New Year’s Eve is dance music’s big night out, and choosing where you’ll be when the clock strikes 12 is no small task. Those who prefer to turn the calendar beneath the lights and lasers plan months in advance, selecting from an ever-growing list of events on the party-heavy holiday.
More and more, those plans are taking ravers to San Diego, where Proper NYE has emerged as a leading year-end destination for house and techno lovers on the West Coast, and across the country.
The two-night celebration from local outfit FNGRS CRSSD returned to Petco Park, the baseball home of the San Diego Padres, for its fourth edition on December 31 and January 1. With its stock rising as one of the U.S. scene’s premier NYE events, organizers seized the moment with a heavyweight lineup that crossed the genre divide, and logistics improvements that made overcrowding headaches in previous editions a distant memory.
Read EDM Maniac’s full report on Proper NYE 2025/2026 below.
Quick Takes
Best moment: Skrillex and Four Tet’s bass-heavy B2B on the mainstage.
Needs work: Production at side stages. Chill zones.
Hidden gem: Daisy Chain label takeover on the Terrace.
Audience Match
Who this festival is for: Underground enthusiasts, ID librarians, shufflers.
Maybe skip if: You’re strictly a headbanger. You’re a sidequest enthusiast.
Vibes: A
Rounding out FNGRS CRSSD’s trio of flagship events alongside CRSSD Spring and Fall, Proper NYE has quickly become a celebrated tradition for house and techno heads in Southern California, who showed out in force to ring in the new year with their community.
Proudly donning FNGRS CRSSD merch, wrapped in rain gear, or bravely dolled up in their New Year’s best, this year’s crowd danced its way through a soggy and gray New Year’s Eve. On both nights, the welcome we received from the San Diego scene kept us warm despite the weather.
You won’t often find Proper’s stylish, black-t-shirt-clad crowd trading trinkets or kandi, but with fewer distractions, we connected deeply with ravers from near and far—swapping moves on the dance floor, chatting on the concourse, and bonding over our love for club music’s more niche sounds.
In our experience, the veteran crowd demonstrated impeccable dancefloor etiquette. When trekking to the rail, we had plenty of space to move and dance freely, and those passing through did so politely. The energy was respectful and responsible, and we didn’t encounter anyone who had pushed beyond their limits. We felt safe inside and outside the ballpark on both nights. It was a delight to spend the holiday surrounded by Proper’s beautiful crowd of laid-back clubbers.
Production: B
On par with most boutique house and techno festivals, Proper offered sleek, stripped-back stage production, putting emphasis on the music rather than mind-melting visual moments.
Situated in the outfield, Proper’s main stage destination, the Field, featured a wide stageline build, large video walls flanked by LEDs and spotlights, and plenty of lasers and pyro. Opening performances featured artist-specific visuals, while later sets made full use of production elements, with standout moments during Justice, Skrillex B2B Four Tet, Chase & Status, and Sammy Virji’s countdown performance.
Proper’s other central stage, the Park, hosted techno performances facing Petco Park’s adjoining Gallagher Square. Its central video wall was set behind angled lighting rigs that converged at a point above the DJ, offering a hard-edged look that married well with driving beats.
Elsewhere, production was minimal. The Lot was in a parking lot by the train tracks across the street from the stadium, featuring a vertical LED wall and an elevated DJ booth shrouded in a weatherproof pop-up tent. The Wall, located just inside the stadium’s Park Blvd. gate, and the Terrace, situated in the stadium’s outer concourse, featured still fewer production elements, with ambient lighting and label decor from stage hosts Daisy Chain and Anjunadeep.
On both nights, production matched the clubby aesthetic we’ve come to expect from organizers, but could be improved beyond the festival’s primary stages. Sound quality remained crisp and clear with no bleed between stages, though volume levels wavered toward the back of the crowd. Wherever you were for the countdown to 2026, fireworks launched from the stadium roof offered a moment of magic.
Music: A
Dubstep at Proper—who knew? This year, the festival leveled up its program with sets from a wealth of house and techno’s leading names and legends, while diversifying its genre offerings with a foray into bass music.
On New Year’s Eve, Tinlicker, it’s murph, Max Styler, and Disco Lines led the way to Sammy Virji’s main stage countdown set. The Lot invited eclectic house performances from Noizu, Hayden James, Walker & Royce, Purple Disco Machine, and Gorgon City. Meanwhile, the Park offered techy tunes from Green Velvet, Claude VonStroke, Layton Giordani, and Adam Beyer.
At the Wall, Anjunadeep hosted a deep house clinic from Amtrac, CRi, Eli & Fur, and Yotto, while on the Terrace, a hometown stage takeover from Player Dave’s Daisy Chain showcased leftfield club beats from the San Diego-hailing label boss and his contemporaries.
After warming up with groovy house cuts from Ardalan and Tinzo + Jojo, we camped out at Daisy Chain for bassline-led sets from Coffintexts, Villager B2B canary yellow, and PD. Approaching the countdown, we arrived at the Lot as Purple Disco Machine was mixing in his “Funkytown” edit and spent the final moments of 2025 with Gorgon City. Scheduled time constraints ended the set at exactly midnight.
New Year’s Day brought out big names and more bass, starting with an early performance from UKG talent MPH and a heady afternoon set from Four Tet. Walking onto the Field as Hamdi fired up “Skanka” set the tone for a high-octane evening, followed by D&B from Chase & Status and dancey garage from Disclosure, with both brothers on the decks.
Ending their New Year’s tour in style, Skrillex & Four Tet unleashed a bass-heavy B2B, fusing club bangers with deep 140 and riotous electro, including three drops of “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” (the original, YOOKiE’s VIP, and ACRAZE’s flip) and a mashup of “Where Are Ü Now” and “VOLTAGE.” The cherry on top: a closing DJ set from Justice on the heels of their recently wrapped Hyperdrama world tour.
If that wasn’t enough, fans could also catch a star-studded B2B from Kaskade Redux & MK, a session with hard techno’s high priestess, Sara Landry, and over two dozen more leading names, such as HI-LO, Chris Lorenzo, Odd Mob, Reiner Zonneveld, Flight Facilities, and ChaseWest.
Venue: A
For both its scenic location in the heart of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter and its construction as a major sports stadium, Proper’s home at Petco Park is one of the most well-equipped festival venues we’ve come across.
Situated near public transit, among dozens of hotels, bars, restaurants, and sweeping views of the downtown skyline, the stadium served as a convenient hub for a San Diego holiday. With limited parking in the area, most attendees arrived on foot or via rideshare.
When we arrived at the venue around 3PM on both days, entering through the Park Boulevard gate was a breeze, with short lines and stadium-standard metal detectors. Additional street closures around the venue made entry lines manageable and easy to find.
Once inside, stadium facilities managed by the Padres’ event staff offered everything we needed for the event. Ponchos, foam earplugs, and temporary tattoos were available for free at guest services. Paid lockers were available to book in advance or reserve on site.
Extra porta-potties and permanent restrooms were kept clean, lines were short, and staff were readily available to help with directions. Some staff members even swept rainwater into storm drains.
Reusable water bottles were permitted and could be refilled for free at the water fountains in the stadium. However, when we were down on the field, we frequently chose to purchase bottled water from the nearest bar, rather than hike up to the concourse to fill up.
Petco Park is fully ADA compliant, with all levels accessible via elevators and ramps. The event also featured designated ADA entry and viewing areas at its three largest stages. Medical tents at each stage were clearly marked and easily accessible from multiple points in the crowd and concourse.
After crowd flow woes forced organizers to close entry to the Field last year, logistics improvements, downsized VIP areas, and an intentional reduction in capacity this year (Proper sold out both nights) helped keep crowds remarkably manageable. Set time conflicts between the festival’s biggest acts meant we had to make some tough decisions, but they helped spread out the crowd among Proper’s five dance floors.
Navigating the ramps, field access, and multiple levels of the ballpark can be a bit confusing for first-timers, and we accidentally took the long way to our destination more than once. Traveling from the Park to the Lot is a considerable trek that requires leaving the stadium and crossing the street, but the layout is entirely self-contained.
None of the stages offered direct protection from the weather, but it was easy to dodge raindrops by ducking back into the ballpark concourse, and the stadium seats behind home plate offered covered viewing of the main stage. Plus, for sports fans, seeing your favorite DJ while standing in center field at a Major League ballpark is pretty cool.
Sidequest-ability: C+
Geared toward experienced clubbers, Proper is a music-first festival, and with relatively shorter operating hours (3PM to 12:30AM on night one and 2PM to 10PM on night two), most attendees preferred to park it on the dance floor rather than roam the venue. But there were a few opportunities to explore between the beats.
Around the concourse, we found several festival-branded installations, lighting displays, and signage emblazoned with the FNGRS CRSSD logo that offered a good photo op. Festival merch booths sold t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, and other keepsakes with short lines and plenty of stock. Merch giveaways at the door provided extra incentive for fans to arrive early. Those who did were also invited to participate in a happy hour toast.
For a pre-fest sidequest, organizers hosted Proper Kickoff Week, teaming up with area businesses on bar and restaurant menu takeovers, themed fitness classes, CRSSD flash tattoos, and a pre-party in the build-up.
Proper kept things simple and kept the focus on the music. Though the atmosphere around Petco’s concrete corridors did little to pull us away from the stages, we were happy for more time to boogie, escaping only once to take a break at the stadium lounge behind home plate.
Food & Beverage: B
Proper utilizes Petco Park’s existing food and beverage infrastructure, offering standard stadium fare and other more elevated menu items, from mini donuts to tacos and loaded nachos. In addition to stadium food stalls, multiple full-bar vendors were located along the rear edge of each dance floor.
With seven food vendor areas, 10 bar areas, and beverage vendors roaming the concourse and stages, we didn’t encounter any waits for food or drinks. We’ve come across some pretty impressive festival grub at other events, and we’d expect more curated menus, like this year’s specialty cocktails, to be a hit at future editions of Proper.
Prices remained consistent with the stadium’s existing menu. Bottled water cost $5. Sixteen-ounce draft beer, canned beer, and seltzer were available for $16.99. Twelve-ounce Cutwater canned cocktails were sold for $14.49, while mixed drinks eclipsed $20. Basic concessions included hot dogs for $7.99, soft pretzels for $7.99, and Nachos for $8.49. Other specialty eats ranged from $15 to $25. All prices are pre-tax.
Overall: A
If you’re looking for a quality New Year’s party, look no further. Proper delivers for dedicated clubbers who choose to end the year—and kick off the next—with a bang.
With an eclectic lineup of influential names and rising artists from across the house and techno spectrum, the festival’s fourth edition furthered FNGRS CRSSD’s commitment to making San Diego a nightlife destination. After last year’s overcrowding concerns, site design changes and logistics improvements made for a seamless venue experience.
It’s too early to call, but we may choose to ring in 2027 in the exact same spot.
Find EDM Maniac’s complete Festival Report Card archive here.
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Featured image courtesy: FNGRS CRSSD.