Almost Nakey

What Almost Nakey does

Almost Nakey is a San Diego-based boutique festival and event company founded by Liv Johnson in 2013 that produces a portfolio of themed beachside events targeting 21+ adults seeking experiential entertainment at the intersection of electronic music, beach culture, and community. Its core products are four annual events: Santacon (a Christmas-themed beach festival and full Belmont Park amusement park takeover drawing 5,000+ attendees), Freedom Fest (San Diego's largest July 4th beach party at Mission Beach, now in its 5th year), RENEW (a wellness-and-music day festival launched August 2026 at Mission Beach with Tchami, Nostalgix, and Lyrah), and Nakey Island (a boat-access-only island experience co-presented with the Same Same But Different Festival at Lake Perris). Adjacent lines include a branded merchandise shop (Shopify storefront, Stripe payments, e.g., $35 branded camo hats), a weekly founder-hosted podcast on Spotify, and a charitable Gives Back program partnering with Guitar Center Music Foundation and Heartbeat Music & Performing Arts Academy.

The company operates with no proprietary technology platform; its infrastructure consists of standard third-party SaaS — Shopify for e-commerce and ticketing, Stripe for payments, Spotify for podcast distribution, and multiple ticketing partners (events.com, Tixr, Shotgun). There are no disclosed data assets, AI/ML capabilities, patents, or software products, and the business is fundamentally an event production and live-experiences operator with a small 1-10 person team. Venue relationships with Belmont Park, Mission Beach, and Lake Perris constitute the operational backbone.

Revenue is generated through three streams: per-event ticket sales across the four annual festivals with tiered pricing (GA and VIP), merchandise sales via direct-to-consumer Shopify, and VIP/bottle service (booked by inquiry at flagship events). Distribution is direct-to-consumer through the company's website and embedded ticketing-platform links; marketing runs on Instagram, the founder podcast, an email early-access list, and earned media coverage in Forbes, San Diego Union-Tribune, KPBS, GoSD, Beach & Bay Press, and San Diego Magazine. Almost Nakey is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, parent company, or external ownership.

Name

Almost Nakey

Legal name

Almost Nakey

Website

https://almostnakey.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Almost Nakey is a San Diego-based boutique festival and event company producing themed beachfront events (Santacon, Freedom Fest, RENEW, Nakey Island), branded merchandise, and a podcast targeting 21+ adults seeking experiential electronic music and community gatherings in Southern California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Production and Management

NAICS

All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (71399), Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (45942)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Retail-Miscellaneous Shopping Goods Stores (5940)

akta.pro primary industry

Holiday, Seasonal & Christmas Markets (MPAGAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Stationery, Gifts & Greeting Value Stores (CRAEAGAI)

Keywords

• Boutique event production
• Festival management
• Event ticketing
• Branded merchandise
• Experiential marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

La Jolla

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Event Tickets: Primary revenue from ticket sales for multiple annual events including Santacon (December), Freedom Fest (July 4th), RENEW wellness festival, and Nakey Island. Events range from 21+ to all ages with various ticket tiers.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including apparel and accessories such as the Almost Nakey Camo Hat at $35. Sold through their e-commerce shop.
3. Bottle Service/VIP: VIP bottle service offered at events, particularly Santacon and Freedom Fest. Contact via email for availability and booking.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Almost Nakey is a boutique festival and event production company that organizes themed consumer events such as Santacon, Freedom Fest, RENEW, and Nakey Island in the San Diego area. It sells event tickets, VIP and bottle service experiences, branded merchandise through an online shop, and produces a related podcast.

Product overview

Almost Nakey is a premier boutique festival and event company based in San Diego, operating a portfolio of distinct event brands. The core offering consists of four major annual festivals: Santacon (a Christmas-themed beach takeover at Belmont Park), Freedom Fest (San Diego's largest July 4th beach party), Nakey Island (a boat-access-only island experience within the Same Same But Different Festival), and RENEW (a wellness and music day experience). These events are complemented by a merchandise shop, a podcast, and a charitable Gives Back program. The company positions itself as a lifestyle brand focused on community, experiential design, and unlocking inner-child joy through beach culture and electronic music.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Almost Nakey Podcast: Weekly podcast hosted by Liv Johnson covering beach culture and San Diego festival life, available on Spotify.

Products and services

• Santacon A themed holiday festival / pub-crawl-style event organized by Almost Nakey for adult consumers in the San Diego market.
• Freedom Fest A July 4th-themed festival event produced by Almost Nakey for local consumers.
• RENEW A branded festival or experiential event produced by Almost Nakey for adult attendees.
• Nakey Island A branded tropical / island-themed festival event produced by Almost Nakey for adult consumers.
• Almost Nakey Merch Shop An online direct-to-consumer storefront selling Almost Nakey branded merchandise (apparel and accessories) via Shopify.
• Almost Nakey Podcast A Spotify-hosted podcast produced by Almost Nakey that extends brand reach and audience engagement beyond its live events.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Same Same But Different FestivalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Co-presentation partnership for RENEW wellness festival and collaboration on Nakey Island experience within the SSBD festival at Lake Perris. Almost Nakey x Same Same But Different presents RENEW with Tchami, Nostalgix, and Lyrah.
• Tribe CoffeeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSantacon event partner providing coffee offerings at the event.
• Titan Energy CookieminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSantacon event partner providing energy products at the event.
• Love PotionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSantacon event partner providing beverage products at the event.
• Volo SportsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSantacon event partner providing sports activities at the event.
• Guitar Center Music FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFreedom Fest Gives Back partner donating instruments to underprivileged youth in San Diego. Partnership empowers next generation of artists, dreamers, and creators through music education.
• Heartbeat Music & Performing Arts AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGives Back partner transforming education by providing music and dance to at-risk youth in San Diego. Instruments donated through this partnership support students' music education journey.
• Afternoon Umbrella FriendsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-presenter of Glizzy Galaxy official Freedom Fest afterparty on July 4th.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Same Same But Different Festival: Boutique EDM and wellness festival at Lake Perris, CA. Almost Nakey's co-presentation partner for RENEW and Nakey Island, making it the most directly comparable peer in scale, format, and geography.
• CRSSD Festival: Long-running boutique electronic music festival in San Diego at Waterfront Park. Directly comparable as a premium San Diego-based EDM festival targeting a similar 21+ adult audience.
• Splash House: Boutique pool-and-resort EDM festival in Palm Springs, California. Comparable as a Southern California boutique electronic music event series with a similar beach/outdoor lifestyle positioning.
• Kaaboo Del Mar: Boutique music and lifestyle festival previously held in San Diego. Comparable in target market (San Diego / Southern California adults), premium positioning, and multi-stage format.
• Lightning in a Bottle: Boutique transformational music and arts festival in California. Comparable in combining wellness, community, and electronic music in a boutique multi-day format with strong lifestyle branding.
• Life is Beautiful: Boutique music, art, and culinary festival in Las Vegas. Comparable as a curated multi-stage boutique festival with strong lifestyle brand identity and adult audience focus.

Broad incumbents

• Hard Summer (Insomniac): Larger-scale electronic music festival in Southern California produced by Insomniac. Overlaps with Almost Nakey's EDM audience and California geography but operates at significantly larger scale and production budget.
• Insomniac Events: Largest US electronic music festival promoter (EDC, Hard Summer, Beyond Wonderland). Relevant as a broad incumbent in the same EDM event category, though at a vastly larger scale.
• Coachella (Goldenvoice): Iconic Southern California music festival produced by Goldenvoice/AEG. Relevant as a broad incumbent in California festival production, though positioned at the mega-festival tier rather than boutique.
• Firefly Music Festival: Multi-day music festival operated by AEG/Red Frog. Overlaps with Almost Nakey in the multi-stage festival format and adult experiential positioning but at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/almostnakey
• Facebookfacebook.com/almostnakey
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/almost-nakey

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Almost Nakey