Nelly, Sugar Ray Log On For Y2K-Themed Dial Up Fest

Dust off the burned CDs and flip phones: a new festival devoted to the sounds and culture of the late ’90s and early 2000s is heading to California, Arizona and Texas this fall. Dubbed Dial Up Festival, the three-stop event promises a nostalgia-heavy mix of pop, hip-hop, rock and alternative acts that defined the pre-streaming era. Each edition will be headlined by Nelly and Sugar Ray, with supporting lineups varying by market.

The inaugural installment lands Nov. 7 at Castaic Lake Park outside Los Angeles, with Lit, Alien Ant Farm and Unwritten Law joining the bill. The festival then heads to Wild Horse Pass Festival Grounds near Phoenix on Nov. 21, where Smash Mouth, Warren G, Paul Wall, Alien Ant Farm and Unwritten Law augment the headliners.

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A final stop at Panther Island Pavilion in Fort Worth on Dec. 12 adds Buckcherry to the mix and incorporates a holiday-party theme complete with seasonal cocktails, festive decor and an appearance by Santa.

If the fest is aiming to bottle the spirit of the TRL years, it’s hard to imagine more fitting anchors than Nelly and Sugar Ray. Nelly’s Country Grammar made him one of the biggest stars of the early 2000s, spawning enduring hits like “Ride Wit Me,” “Hot in Herre” and the Kelly Rowland duet “Dilemma,” while Sugar Ray’s run of breezy radio staples (“Fly,” “Every Morning,” “Someday”) made Mark McGrath and company fixtures of MTV and pop culture. Together, they represent two sides of the Y2K coin: hip-hop’s crossover explosion and the sun-soaked pop-rock that ruled radio before streaming took over.

Beyond the music, organizers are leaning hard into Y2K culture. Dial Up Festival is designed as a celebration of the generation raised on mixtapes, mall culture, music videos, disposable cameras, VHS rentals and early internet life. Each event will feature themed bars, specialty drinks, food vendors, interactive games and photo installations inspired by the era.

Produced by CODA Entertainment, the festival encourages fans to embrace the dress code and reunite with the friends they once traded AIM screen names with. Click here for tickets.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.