The “sweet sixteen” birthday celebration of Outside Lands turned in a successful weekend of music and excitement, showcasing a diverse lineup including established headliners as well as emerging artists. The year’s breakthrough artist Chappell Roan brought out massive crowds, showing their love with pink cowboy hats and an impressive energy. Strong headliners like Sabrina Carpenter kept music fans excited and anticipating throughout the weekend, while The Killers brought the generations together with millennials and Gen Z audiences showing their love alike. The event also highlighted a host of newer and emerging artists, including Shaboozey, Medium Build, Elyanna, and Kasablanca, who created their own buzz and sizable crowds.
As is customary for Outside Lands, the weather was marked by the presence of “Karl the Fog,” which made his appearance regularly throughout the weekend. Friday started with breezy conditions and temperatures in the low 60s, but that didn’t deter fans from arriving early to enjoy the festivities. Rocco opened the day with an incredible mix of softer tunes and upbeat songs that had the crowd dancing and singing along right from the start. Following Rocco, Australian electro-pop act Confidence Man took the Twin Peaks stage, delivering a thrilling performance with shirts flying and crowds cheering. This was their first U.S. performance after spending many years making music and touring other parts of the world, and they certainly lived up to expectations. Their energy matched their danceable tunes and got the crowd hyped and moving so much so that many were dancing in t-shirts and shorts. The Last Dinner Party had a huge crowd at the Lands End stage, bringing their theatrical presentation and baroque-inspired rock sound that captivated the audience. Not only were their unique outfits and presentation style captivating, lead singer Abigail Morris kept the crowd engaged and singing along, especially during their hit “Nothing Matters.” Shaboozey had a very fun set, bringing out a large crowd. His lively performance was a strong contrast to Japanese House, whose softer musical style offered a very different, yet just as memorable experience. Tyla, known for her viral hit “Water” made a brief but spectacular appearance. Although she arrived half an hour late and only played a few songs for nearly 15-minutes, her performance was worth the wait, leaving fans wishing for more. Renee Rapp had her fans crying and singing along back at the Twin Peaks stage. Being a part of and celebrated by the queer community, her appearance was relevant and important at Outside Lands, her set deeply resonating with her fans. The day’s headliners, The Killers wrapped things up with all the hits. Many classics from their iconic album “Hot Fuss,” which was recorded across the Bay Bridge in Berkeley, close to the home of Outside Lands, had the fans cheering and absolutely excited. Their set was predictably highlighted with many songs from that iconic album, as well as singles from its follow-up ‘Sam’s Town’ but it was “Mr. Brightside,” that had the crowd go wild, fist-pumping and dancing along that had music fans excited for more on Saturday.
Weather-wise, Saturday was not much different from the breezy, overcast first day at Outside Lands, of course accompanied by San Francisco’s friend ‘Karl’. The sun did however, decided to grace the excited crowds for a brief 15 minutes during some afternoon performances. Unlike the sun, performers showed up and delivered all throughout the day. Saturday kicked off with the Latin funk trio DARUMAS, whose old-school R&B-inspired sound had the crowd moving and grooving from the start. Medium Build was very impressive, bringing a folk-country vibe that felt both rather off the cuff with speaking like and lyrical parts of his songs, and very relatable. Strong stage presence and great live performances of his songs where he seemed to pour his heart out, brought the songs even closer to his dedicated fans. His performance was highlighted by the part of the set Medium Build usually dedicates to talking about death, but decided to celebrate life and evoke gratefulness by having everyone scream together. Day two was a peak day for people to just let loose and dance along to songs of lots of great electronic artists being showcased like TSHA and Chris Lake, the latter who always brings the vibes with him. But as much as people were letting loose, everybody turned up for the beloved headliner Sabrina Carpenter. She took the stage with a group of talented dancers and backup singers. Fans brought their signs, their cheers and their immaculate energy to the show, especially excited for Sabrina’s hits “Please Please Please” and “Espresso.” The big highlight of the show featured the one and only Kacey Musgraves for the performance of the cover “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.’” The high shoes, the black dress, the backup dancers and the stage set were very reminiscent of the original music video by Nancy Sinatra.
Sunday was what people dubbed the “Chappell Day” and the weather was of no concern. Crowds came in super early and in full force to secure the best spots at the main stage for Chappell Roan’s 4pm performance. The atmosphere was electric as the “Pink Pony Club” was out in full force, with fans wearing pink cowboy hats and pink outfits, ready to dance and sing. As much as there were many hardcore Chappell fans gathering for her set, many were excited to show up for the day’s earlier sets. This year’s lineup leaned heavily into artists with country influences, as many new and upcoming artists impressing the crowds. Katie Pruitt captivated listeners with songs about her experience being queer and growing up in the South. Her heartfelt lyrics and powerful voice resonated deeply, making her performance a standout moment of the day. Following Pruitt, Elyanna absolutely brought it to the Twin Peaks stage. At only 21 years old she is already polished as a performer, completely captivating the crowds on Sunday with her incredible stage presence and ability to engage the crowd with her backup dancers. She spoke briefly about the plight going on in Palestine, dedicating her set to those suffering in the Gaza war. A few Palestinian flags waved in the crowd, emphasizing the importance of her message. Local talent wisp, who grew up just blocks away from the park, lived up to the expectations surrounding her set. Having just celebrated her birthday on August 6th a few days prior, she connected with the audience that had resonated with her brand of shoe gaze music. Everybody was seen screaming and cheering the second Chappell Roan’s set started on the Lands End stage. The cheers, screams and applause was by far the loudest and most contagious as it had been the entire weekend. She came, she saw, and she delivered the goods. She had a blast on stage with amazing costumes, pink cowboy hats being seen all over the crowd. As part of her usual set she taught the audience the “Hot to Go” dance, with the highlight of this performance being her challenge to the not dancing VIP section to “be fun and try.” However, all that really needs to be said for this set is that the vibes couldn’t have been more immaculate. As the festival drew to a close, Post Malone performed a special country set that served as a gateway for new fans to listen to his country album “F-1 Trillion” that just dropped. His engaging performance kept the crowd dancing and singing along, providing a great warm-up to headliner Sturgill Simpson.
As the sun set, perhaps behind a lot of fog but setting nonetheless, on another successful Outside Lands weekend, music lovers and fans were able to take away unforgettable memories and experiences. This year Outside Lands offered a wide range and variety of sounds, with a successful focus on country performers and music. As much as hit performers such as Sabrina Carpenter, The Killers and Chappell Roan brought it, there were many new and upcoming artists making a splash and representing the Bay Area proudly. A year after Outside Lands celebrated their Sweet 16 year anniversary, Outside Lands is still going strong and simply doesn’t disappoint.
