The two things might seem, at best, lightly connected through many degrees of separation if not outright disparate. On one hand: KASSO, the famed Japanese skate show that melds skateboarding with “American Ninja Warrior”-style obstacle courses. And, on the other: Long Beach. But Long Beach’s rich skating history and culture—we still lament the passing of Long Beach native and professional skateboard Kurtis Colamonico—is the perfect fit for the festival, set to debut March 21 and 22.
KASSO Fest Skate & Sound, a two-day festival blending elite skateboarding with live music and street culture, has offered its first array of details since hinting at the festival’s formation last year. The obstacle course? To be built out across the old City Hall website, where a massive hole currently exists. The vibe? Live music. Food. Skating-meets-obstacle course competition. Some of the world’s leading skateboarders.
And While KASSO Fest is bringing more than 30 skaters to Long Beach, a handful of names anchor exactly why this event matters. And not just as a competition, but as a cultural statement.
The Skaters Defining KASSO Fest’s Moment
Leo Romero stands as one of the most important inclusions. A longtime Anti-Hero mainstay, Romero represents skateboarding’s uncompromising core—raw, powerful, and unapologetically anti-gloss. His presence grounds KASSO Fest in skateboarding’s roots, ensuring the event speaks as much to lifelong skaters as it does to newer audiences.
On the other end of the spectrum is Greyson Fletcher, whose surfing lineage and fearless approach to transition skating have made him one of the most recognizable style-forward skaters of his generation. Fletcher embodies the crossover between skate, surf, and Southern California counterculture—an overlap that feels especially at home in Long Beach.
Dashawn Jordan brings elite technical precision to the roster. Known for contest dominance and consistency at the highest level, Jordan represents skateboarding as sport without sacrificing style—perfectly aligned with KASSO’s physical, high-difficulty course design.
Then there’s Tom Schaar, a Long Beach-adjacent icon whose history of pushing boundaries—most famously with massive aerial tricks—mirrors KASSO’s “Never Been Done” ethos. Schaar’s inclusion signals that this isn’t just a showcase; it’s a proving ground.
Street skating’s modern edge is carried by Jamie Foy, whose raw power, technical mastery, and cultural relevance have made him one of skateboarding’s most influential figures today. Foy’s participation cements KASSO Fest as a must-watch event on the global skate calendar, not just a regional gathering.
The music at KASSO Fest
Headlining the inaugural edition are LaRussell, taking the stage Saturday, and EARTHGANG, closing things out on Sunday—bringing national hip-hop energy straight into the heart of Long Beach’s skate scene.
LaRussell arrives fresh off a high-profile performance at the NFL’s official Super Bowl Tailgate, continuing his meteoric rise as one of the most community-rooted voices in modern rap. EARTHGANG, long celebrated for their genre-bending Southern sound and kinetic live shows, will cap the weekend with a set built to match the intensity on the pavement.
But KASSO FEST isn’t just about the music—it’s about motion, culture, and the collision points where skateboarding has always lived.
Why KASSO Fest Fits Long Beach
Produced by KASSO, a global movement from TBS Television—the creators behind shows like Takeshi’s Castle and Sasuke, the show that directly birthed American Ninja Warrior—the festival is built around a simple ethos: “Never been done.” It’s a celebration of pushing boundaries, blending skateboarding with fashion, music, street culture, and community in ways that refuse to feel formulaic.
