For years, Brad Sweet and Peter Eichar, co-founders of the Same Same But Different Festival, collaborated as musicians and shared an affinity for music festivals.

The pair had attended other larger-scale music events across the country and felt that Southern California’s enormous festival scene lacked a more profound sense of community.

“We didn’t set out to create a mega festival,” Sweet said during a recent phone interview, ahead of the fest returning for its fourth year at Moreno Beach inside Lake Perris State Park Sept. 8-11. “We want to keep our festival intimate and special experience within our community.”

Back in 2018, Sweet and Eichar decided to throw their own party and hosted a crowd of just a few hundred people, which mainly consisted of friends and other musicians, but it quickly turned into something more.

“The first days were a lot of fun, and we didn’t ever expect it to grow the way that it has,” Sweet said as the festival now attracts a few thousand guests, but remains an intimate affair. “It surprised us how many people wanted to come back.”

This year’s multi-day festival boasts a musical lineup that incorporates a variety of sounds from jam and funk bands to EDM artists. Aside from the music, Sweet said they wanted to bring in elements they’d experienced at festivals in parts of the Midwest and included things like yoga workshops, meditation, and hula hooping classes.

“We think it’s important to have options when you go to a music festival,” he said. “It’s just another element that provides a lot of fun over the weekend.”

Here’s what you need to know if you’re headed out to Same Same But Different. For the most current entertainment lineup, ticket information and more, go to ssbdfest.com.

Don’t miss a beat

Same Same But Different will feature more than 60 musical acts including American funk band Vulfpeck, British composer and trip hop DJ Tipper, Canadian electro-funk duo Chromeo, and Griz, a DJ from Michigan who is known to play the saxophone along to his funk and electro-soul beats.

“We tried to curate the lineup to flow in a direction where energy builds from the daytime beach party, to the main stages at night, to the explosion of energy with the headliners, then back to the beach parties that run until 4 a.m.,” Sweet explained.

The music is also non-stop thanks to alternating stages and there’s no competition as the artists don’t overlap.

“Nobody has to miss an act that they were looking forward to,” he added.

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Full moon party

There’s a beachfront pre-party for those camping out at the festival from 6 p.m.-2 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8, which will be hosted by Genius Loci. It doesn’t require an additional ticket for those that purchase a four-day general admission passes.

The nightly after parties will also be held down by the lake, where guests are welcome to swim, float and cool off all day. They’re encouraged to return after the headliners close out the main stage around 1 a.m. each day. During the first year at the festival, Sweet said there was a full moon that inspired a guest speaker and attendees to move from the tents onto the beach to enjoy the scenery and it turned into a full moon party. That has since turned into an annual tradition.

“Since we don’t have noise restrictions on the lake, we approved it,” Sweet said. “People loved being on the beach late at night and it happens to be that we have another full moon happening during the weekend of this festival.”

Practice being present

There’s been a lot of focus on practicing meditation and mindfulness over the last couple of years, arguably exasperated by the coronavirus pandemic. Same Same But Different has woven those practices — through a variety of workshops and classes — seamlessly into the festival.

Some of the experiences include different styles of yoga with breathing exercises and meditation techniques. Other workshops focus on the senses, from finding relaxation through sound or learning how to give different types of massages.

“We don’t want people to feel like they need to have an experience of transformation or growth at the festival, but we want to offer a number of different workshops or classes about subjects that people may be interested in,” Sweet said.

Interactive art

Same Same But Different will also offer things like Frick Frack Blackjack, where patrons can gamble and barter with anything but money, and the Giving Tree Art Car, an art instillation that fans can swing and climb on.

There’s also the But Stage, an attraction that changes themes each year. For this event, it will be circus themed and include acrobatic and circus acts.

“There are surprises hidden at every corner of the festival,” Sweet said.

The festival will also host an artwalk on Sunday, Sept. 11 to showcase the work of participating artists that will be available for purchase.

If you go

Same Same But Different opens for campers starting at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8 and officially closes at 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 12 at Moreno Beach inside Lake Perris State Park, 18095 Lake Perris Drive, Perris.

Four-day general admission passes are $345; Three-day VIP passes are $580; Single-day general admission passes are $135; Single-day VIP passes are $215; There are a variety of camping and parking passes available at ssbdfest.com.