Mission Bayfest came back to Mariner's Point on October 16, 17 and 18, and so did we. For the second year running, Sessions By The Bay spent the whole weekend on the grass in Mission Beach, right on the bay, for three days of reggae and rock. Rebelution headlined Friday, Kolohe Kai took Saturday and The Offspring closed it out on Sunday.

Here is the weekend from our side of it.

The booth

If you were there, you probably found us by the canopy: black, with the Sessions logo, trimmed in orange leaves and hung with vines and white blossoms, a little piece of the lounge set down on the lawn. Under it was a rack of Sessions hoodies and tees, a shelf of hats, a table of totes and merch, and a crew in black Sessions shirts who were glad to talk about anything, from the lounge and the kitchen to what is on the calendar this week.

We gave away merch, sold hats and apparel, and met more people in three days than we could count. More than 200 of them signed up to hear from us, which is the part we are most excited about: every one of them is someone we get to welcome to National City.

Out in the crowd

The booth was only half of it. The team spent a lot of the weekend out on the lawn, meeting people on their blankets between sets, handing out stickers, and pointing anyone who would listen toward the Emjays.

If you have not heard yet, Sessions By The Bay is one of six finalists in the world for Best Retail Store Experience at the 2026 Emjays, and the public vote helps decide the winner. We took the vote card everywhere, including the Bayfest sand sculpture.

You can vote once a day through Monday, November 2. Here is how to vote for Sessions By The Bay.

On stage and backstage

Friday night belonged to Rebelution and Steel Pulse, and our videographer, Chris, spent two hours of it on stage with his camera. He came back with the best footage of the weekend.

Backstage, our new chef, Miguel, was cooking for the artists, which is how some Sessions swag found its way to the performers too.

The team

Bayfest was an all-hands weekend: Klifton, our marketing director; Rylie, our events manager; Anthony, our content manager; Chris, our videographer; Shaggy, our cannabis community liaison; Mayra, our general manager; and everyone who worked a shift at the booth. Thank you, all of you.

And because a festival is a festival, the team also got to step away from the booth and do what everyone else came to do: find a spot on the grass, catch a set, and watch the sun go down over the bay.

Thank you, Bayfest

Thank you to the Mission Bayfest team for having us back, and to everyone who stopped by the booth, grabbed a tote, bought a hat or let us talk your ear off about the Emjays. If we met you at Bayfest, come see us at 700 Bay Marina Drive in National City. There is something on the calendar most nights of the week. 21+ with a valid ID.