Outsidelands is all of San Fransisco’s Charm Packed into One Perfect Weekend
Outsidelands is San Fransisco’s coveted annual music and arts festival, with its own classic NorCal twist that makes it its own. The three day festival is known for highlighting local businesses and community programs, expanding beyond just a place to hear incredible live music. The grounds of Golden Gate Park are full of local food vendors, aiming to have something for everyone, with dedicated designated areas, Winelands and Grasslands, for people to engage in their experience of choice and make the weekend their own.
The festival attracts fans of all kinds of fans with varying genres of headliners, from Charli XCX to Turnstile, Rufus Du Sol to the iconic Death Cab for Cutie, who gave not one but two special performances. The festival started with a bang on Friday, August 7th, 2026, fans spilling in in excited anticipation for the epic weekend lined up ahead of live music and lifelong memories!
Friday, August 7th: Day One
To kick off the festival experience I dove right in with Die Spitz. The incredible all girl punk band has been leaving their mark this year while on tour for their most recent album, Something To Consume. I was able to catch their show in San Diego last month, which was also being covered by Rolling Stone magazine. They are set to perform at Daisy Chains later this month, Olivia Rodrigo’s upcoming music festival. They bring so much fun to the stage with their high energy level, playing guitar and bass while kicking and jumping and even playing bass in a headstand. They were jumping around, laughing, rocking so hard and assuring the crowd, “Guys we really are friends!” The sentiment was definitely confirmed and displayed in the love on stage when bassist Kate Halter got emotional on stage. Her bandmates fled to her side to comfort, with heads on shoulders and forehead kisses. It is always heartwarming and extra special to see friendship and support existing on stage in that way. The end of their set had fans crowdsurfing and moshing together, the crowd fully locked in from set #1 of the weekend, ready to make the absolute most of it all.
Heading over to the main stage for Wet Leg, I caught the end of an incredibly fun set put on by Durand Bernar. Dancing, vogueing, demanding high energy from the crowd, he had a confidence about him that bled into the audience as they danced along. He sang, “HELLO” off of his most recent album, a self assured, strut your stuff kind of song that had the whole crowd feeling themselves.
British indie rock band Wet Leg had been on my bucket list for years since I heard their song, “Wet Dream” in 2022. Their newest album, moisturizer has been my album of the summer, with energetic and fun moments on it like “catch these fists” and “CPR.” Lead singer Rhian Teasdale has the stage presence of a real rockstar, the band has an explosive and fun energy, owning the stage with cheeky grins and Rhian singing in a literal backbend while playing a neon green transparent guitar, one of the coolest guitars I’ve probably ever seen.
While exploring the rest of the grounds I was able to catch the beginning of singer-songwriter Goldie Boutlier’s set. She has an amazing stage presence and classic style, walking on stage in a big patterned leather jacket and sunglasses. She swerves and spins on stage, reaching her hands out to the crowd as she sings with a tone and slight rasp in her vocals reminiscent of Dolly Parton.
Headed back over to Sutra stage to catch a glimpse of Geese, from extremely far away bc the crowd was huge, spanning the entire hillside, displaying just the kind of insane year the band has had.
The quintessential San Francisco cloudy skies and fog made time feel nonexistent, but as the evening approached, I headed to the main stage to find a spot for Charli XCX and to catch the end of Labrinth’s set. His music combines electronic, soul, and R&B methods, creating a gorgeous and looming cinematic experience in his performance that was only exemplified by his deep, breathy and ambient vocals. He entranced the crowd, playing the piano and then standing on top of it to for the belts of the song, towering above, as if on top of the world. The lyrics to “Mount Everest” were echoed by so many in the crowd, “Mount Everest ain’t got shit on me, cause I’m on top of the world.” The song was featured in HBO’s Euphoria, and as the crowd sang along you could tell they really felt it, the exhilarating feeling of live music mixed with anticipation for the big day one headliners.
Charlie XCX has a mind blowing new production that grabs you by the throat instantly with a insane pyrotechnics and the voice of David Cronenberg, famous director with a feature on Music Fashion and Film, booming over the speakers, “Oblivion is Freedom.” The crowd went absolutely wild, many having waited all day for a coveted spot, fans sporting her merch were at every turn, the classic brat green sprinkled among the masses. There’s multiple levels to her stage layout, as she sings with her live band on the second tier, high above us all and the stage making her visible to fans down the entire lawn. The lighting inside the stage creates strobe like twinkling stars behind her, made even more explosive and striking by the strobes from above and the cinematic wind in her hair. An entire crew of dancers is revealed during “Card Declined,” as they strut behind her and circling her, making the stage into a fashion show that ends with an insane electric guitar solo. She makes space for old classics, like “Blame It On Your Love” and “pink diamond,” and integrates some of her songs from her Wuthering Heights soundtrack, crafting seamless and unexpected transitions between records. It’s a wild feeling to be present for something like a live performance of “Girl, so confusing,” a song that became such a cultural moment, making it one of the loudest crowds I’ve been in, every lyric screamed back at Charli. “Let’s work it out on the remix!” the loudest of al.. Charli and all her dancers center stage on the second tier jumping together like it was a life changing night out, white strobing lights soaking them in the moment. The performance was so cinematic and layered, so many parts of her discography and her past having dedicated moments in the show that come together in a massively creative and explosive production. Charli is bringing the Music Fashion and Film tour to San Diego on October 16th at Viejas Arena, so if you’re local to us you can catch this insane performance too!
Saturday, August 8th: Day Two
The lineup at Lands End stage was so extraordinary and tailor made for me on day two that I decided to stay put basically all day. The day started with the groovy sounds of Bandalos Chinos, a funky pop group from Argentina. They had the whole crowd dancing along, bringing the crowd to life, warming up our dancing hips for the day.
Next to the stage was Haute and Freddy, who put on an incredible show I got to review in San Diego, so I was thrilled to see them again. The pop duo had been writing behind the scenes for years, but their show confirms they were clearly meant for the stage. Freddy is on the drums and soundboard smiling so much it must hurt his face while Haute comes into her circus persona with theatric moves and a masterful strength in her vocals.
The next set was the breakout superstar Audrey Hobert. She has taken the world completely by storm with her charm and her witty, honest lyricism about insecurity and learning to embrace feeling like the weird girl. The live performance includes a quick monologue added in the middle of the song “Wet Hair”, about how she never could’ve imagined being the star she has become, having grown up feeling like the odd one out and her realization that she has always had this star power in her, no wonder she’s made it this far! Her natural vulnerability and lived-in confidence is infectious, and her pop star aura is undeniable on stage. Her first single and first ever release, “Sue Me,” made a huge splash upon release and is still her biggest hit. For this song there’s a trampoline on stage, she jumps through the intro, leaping and running across stage and even showing off pirouettes to the beat. She performs “Sue Me” twice, the second time asking the crowd to put their phones away, exclaiming, “Let’s dance!”
While still fully mind blown and reeling from Audrey’s set, I prepared for the set I’d been the most excited for, my absolute favorite artist Lucy Dacus. The band walks on stage in matching LD embroidered letterman jackets, looking gorgeously coordinated and cohesive, and the way they play together confirms it. Detailed silver frames outline the visuals on the screen behind her as Lucy sings, the Home Video album cover during the first few song, transitioning to renaissance style paintings and sky imagery during the songs from Forever is a Feeling. Before playing “Best Guess,” a love song about being in love with your best friend, she asked the crowd to raise their hands if they’re gay, then dedicated the song to everyone who almost raised their hand, declaring, “…one day you will, and I love you now and I’ll love you then.” Directly after, she invited her own best friend to the stage, Julien Baker, solo artist and fellow member of boygenius, to sing with her. The pair haven’t shared the stage in over two years, which you could hear in the volume of the screams from hardcore fans in the crowd. Hearing their voices together again on this beautiful song felt so so special and it became one of the best moments and surprises of the weekend.
The stage was slowly transformed into a dreamy mossy grassland that blended seamlessly with the gray greenery of the park, in preparation for Ethel Cain. She had some hardcore fans in the crowd, just the first note of almost every song was greeted with guttural screams of acknowledgement from the audience. Her voice is deep and looms large above the ambient production and Southern Gothic Americana tone to her music. Her iconic song “American Teenager” has all the lyrics screamed back to her, “it’s just not my year, but I’m all good out here!”
After a long day of dancing, jumping, singing, and crying, I had the energy for one last set for the day, another favorite artist of mine and one of my most listened to this year, Djo! Djo, stage name for Joe Keery, has been on a tear the past few years after the release of his third album in early 2025, The Crux. He and the band are currently on tour opening for Tame Impala, taking arenas by storm with the stunning production and energy behind his show. The colorful and entrancing visuals bring you all the way into his thrilling and honest psychedelic rock world. Djo has boundless energy on stage as he literally sprints around the perimeter, doing crazy jumps and goofy bits, standing in front of the screen, looking back at the giant image of himself behind him, and high kicking towards it. He closed with “End of Beginning,” the perfect soundtrack for the end of my day two at Outsidelands.
Sunday, August 9th: Day Three
I arrived early on day three, enjoying the quiet morning as the festival community slowly came to life. All the food vendors setting up, volunteers, media, and crew getting ready, and finally the buzzing fans spilling through the gates. I watched Death Cab for Cutie fans run to Sutra stage for a barricade spot. We were lucky enough to have Death Cab for Cutie perform two sets this day, the early show being at a smaller stage, where they were to sing the Plans album in full. It was a gorgeous and emotional performance, it felt special to be in that early set crowd and we all knew it as we cried through “I Will Follow You into the Dark.” The band sounds absolutely incredible together on stage and feels so alive, it was amazing and gave everyone that boost of joy we needed to take on the last day of the festival.
After that, I was able to explore and stop at the Dolores stage and catch DJ Charles Hawthorne. I watched him bring the dance floor to life, as it drew in couples and groups of friends, dancing, spinning, and grooving under the disco ball.
Next up was one of my favorite indie alt rock bands right now, Momma. Their newest album Welcome to My Blue Sky has been on repeat since its release. Lead singers Allegra and Etta sound incredible as they harmonize together and switch off lead vocals from song to song. The set includes some of their heavier rock songs from the Household Name album, with louder, crunchier guitar riffs, along with their newer songs from Welcome to My Blue Sky, that lean more pop and lyrically reflective. The crowd was jumping like crazy during “I Want You (Fever)”, the middle of the pit moshing and running in circles which the band loved and encouraged. They even let two fans from the barricade up on the stage, per their request, for “Speeding 72,” the last song. The two friends skipped and jumped around the stage, running up to the edge and hyping up the crowd even more for the finale of Momma’s set.
I headed to the main stage to see a bit of JADE, and I caught a great moment of her set, the performance of her song “Before You Break My Heart.” The song samples the classic “Stop! In the Name of Love,” with vocals from a video of her as a kid singing the song, and new recent verses written on top, reflecting on her childhood dreams and where she is now. She’d drawn a huge crowd and took control of the crowd as they danced with her and sang along with her childhood self. I headed back to the Sutra stage to catch a few songs from Irish folk pop band Kingfishr. They were so much fun, a joy to watch on stage and struck emotion in the crowd as they sang “Shot in the Dark,” a song about when they quit their jobs to pursue music as a dream full time. Lead singer Eddie Keogh came down from the stage to the front of the barricade to sing the song truly with the crowd, reaching over and holding hands at every possible spot along the catwalk, in a beautiful moment of connection and community.
After that set, I made my way to the media tent, as I was lucky enough to get a few portraits in of Momma. They were so kind and fun, all of us a bit deliriously exhausted from the long weekend winding down. I got some adorable shots of them laughing like sit com characters. Right after the portraits I quickly headed to see Infinity Song, a band I was a casual fan of and am now much more than that. The soft rock band is made up of four siblings, Momo, Israel, Angel, and Abraham Boyd, who all share vocals on almost every song. Watching them sing together was incredible, their on stage chemistry shining as they command the crowd to let it all out, no inhibitions, the music making it impossible not to comply.
Having already seen headliners Death Cab for Cutie for their special set, and having arrived early every day of the festival my exhaustion only allowed for one more set to close out my Outsidelands experience, and nothing could’ve closed it out as well as the stunning set from Not For Radio. Not For Radio is the solo project of Maria Zardoysas, of Best New Artist nominees The Marias. She released her solo record at the end of last year, a rich blend of her heavenly vocals and lush, dreamy pop production, similar to that of The Marias but with a bit of a darker, more melancholic tone. In the center of her stage is a rich green grassy spot that looks like it’s bathed in moonlight, bringing to life the lush feeling of the music, the swan imagery throughout displayed in her outfit change from a white feathered set to a black one halfway through the set. She sang an unreleased song that the crowd clearly adored, bringing us into her world so lovingly and closing out my festival experience with a feeling of fulfillment I won’t soon forget.
San Fransisco’s charm is irresistible, and the festival takes all that charm and concentrates it in Golden Gate Park for a stunning weekend of live music and community. It was an absolute honor to attend and get to cover some of my absolute dream artists. The festival is run so smoothly, with an incredible crew of volunteers and vendors making it one of the most coveted festivals of the summer festival season and my personal favorite. I can’t wait to see next year’s lineup and hopefully be back at the beautiful Golden Gate Park for round two!
