The tenth anniversary of the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco took place over the weekend, and represented the diverse music tastes as well as the artists’ fans. Veteran acts like headliners Metallica and The Who expressed their approval over the number of younger attendees who weren’t even born when the bands were in their prime. As fireworks capped off Metallica’s Saturday night set, the famous San Francisco fog rolled in early on Sunday creating a misty but truly memorable two hour set by The Who, where Roger Daltry’s vocals were on point and Pete Townshend’s guitar work was impeccable. Fridays headliner The Gorillaz gave an impressive performance that included many special guests including Little Dragon(who also performed at the festival) performing “Empire Ants”, De La Soul, Del the Funky Homosapien and Pusha T. Although many were disappointed when A Tribe Called Quest canceled their first original set as well as their make up set the following day, there were plenty of other acts that made up for it, including a pop up performance by Big Boi.
Other standout performances included, Lorde, who drew a massive crowd to her set that included many tracks off her new album Melodrama and a surprise guest appearance by Jack Antonoff of Bleachers. Sofi Tukker, whose set also included a special guest when Maggie Rogers jumped up on stage to perform “Awoo” with the band was wildly received by festival attendees. Rogers’ own set was equally impressive, highlighted by her cover of “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young. Royal Blood and up-and-coming band MUNA gave an energetic sets that garnered many new fans.
The combination of the arts that not only includes music and physical arts but also the culinary arts and comedy was a first ten years ago that has influenced many other festivals across the country to do the same. As Outside Lands heads into what is hopefully its next ten years, the festival organizers have curated a “must-go-to” event that is unique to San Francisco that represents both its past as well as the current and future sounds. Check out the photos!
Photo Credit: Zack Wurtz