Photos and Review by Emily Gringorten
@emgringo
San Francisco’s premier music festival Outside Lands returned August 9-11th for its sweet 16th edition. The three-day festival was an incredible celebration of music, food, and community in the heart of Golden Gate Park, featuring world-class performers and offering a wide range of activities for fans to enjoy between sets. Friday’s headliners featured The Killers, Gryffin, Jungle, and Daniel Caesar. Saturday featured Sabrina Carpenter (replacing Tyler, the Creator), The Postal Service, Grace Jones, and Chris Lake. Sturgill Simpson, KAYTRANADA, and Slowdive closed out the festival on Sunday. Special moments like Post Malone’s unique country set and Chappell Roan’s record-breaking OSL debut made this a weekend that even the foggy cold weather couldn’t dampen.
The first set I caught on Friday was rising star MiLES., a 19-year-old funk/R&B influenced singer/songwriter from Atlanta who just moved to the Bay to attend Stanford University. MiLES. took control of the stage with confidence and poise, you’d never know it was his first festival performance. I caught up with him for a quick portrait session after he opened the Sutro Stage. “It’s kind of a welcome-in thing,” he said when I asked about his feelings about playing this festival. “It feels like a homecoming in a new way, it’s tight.”
Next up was Rochelle Jordan at the Twin Peaks Stage. The alternative R&B powerhouse, accompanied by her DJ, effortlessly crooned out funky ballads that had the audience nodding along to the beat. Jordan recently was featured on fellow OSL artist KAYTRANADA’s newest release, and he eventually closed this same stage Sunday night.
The Last Dinner Party took control of the Lands End Stage and delivered a powerful and energetic performance. Dressed in renaissance-meets-grunge-inspired looks, the five-piece indie rock band captivated the audience. The performance culminated in their viral hit “Nothing Matters”, during which fans screamed every word.
Tyla, the 22-year-old South African superstar, was set to take the Sutro Stage around 6:05. Due to unknown delays, she emerged closer to 6:35 and had time to play only 4 songs before being cut for time. Luckily, those 4 songs included the ones that the audience undoubtedly wanted to hear the most: the smash hits “Jump” and “Water” from her self-titled album which came out earlier this year. Accompanied on stage by a gigantic inflatable tiger, Tyla’s performance was well-choreographed and fun, although she never addressed her lateness.
Kicking off Saturday’s performances was French Cassettes at the Panhandle Stage. The SF-based indie rock band drew a pretty decent crowd for an opening set, many of whom sang along to most of the words. The hometown heroes recently released their new album Benzene, the follow-up to 2020’s Rolodex which garnered millions of streams. I caught up with them for a quick portrait in the trees.
Next up was another Bay Area-based group, the genre-blurring and innovative rap duo AG Club. The set was one of just a few rap/hip-hop performances of the weekend, especially after Tyler the Creator’s departure from his headlining spot a few months ago. The group–comprising Jody Fontaine, Baby Boy, and DJ Rio–lit up Lands End with their signature pink hue. From riding a bike across the stage to performing atop a picnic table and greeting fans at the barricade, the group delivered a high-energy performance that did justice to the massive stage. I caught up with them as they grabbed a bite to eat after the set.
By the time ScHoolboy Q took the Lands End stage later in the evening, the rap-loving crowd had dissipated and was filled with Sabrina Carpenter fans waiting for her headline set. Despite this, Q’s set was lively and engaging, especially when he played the crowd-pleaser “Collard Greens”.
Next up at Lands End was the legendary Grace Jones, the Jamaican-American singer-songwriter, actress, and model known for her bold, avant-garde style. Gasps were heard throughout the crowd as the curtain dropped to reveal Jones hoisted to the very top of the stage wearing a larger-than-life gown with a train that reached the floor. She opened the set with her cover of Iggy Pop’s “Nightclubbing”, serenading us while hovering 30 feet in the air. After being lowered to the ground, she ran backstage to change into her next costume while casually chatting with the audience, something she would do before every new song. At 76 years old, Jones was probably one of the oldest people in attendance at the festival (performers and attendees included), yet she brought an energy that was young and fresh. Jones even rode on a security guard’s shoulder and high-fived fans at the barricade. At points she became visibly emotional, shedding tears as she belted a cover of “Amazing Grace”. She closed with “Slave to the Rhythm” while hula-hooping and wearing an alien-esque silver headpiece. This set was a highlight of the weekend for me.
Sabrina Carpenter’s first festival headline was glittery, fresh, and fun. Accompanied by at least a dozen backup dancers, the vintage-themed performance featured multiple sparkling outfits, pyrotechnics, intricate dance numbers, and even a surprise appearance from Kacey Musgraves, who joined Carpenter onstage for a cover of “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”. She also performed an unreleased track from her new album Short n’ Sweet called “Slim Pickins”. Closing with her mega-hit “Espresso” was the perfect ending to another amazing day at Outside Lands.
The second the festival doors opened on Sunday, hundreds of pink-clad fans (including myself) sprinted to the Lands End stage to secure their spots for Chappell Roan, the theatrical pop singer who was one of the weekend’s most anticipated acts. Originally from Missouri, Roan is on a meteoric rise to fame and has drawn record-breaking crowds at every festival she’s played this year, OSL proving no different. Unfortunately, this meant that Grammy-nominated funk singer Cimafunk, Australian indie-folk band Sons of the East, and country rocker Paul Cauthen seemed like her openers, performing to a crowd of kids who had probably never heard their music. Nevertheless, all three acts performed confidently and entertained the initially skeptical crowd.
It happened to be the first anniversary of Chappell Roan’s viral track “HOT TO GO!” To celebrate, OSL organized a lively parade across Polo Field complete with a brass band playing the hit song and a Chappell Roan drag queen leading the way. At 4 PM Roan took the stage wearing the same glittery blue outfit from her music video, kicking off the show with the empowering “Femininomenon.” During the electrifying performance, Roan leaped and danced across the stage as approximately 80,000 adoring fans screamed every word. During “HOT TO GO!”, she called out viewers in VIP who weren’t joining in the YMCA-inspired arm routine, saying, “It’s so weird how VIP thinks they’re way too cool to do this, you’re not fun!” Other highlights included “Red Wine Supernova”, “Good Luck, Babe!”, and her unreleased track “The Subway.” Thousands of pink cowboy hats waved in the air as she concluded the historic set with “Pink Pony Club.”
Many fans decided to stick around for Teddy Swims’ powerful and soulful performance. Heartfelt at times and raunchy at others, Swims gave his all as he serenaded the crowd with ballads like “All That Really Matters” and “Lose Control”. The heavily tattooed singer gave off an initially intimidating persona, but this facade melted away as he displayed genuine emotion and appreciation for his fans.
Next up was Post Malone’s special country set. Accompanied by a substantial band of string musicians and backup singers, Post sang covers of his favorite country tracks while smoking a cigarette and drinking from a red solo cup. He seemed unable to contain his happiness, flashing his silvery smile nonstop and throwing peace signs at the crowd. Highlights included George Strait’s “Carrying Your Love With Me”, Tim McGraw’s “Just to See You Smile, and David Lee Murphy’s “Dust on the Bottle”, during which Murphy accompanied him and the two shared a mic. He also played one track, “I Had Some Help,” from his upcoming country-pop release F-1 Trillion.
After spending the whole day at Lands End, I concluded my OSL experience with a calmer set, British shoegaze band Slowdive at the Sutro stage. With KAYTRANADA at Twin Peaks and Sturgill Simpson at Lands End, their crowd was modest but engaged, swaying to their dreamy sound and hypnotic visuals. The set closer, “When the Sun Hits,” was the perfect conclusion to my magical weekend at Outside Lands.
Overall, this year’s Outside Lands was a fabulous time, and I can’t wait to see what next year’s edition, slotted for August 8-10th, 2025, has in store.
