Sacramento's biggest month of tourism begins with Aftershock
SACRAMENTO — Rock lovers are flocking to the capital city this weekend for the four-day Aftershock music festival and patronizing the local businesses.
Organizers from the event said it is attracting people from at least 35 countries and every continent besides Antarctica.
Visit Sacramento CEO Mike Testa said 160,000 people in total will be in attendance across the four days, and for many fans, it is their first time visiting Sacramento.
"If this is your genre of music and you look at that lineup, then it's worth getting on an airplane or driving from Florida to California," Testa said.
CBS13 met fans from all over on day one of the biggest rock music festival on the West Coast.
"There are tons and tons of people, so it's pretty wild compared to the first year," said Samuel Hummel, who came to the festival from Reno.
Rosie Hummel said she loves how festivals like these bring people together.
"It is cool to see more people listening to rock," she said. "I feel like that's kind of died a little bit."
The festival is also boosting business for the region.
"We're very full and we know a lot of the hotels are very full in the area," said Royce Pollard, the general manager at Double Tree on Arden Way.
Some visitors told CBS13 it was hard to find a place for a cheap price close to the festival.
"We had booked it earlier, but I started looking to see if there were cheaper things, and everything around the area was booked," said Veronica Feller, who was visiting from Tucson.
Restaurants in the heart of downtown Sacramento like Cilantros Mexican Restaurant said big festivals like this make a big impact on sales.
"Any kind of business we are here for it," said Hugo Donato Cervantes, the manager at Cilantros Mexican Restaurant.
Testa said October is the biggest month of tourism for Sacramento. It starts with Aftershock, followed by the Golden Sky Country Music Festival the following weekend, and then the Ironman. He said the three events generate $50 million for the local economy.
"The festival ends at 9 [p.m.] or 10 [p.m.] on the weekend, and no one is going back to their hotel room and going to bed," Testa told CBS 13.
The city's goal is for visitors to keep coming back even after the music stops.
More than 100 different rock bands will be performing this weekend. There is a shuttle bus service that takes fans from Cal Expo to the event. The shuttle starts an hour before the gates open and runs all day long. You can find more details on the lineup and festival here.
