Freedom Fest returned to Belmont Park for its fourth beachfront Independence Day celebration, drawing thousands of music fans to Mission Beach beneath a 70-foot inflatable Statue of Liberty. Headliner DJ Austin Millz capped a 24-hour cross-country tour, while performers including MIMS, Girl Math and Jenny Voss energized the crowd. The festival, which began in 2020 with about 2,000 attendees in a La Jolla office building, has grown into what organizers call San Diego's only oceanfront Fourth of July music festival.

Welcome to the Mustache Bash, the funkiest place on Earth, where the spirit of the '70s is alive and well — almost like it never left.

This marks the music festival's second year in Mission Beach. The last Bash brought out a record 6,000 partygoers. The record may be broken this year. The festive atmosphere melted all the stress away. The moment they walked into the Mustache Bash, the bright, colorful outfits of other music lovers greeted them, and ready or not, power bass reverberated in their chests.