One of the many perks of living in the Richmond District is the ability to easily walk to top-tier concerts in Golden Gate Park. I’ve been attending Outside Lands for over a decade now, and plan to continue as long as I am physically able. Now that I’ve had a chance to recover from a few days of drinking and walking nearly 100,000 steps, I wanted to share some of my favorite experiences at this year’s edition of the festival, in no particular order.

When it was announced that the hip-hop duo Clipse would be performing at the Independent, I knew that I had to go. Even though they would be performing at the festival the next day, you don’t often get a chance to see a legendary act performing in a 500-capacity venue. I managed to snag 2 tickets for the show before it sold out, and invited a stranger I met in the line at Swan Oyster Depot of all places.

The audience was a mix of all ages. Some (including myself) spent years listening to their 2000s era albums like Lord Willin’ and Hell Hath No Fury, but missed our chance to see them live back then. Younger fans were mostly familiar with their critically acclaimed new album Let God Sort ‘Em Out, whose single Chains and Whips earned them a Grammy for Best Rap Performance.

After they performed their new single “So Be It”, I looked over at someone I had been chatting with between songs. We agreed that it was wild how they were able to make such classic albums, take a break for 15 years, then come back and produce some of their best work. My only complaint about the pre-show is that it wasn’t longer. After the set, the audience lingered for a long time waiting for an encore that never came. I expected them to perform deeper cuts for the dedicated fanbase at the pre-show, but instead it was a short 10 song set. I surprisingly enjoyed the official festival set more, since they performed additional favorites like “What Happened to that Boy”, “M.T.B.T.T.F.”, “Keys Open Doors”, and “Momma I’m So Sorry.”

When I arrived at the festival on Friday, the first band I saw was Bad Nerves, who were opening the Sutro Stage in the early afternoon. At the end of the set, the frontman of the England-based punk band said “Rock and roll lives, guitar music will never die.”

While it sometimes seems that laptop DJs and pop stars are taking over festivals these days, Friday of Outside Lands was stacked with good old fashioned guitar rock. The first day of the festival alone featured Die Spitz, The Story So Far, Wet Leg, Geese, Turnstile, and Modest Mouse.

Of the afternoon sets, Die Spitz stood out for their heavy metal riffs, growling vocals, and band chemistry. The Austin-based rockers were young and energetic, and clearly excited to be playing at Outside Lands The frontwoman mentioned dreaming of attending the festival when she was a kid, but ended up performing on stage instead. Several of the members were multi-instrumentalists and seamlessly switched roles during the set. The drummer switched to guitar for one track and took over vocals, while the other guitarist switched to the drums. The audience was active and it was clear early on that moshing was still very much a thing.

Turnstile deserves their own mention. This was my third time seeing the group, and they delivered yet again. Like most, I discovered them after listening to their breakout album Glow On and watching the clips of their high energy live shows on YouTube. Their most hardcore fans caught them at tiny venues like Thee Parkside in 2014, and have been surprised by the group’s newfound mainstream appeal. I attended their Regency Ballroom show in early 2022, and the band has only gotten more popular since.

Their most recent tour has been in support of their new album Never Enough. They really have their live show dialed in now. They make great use of the screens and often have the camera zoom in on the crowd. You can just tell how much fun everyone is having, with all of the smiles and circle pits forming throughout the crowd.

On Sunday evening I got a notification that Leon Bridges would be performing a surprise set at the Duboce Triangle stage. This was enough for me to bail a bit early on Empire of the Sun and Mariah the Scientist, who weren’t really my thing. I arrived early and secured a great spot on elevated ground near the stage. Leon performed songs from his soon to be released album Happiness Anytime. The crowd was receptive to the new music, but they were most enthusiastic when he closed the set with crowd favorites “Texas Sun” and “River”. You could tell everyone felt lucky to witness this intimate performance.

The Duboce Triangle stage in general was a great place to be all weekend. I just love how the small stage is nestled in the lighted trees with mushrooms in the background. Although I didn’t catch the surprise Tycho DJ Set, I did see a few random DJs at this stage when I was passing through, and could totally see an EDM festival hosted in the park in the future.

The Clipse were not the only 2000s-era artists at Outside Lands. For the indie rockers out there, the festival brought The Strokes, Death Cab For Cutie, and Modest Mouse. I had already seen all three live during their heyday years ago, but I’m always open to revisiting some old favorites.

The Strokes were one of the few acts I camped out close to the stage for. While they performed a few tracks from their new album, it was clear by the crowd reactions that fans were most enthusiastic about the hits from Is This It? and Room on Fire. These songs include catchy singalongs like Hard to Explain, Someday, Reptilia, and Last Nite.

The big news of the night was of course the surprise guest during Take It Or Leave It. For this song, The Strokes brought out none other than Charli XCX, who had headlined the night before. Julian joked that Charli XCX had outsold them with her latest album….by a lot.

I arrived early Sunday morning for the Death Cab For Cutie set, knowing I would probably be checking out other artists during their evening set. While I came in thinking I had probably outgrown their music, I couldn’t help but shed some tears during the performance of “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”, an acoustic song about mortality and aging.

Ben Gibbard mentioned having some vocal issues when he woke up in the morning, but thanked the Outside Lands medical staff for giving him some steroids to help his recovery. Death Cab performed their entire Plans album for the morning set and a mix of their entire catalog during the evening set. In an odd symmetry, Soul Meets Body was the first song I heard when I walked into the festival that day, and was also the last song I heard as I was leaving the festival Sunday night.

While none of this was really new to me, it was nice to revisit old indie rock classics like The Strokes’ “Someday” and Modest Mouse’s “Dramamine” at a different phase of life.

While Grasslands was introduced to the festival years ago, I have surprisingly never stopped by to check it out. This year I decided to change that, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. For those that are unfamiliar, Grasslands is a dedicated section at Outside Lands where you can purchase and consume cannabis products. There are comfy chairs in circles where you can smoke a joint and chat with friends, or just look up at Golden Gate Park’s beautiful trees.

Since I don’t really smoke anymore, I decided to try out a cannabis-infused drink from Tokey’s Tavern. For only $8, you get a drink with 10 mg of THC. I chatted with some people in line about how strong they were, since I noticed they were even selling some drinks with 100 mg of THC. I found this insane, but apparently the people I talked to have friends that drink the strong ones. For reference, an entire tin of Plus gummies has 20 gummies that have 5 mg of THC each.

I decided to slowly drink just over half a can of the PBR Strawberry Kiwi Seltzer (roughly the equivalent of a single gummy). I thought it was a great enhancement to the experience, and at $8 it was one of the better deals in the festival. I personally found it a much better value than an $18 beer.

I particularly enjoyed seeing the community art wall in Grasslands and its evolution over the course of the weekend. What started out as mostly a white wall ended up being a fairly elaborate and colorful painted display. You can check out Robert Louthan’s other community art projects, including last year’s mural, on his Instagram.

Let’s face it, the main stages don’t always deliver. This is why I love the Dolores Stage, which honors the city’s queer and trans community. When another stage’s performance is sleepier than expected, the Dolores Stage is always a party. Plus it’s by Beerlands and the cocktail area, so it’s easy to get a drink and then wander into a drag show while the crowd is dancing to Destiny’s Child. How can you not have fun?

While I love the nostalgia acts due to my past connections to their music, I try to make time at every festival to walk around to all of the stages to catch some lesser known artists. Sometimes I make a few discoveries, and this year was no exception.

Silvana Estrada was a fantastic Mexican singer who drew me in with her powerful voice. I randomly caught her on the Panhandle stage when I was walking around sampling sets. She will be opening for Mon Laferte at the SAP Center in San Jose on November 6.

kwn, a British R&B singer, was another under-attended set. I randomly discovered her when I attended the Roskilde Festival in Denmark this summer, but didn’t even realize she was at Outside Lands. Her music is very sexual and reminiscent of The Weeknd or Justin Timberlake. The crowd in Denmark was surprisingly much more enthusiastic and familiar with her, with many members of the audience throwing bras onto the stage. I was surprised to see very few people at her Outside Lands set, but wouldn’t be surprised if she is much bigger in the future. 

While I’m still readjusting to normal life again, I’m looking forward to attending Outside Lands again next year, and possibly even volunteering. As someone who very much enjoyed the System of a Down and Deftones concert in Golden Gate Park the weekend after Outside Lands in 2024, I look forward to them bringing back the additional concerts. SF Standard recently reported that the festival organizer dreams of booking a big name like Bad Bunny or BTS, so I’m crossing my fingers for an even better 2027. See you next year.