes Dia Los Deftones an experience like no other. We met travelers from Washington, .D.C, Chicago, San Francisco, and Houston, along with thousands of Los Angeles fans who made the trek south and meshed with local San Diego Deftones loyalists to sell out this year’s fest.

After amazing sets from Sunny Day Real Estate and IDLES on the All Souls Stage, and a explosive performance from hip-hop trio Paris Texas closing out the Calaveras stage, Deftones kicked off their annual headlining victory lap in front of 22,000-plus fans. IDLES seemed to have brought their British weather patterns across the pond with them, as a rain storm broke out during their raucous set. The rain temporarily subsided but resumed with a vengeance right as Deftones hit the stage.

Of course, a little rain/torrential downpour wasn’t going to stop the legions of Deftones disciples who spent all day camped along the barricade from having the time of their lives. The band opened with “Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away),” and the venue all but exploded. Thousands of bodies singing and jumping in unison as the rain beat down and the stage lights lit up the night. Frontman Chino Moreno was essentially conducting a rain-soaked orchestra, and it was like something straight out of a movie.

The band played a ton of songs off their iconic 1997 album Around The Fur. For the army of young Zoomers in attendance who might not have ever heard some of their favorite songs live before, this was clearly a godsend. Whenever a band as widely beloved as Deftones play live, they inevitably encounter what we call the setlist problem. This happens when long-running bands with loyal fanbases end up producing too many good songs to fit on a single night’s setlist when they play live.

Luckily, Deftones have such a stellar discography that the twenty, career spanning songs they played at Dia Los Deftones were more than enough to overcome this issue. Sure, they might not have played “Feiticeira,” but they played “Lhabia” and “Hexagram.” The band’s energy and sheer body heat from thousands of manic fans jumping around together seemed to do the impossible and help expediate the drying off process for many of the rain-soaked rockers inside the stadium. This year’s Dia Los Deftones was unlike any festival we’ve ever experienced. Deftones are already gearing up for the band’s massive arena tour in early 2025, but be sure to save some gas in your tank for next years Dia Los Deftones as well! This is a festival that should not be missed.

Deftones