Ghost buttons for filter system

What do you guys think of this filtering system?

It's an attempt to do something a little different out of the 'dropdown' norm. The idea here is, when users are wanting to find events happening in their state, they simply click on a date and state.

The thinking behind this also, is to reveal these simple filters at all times rather than leaving users guessing what the dates or states are which would normally be kept hidden inside a dropdown.