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Fifteen years ago, if you were braving the long bar booth line to grab a drink at a music festival or your local outdoor concert, your options were likely limited to beer, beer…and maybe another beer. Tallboys of domestic lagers ruled the crowds, with a few adventurous drinkers opting for wine coolers or the occasional pre-mixed vodka soda in a plastic cup.
Fast forward to the mid-2010s, and the first wave of hard seltzers changed everything. Suddenly, concertgoers were swapping their heavy beers for lighter, fizzy drinks in slim cans, embracing the low-calorie, sessionable appeal of flavored seltzers (especially under the hot sun). Festivals and venue drink menus adjusted accordingly, making room for this new category that quickly became synonymous with outdoor summer fun.
But in recent years, festival drinkers have been seeking something different. While seltzers remain popular, there’s been a growing appetite for beverages with a little more flavor and a little less carbonation. Enter the new wave of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, crafted with real spirits and familiar flavors, and packaged for portability. Classic cocktail flavors, along with nostalgic drinks like iced tea and lemonade, have started replacing generic fruit essences as concert-goers gravitate toward drinks that taste like bevvies they already love.
So if you’ve been to a concert lately, whether it’s an amphitheater rocking under the stars or a daytime festival with the sun beating down on your $65 band tee, you’ve probably noticed a certain sleek can in a lot of hands. With a summer-y sunset on the front, it’s Sun Cruiser Iced Tea & Vodka, and it’s quickly becoming the unofficial drink of summer concert season — here’s why.
Iced Tea & Vodka, a Drink Tailored for Sessionability
First, let’s talk about what’s in the can. Sun Cruiser clocks in at 4.5% ABV, which gives it an edge but makes it light enough for all-day sipping (or “zebra-striping,” the low-alc trend where you drink a soda or water in between crushing drinks). It hits that sweet spot of 100 calories and just 1 gram of sugar, which means you’re not bogged down with heavy, syrupy flavors — trust me when I say that when you drink enough sugary spritzes in the 90-degree heat at Coachella, you’ll understand why people make the switch.
Sun Cruiser
We’re festival-going pros over here, and we love something that’s clean, crisp, and refreshing if we’re going to be jumping around near the stage with a can in our hands (or just lounge on the grass between sets). Sun Cruiser is made with real iced tea and premium vodka, and feels super easy to drink (there’s enough variety to go around, too, with flavored options like Peach and Raspberry Iced Tea, as well as your good ol’ fashioned Lemonade and Iced Tea).
But here’s the kicker: there are no bubbles. Yep, you read that right. In a world where everything seems to be carbonated (do we really need espresso spritzes?!), Sun Cruiser keeps things “crushable,” as the kids say, so you can sip one after another without feeling weighed down or bloated. When you’re on your feet all day dancing under the sun, or weaving your way through a sea of people to get closer to the stage, that matters to concert-goers more than you think.
How Sun Cruiser Took Over the Summer Concert Scene
The rise of Sun Cruiser hasn’t happened by accident. The brand made a major push into the live music world earlier this year, announcing a partnership with AEG Presents, one of the country’s biggest players in live entertainment. Thanks to this collab, Sun Cruiser is now available at over 150 music venues and live events across the country. That means no matter where your summer concert plans have taken you, chances are good that you’ve been able to grab a can of Sun Cruiser between sets.
It’s a strategic move that makes sense, as Sun Cruiser positions itself as a drink for those who love to be outdoors, basking in the sun and soaking up the soundtrack of summer. They’re an attractive alternative to hard seltzer that feels both classic and fresh, and you have to admit that there’s something undeniably nostalgic about a cold iced tea on a hot summer day (it also holds a special place in U.S. Southern culture, specifically). Add vodka to the mix, and suddenly you’ve got a grown-up twist on a childhood classic — an adult version of a favorite summertime refreshment. Sun Cruiser leans into that nostalgic, laid-back feeling; thus, they rolled out their full line-up of vodka iced teas and vodka lemonades and took over some of the most iconic outdoor venues in the U.S.
There were cans spotted at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and they were also a Platinum Sponsor of the Singer-Songwriter of Cape May festival. You may have even spotted Sun Cruiser at all the bars within the Rolling Loud Festival grounds. But even at smaller, under-the-radar venues that true live music lovers swear by, Sun Cruiser is positioning itself as the drink in your hand while your other hand is in the air.
Why Fans Are All In
The truth is, while you’ve probably seen a couple of festival-goers drink directly from the water bottle refill station spout with their mouths or stomp-crush soda cans instead of throwing them away like normal, live music fans are a more discerning bunch than you might think. They’re not afraid to ditch a trend if the vibe seems inauthentic, so for a relatively new brand like Sun Cruiser to become one of the most popular drinks in the crowd says something about what it delivers.
Sun Cruiser
Part of it is convenience: traditional cocktails are messy to make and even messier to carry at concerts, mostly served in flimsy plastic cups with teeny, tiny straws. A mixed drink served in an easy-to-carry can that’s lightweight and resealable until you crack it open is definitely clutch. But even more than that, it’s about experience. Nobody wants to sip something heavy or cloyingly sweet when they’re out in the sun for hours.
If Sun Cruiser’s motto could also be summed up in one word, it would be “effortless.” The brand isn’t trying too hard to be trendy like some other alcohol brands prominent at festivals can be. They’re not building on-the-ground, experiential “hype houses” that require a VIP reservation, or bombarding your social feeds with over-the-top influencer campaigns and complicated drink recipes. Instead, they’re simply…showing up where the fun is happening, front and center at your favorite band’s outdoor set.
That “effortless” vibe is exactly why it’s resonating with concertgoers. It’s nostalgic but new, easy but exciting, laid-back but lively. With Sun Cruiser, you get real iced tea (smooth, refreshing, and familiar) but with a little vodka twist that keeps things fun. It’s also a drink that feels approachable at 4.5% ABV, hitting that perfect middle ground where it’s enough kick to be fun, but mellow enough to enjoy a couple over the course of a long afternoon without feeling wiped out before the headliner takes the stage.
And it’s resonating — fans across the country are increasingly choosing Sun Cruiser over their old standbys, not just for its flavor, but perhaps also for the summer “vibes” it represents. It’s no coincidence that social media posts from concerts and festivals this summer frequently feature the brand’s easily recognizable sunset-covered cans.
Of course, Sun Cruiser isn’t only for concerts. It’s “best enjoyed outdoors” energy means it fits seamlessly into plenty of other summer activities too (you can crack one open while you’re hosting a cookout, or even floating down a river in an inner tube). But this summer, there’s no denying that live music is where the brand is really shining. As outdoor shows, music festivals, and summer tours fill up calendars across the country, Sun Cruiser is staking its claim as the go-to beverage of the season. And if the first half of the year is any indication, there are only going to be more folks raising a can from here — try it for yourself at DrinkSunCruiser.com.
