In 2008, Radiohead, Tom Petty and Jack Johnson headlined the first Outside Lands (OSL), San Francisco’s annual music and food festival that has since become a staple. The festival grounds take up the 1,017 acres of land at the Golden Gate Park, boasting in meadows nestled among acacias, oak, eucalyptus and redwood trees.
The festival returns to celebrate its sweet 16 with nearly 50 performers, bringing attendees to a location that captures the essence of the Bay Area. The OSL experience goes beyond the stage and can be found through food, local vendors, vibrant community and of course, the city’s signature fog.
This year, OSL marked the 20th anniversary of the “Winter of Love,” a landmark decision made by former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, which issued same-sex marriage licenses.
This event acted as a catalyst for change and kickstarted the movement for marriage equality nationwide, marking the first same-sex marriage ceremony at San Francisco’s City Hall.
OSL brought their very own City Hall to the McLaren Pass field, offering on-site weddings and vow renewals. The City Hall, planted between eucalyptus trees adorned with a flower arch, became a popular gathering spot. Friends, family and strangers gathered around and sat on wooden seating as they watched others share kisses, tears and heartfelt stories of love.
“We always wanted to get married in the forest or in Vegas,” Saylor Reichenstein, an attendee who scheduled their marriage in OSL City Hall said.
“All the queer artists that came and the fact that it’s the 20th anniversary of the first same-sex marriage meant so much to us.”
In the spirit of LGBTQ+ celebration, OSL’s Dolores stage returned for its second year as an open air dance floor. Dolores hosted many DJs and organizations that represent queer Bay Area nightlife, like Fake and Gay, Oasis and Hard French.
On Friday, Fake and Gay took charge for the entire day. The organization brings pop-club booking to the Bay Area with international DJs, live performances and local talent. Adam Kraft, founder of Fake and Gay, was the first DJ to get the day started as he mixed BPMs to Pharell William’s song “Hot-N-Fun.”
Saturday featured Oasis, San Francisco’s acclaimed drag nightclub and cabaret. Oasis representatives brought on local drag stars from the Bay Area along with DJs and a performance from Reparations, an all Black drag show that has been voted best drag show in the Bay three years consecutively, according to the site.
Reparations brought crowds of people to the Dolores stage, as the drag queens and kings encouraged audience members to take part in the performance.
Nikki Jizz, a drag queen and the host of Reparations’ DJ set said, “I used to sneak into this festival and now I’m on this fucking stage.”
Jizz proceeded to introduce a local drag queen that was featured in season 16 of Ru Paul’s Drag Race known as Jaxx. Jaxx fueled the crowd with original choreography to songs off of Charli XCX’s “Brat,” such as “Von Dutch” and “Guess.” Following her performance of acrobatics, Jaxx was deemed the “Simone Biles of Drag” by Jizz.
Sunday continued the commemoration of queer joy, with Chappell Roan, an emerging queer pop star taking the Lands End stage with an estimated crowd of 50,000 people.
Clusters of pink colored the space, with fans of all ages dressed in pink attire from head to toe, a nod at Chappell Roan’s hit, “Pink Pony Club.” The track was written upon Roan’s experience attending a gay bar in Hollywood and being changed by the authenticity within the room.
“All the lesbians are out,” Samantha Reichenstein, Saylor’s now official wife said. “We have Renee Rapp, K.Flay, Fletcher and Chappell Roan. All these queer artists in one place is just so magical and they are always having a good time spreading love, so I wanted to be a part of that love.”
This year’s lineup initially stirred up strong reactions from fans, with some taking their frustrations to the official Outside Lands Instagram account. Others embraced smaller acts or the queer artists that were scattered around the festival grounds.
Daniel Caesar gave an empowering performance on Friday that felt as intimate as listening to the performer singing in his bedroom. As he arrived on stage, curtains dropped down, closing in on the artist while he opened the set with “Ocho Rios,” from his album, “Never Enough.”
Caesar told the crowd, “I was in a bad mood and I didn’t feel like doing this today. Radical honesty, now I’m feeling really good.”
Caesar surprised the crowd with several impromptu acoustic performances like “Loose” on piano and “Best Part” on the guitar. The spontaneity of the performances left the crowd screaming and pulling out their phones to facetime loved ones, as they watched the performance together yet apart.
Saturday reigned as the night of pop and indie rock, with Sabrina Carpenter and the Postal Service headlining at opposite sides of the fields. In contrast to Carpenter’s set, the Postal Service brought in a lively middle-aged crowd, ready to relive 2003 and dance to the band’s hit 2000s album, “Give Up.”
The group gave a cinematic performance, with blue and purple lighting design and wind blowing through each member’s hair. As they closed out their set, the Washington band lined up together to give a unison goodbye.
Despite the temporary goodbyes, Sunday delivered a large crowd of varying numbers throughout the day, with Chappell Roan being the most jam-packed audience, to Kaytranada taking on Sturgill Simpson’s headlining crowd as attendees rushed over to the Twin Peaks stage.
With a truly captivating performance to end the final day of the festival, Kaytranada attracted more than 10,000 fans. | Maura Shernisky
The festival offered a captivating fusion of music, culture and history throughout the three days, bringing a diverse lineup in pop, country, electronic dance music (EDM) and alternative rock artists to join in one location. With new additions to the festival like City Hall and Dolores, it is unknown what new attractions OSL may bring to the community next year.
While discussions regarding next year’s potential performers are already underway, the connection between music, queer culture and San Francisco is so present that it promises to be vibrant and welcoming to whoever walks through the meadows of Golden Gate Park the following year.
