A Big Homie Party

Photographs By Micheal Arroyo

Southern California music festival Happy Daps celebrated its 3rd year by taking over the two rooms at the Observatory Orange County, packing them with insane concert goers and bands such as Bed, The High Curbs, Floats, and more.

Happy Daps founder, Ed Moreno, talks to Reckless about the festival’s origins, Latino representation, and carving out a space of your own.

Santa Ana, USA

What is Happy Daps Fest and what is the origin story?

The first Happy Daps was meant to celebrate 10 years of The High Curbs. I had always wanted to book the main room at The Observatory, and we just did it to try something new. To our surprise, it did pretty well. For the second one, we decided to go bigger and book both rooms. I grew up going to that venue, and some of my favorite memories are from those mini fests they used to throw across both stages.

Happy Daps really came from wanting to carve out our own space. I’ve often felt like I was on the outside looking in—never being asked to be part of something—so I decided to create something for myself, for my friends and bands who are usually in the same spot. Originally, it was meant to be a fest highlighting only Latino-fronted acts, because when I was growing up, I didn’t really see Latino kids playing garage rock or surf punk. It felt important to put that front and center.

Happy Daps just celebrated its third year. How has it grown since year 1? What have you learned?

It’s definitely taken on a life of its own. There’s been a lot of learning, organizing everything can be stressful—but the turnout always makes it worth it. Every year, we’ve stepped it up, and the community has shown up for it.

What kind of preparation goes into making Happy Daps?

Happy Daps is mostly run by me. I get help from my agent when it comes to locking in the date and venue, but I handle the booking, budgeting, and overall direction. I’ve been lucky to have a solid creative team of friends around me—Big Tex has done the poster art every year, and this year David Ajtun and his crew of film students helped me put together a killer series of interviews with some of the artists. Decorations were a bit last minute this time around since the person who usually helps couldn’t make it, so I had to take that on too. Most of it falls on me, but I’ve got good people around who help bring it to life.

What makes Happy Daps special and different from other festivals? Why is it important?

It’s special because it’s real—it’s by the people, for the people. Nothing about it feels forced. We didn’t have a big machine behind us; it was built from scratch. And the community really showed up for that. There are touring acts with full teams behind them who can’t sell out the small room at The Observatory, but Happy Daps sold out both rooms—twice in a row. That’s a big deal. It proves that local scenes still matter and that people crave something genuine.

What were some highlights from this year’s fest?

I mean all the bands playing was great. Having yungatita back this year after them playing year 1 was awesome to watch.

One of my favorite parts was seeing the crowd flow between the Constellation Room and the main stage. It really felt like a big homie party. Everyone was there to have fun, support each other, and just be part of something good. The energy was incredible.

What’s next for Happy Daps?

Funny enough, Happy Daps was what we named a high curbs record and then was used as a “fake label” just to get The High Curbs’ music on streaming platforms. But now, we’re releasing a new split EP featuring Chicano Mosh and The Sols. Maybe we’ll keep putting out music and doing some smaller shows around tow—maybe not. Either way, we’ll see you at Happy Daps 4.

To See More of Happy Daps, Follow @happydaps