For its sweet 16th birthday party, Outside Lands 2024 gifted attendees an abundance of the newest and most popular artists to the Bay Area for a three-day weekend of fun. This year’s concert lineup had an array of genres including rock, pop, house, techno, country, rap music, and more; a clear sign of the music festival evolving into its most diverse form yet.
With every party, there seems to be something that doesn’t go as planned. In this case, Tyler the Creator, who was announced as a headliner in the beginning of the year, was replaced by new pop-sensation Sabrina Carpenter. Quite the opposite in musical styles, but there were plenty of artists to go around for all music lovers to explore. After all, finding and listening to new music is what music festivals are all about.
Day One featured plenty of amazing performances, but it also came with getting familiar with the venue. My first Outside Lands was in 2021, and thankfully not too much of the layout has changed from then. Six stages were scattered across Golden Gate Park, along with booths and vendors to enjoy drinks and cannabis at the appropriately named Beer Lands, Wine Lands, and Grass Lands. After getting acquainted with the lay of the land, I started my Friday watching Real Estate, a laid back rock band that captured the festival’s chill and relaxed vibe at the Lands End Stage (Main Stage). The fresh grass allowed fans to lay their blankets down and take a seat, before the festival got too crowded. Afterwards, I managed to grab a quick bite from a nearby food vendor, and, as with any music festival now-a-days, you can expect everything to be about $20. A highlight performance by Jungle (my favorite band this past year), also at Lands End, got the crowd energized with their distinctive upbeat sound. Playing hit songs from their 2023 album Volcano, such as “Back on 74” and “I’ve Been In Love.” Friday night came to a spectacular end with headliner The Killers performing their fair share of sing-a-long smash hits “Mr. Brightside” and “When You Were Young.”
Out came the sunshine and fashion on Day Two of Outside Lands. Special guest appearance from the sun made for a nice change of scenery and dawned a light on some of the creative outfits that festival-goers wore. Outfits included cosplays of Outside Land mascot Ranger Dave, groups of “Where’s Waldos,” and Pink Urban Cowgirls to name a few. Saturday’s line-up featured the likes of SchoolBoy Q, Fletcher, Charley Crockett, Men I Trust, and Sabrina Carpenter. I was planted at the Sutro Stage for most of Saturday, which held performances by California native Channel Tres and electronic dance producer Chris Lake. Both drew large crowds and had the Sutro Stage packed. The area was so flooded, bathroom lines took as long as 30 minutes, entry points were shoulder to shoulder, and foot traffic was often at a standstill. When it came time for a bathroom break, my buddy Chris offered to show me “Piss Lands.” Off the beaten path was a private area covered by trees to try and avoid the long lines waiting for the restrooms. Nonetheless, Channel Tres had the crowd grooving to his signature blend of songs that carry undertones of both hip-hop and house music. As the warm sun washed away and the towering Eucalyptus trees surrounding the Sutro Stage lit up, Chris Lake deejay’d the night away with his playlist of high tempo electronic dance music.
Sunday, the last day of Outside Lands turned out to be the busiest day of the weekend. The heavy dose of country artists on the lineup made festival-goers bring out all of their western fashion accessories. The most popular of the western wear, which I noticed immediately upon arrival, were floods of pink Cowgirl hats that could be seen on every other person walking into the festival. The pink hatted attendees were all devout fans of Chappell Roan, who came in waves to support the breakout artist during her questionable 4 p.m. start time. Her standout performance, which included songs off her 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, drew a crowd that turned out to be the largest group of fans I’ve ever seen at a music festival.
My Sunday continued at the Twin Peaks Stage, with a passionate rap performance by three-time Grammy winner Killer Mike, who won best Rap Album, Rap Song, and Rap Performance at this year’s Grammy awards. Concluding my final act of the day at Outside Lands was popular music producer Kaytranada. Known for his genre-bending, house influenced R&B songs, it was a fitting end to the sundry of musical performances I had the chance to experience at Outside Lands 2024.
