A Decade of Outside Lands: Growing Up With San Francisco’s Favorite Festival

After 10 years, Outside Lands still feels like a reflection of the Bay Area itself – from genre-bending music and unexpected breakout sets to an all-star food scene, Wine Lands, foggy afternoons and the dirt-covered rain boots that somehow keep bringing me back.

As I made my way into misty Golden Gate Park on the second Friday in August, I realized something: This was my 10th year as an attendee.

A full decade of wandering eucalyptus-laden paths in rain boots, dancing to acts under the open sky.

During my very first Outside Lands in 2016, I was 19 with barely a year of college behind me. I remember dancing to Miguel with one of my best friends from high school, becoming absolutely entranced by Lana Del Rey, and catching a set by an Australian dance group quietly on the rise: Rüfüs Du Sol. Now, after 10 years, some incredibly successful studio albums, and a meteoric rise in fame, Rüfüs Du Sol flew back to foggy San Francisco to play Outside Lands. This time, their name was much larger in font, much higher on the lineup poster – a visible marker of how far they’d come. They were one of more than 100 acts sprawled across almost 150 acres of the park, bringing the best of old and new, small to world-famous names in rock, pop, and electronic music.

As someone who started off the festival as a teenager and am now in the last year of my twenties, I can safely weigh in on “the teenager debate” and say there’s a harmonious place for all groups at Outside Lands: High schoolers, 20 year olds, the 35+ crowd, and even the occasional couple with their child in tow. There’s a certain kindness, inclusivity and community-feel to the festival that mirrors the personality of the Bay Area.

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival 2026 poster

With her homage to rock music during the closing act of night one, Charli xcx seemed to dismantle the tired refrain that music just isn’t what it used to be. I was blown away by Charli’s set and her ensemble of fearless female dancers who lit up the OSL stage with precision and fearlessness.

While her music has always demanded something from listeners – aggressive sonic choices and hyper-specific cultural references – her set boldly departed from that persona. She came onstage with a live backing band consisting of a guitarist, drummer, and bassist, trading her experimental approach for something rawer and grungier. Fans of the emotional intensity and wildly chaotic energy of greats like Pink Floyd, Guns & Roses, and Aerosmith could find something to love in her set. It was a strategic move. By introducing her new rock sound to the crowd in her headlining slot, she expanded the room without compromising her artistry.

Two other acts that stayed with me were DJ Yousuke Yukimatsu and Geese, both of whom embodied the festival’s appetite for artists willing to push beyond the expected. Yukimatsu turned the SOMA stage into a fever dream of genre-blurring techno, house, hip-hop and pop, delivering one of the weekend’s most visceral underground sets. Over at Sutro, Brooklyn’s Geese brought a similarly unruly energy to their massive crowd, with frontman Cameron Winter’s theatrical performance and a delightfully chaotic rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’” proving that some of the festival’s best moments come from artists who refuse to play it safe.

The food at Outside Lands is its own homage to the Bay Area’s incredibly diverse and fun food scene. I live up the street from Wise Sons and get their breakfast bagel pretty often, so seeing them collaborate with Outta Sight Pizza on a festival-only pizza bagel with burrata felt like a particularly delightful OSL moment. And there was plenty more to explore: Original Joe’s brought its prime rib dip and spicy rigatoni, while Reem’s and Lion Dance Cafe teamed up on lamb quesabirria flatbread and vegan fried eggplant and potato flatbreads. With more than 100 vendors, the lineup moved effortlessly from old-school San Francisco institutions to West African jollof, modern South Indian food from Copra, and returning favorites like Señor Sisig and Koja Kitchen.

Wine Lands is another distinctly Bay Area touch, giving the festival’s drinks program a real sense of place. Marine Layer, the San Francisco winery known for its California-focused wines and distinctive branding, was one of the producers featured this year, with its Aries Chardonnay, Dutton-Upp Road Pinot Noir and Que Pop Sparkling Rosé on offer. The festival’s media team also invited press to a dedicated Marine Layer tasting in the Media Tent, a thoughtful touch that gave the wine program its own moment amid an otherwise nonstop weekend.

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival © ALIVE

Outside Lands Boasts Queer and Bay Area Pride in Its Sixteenth Year

:: FESTIVAL REVIEW ::

Ten years in, I’m starting to suspect that Outside Lands may be less a festival I attend and more a long-term test of my knees. I walked nearly 20,000 steps a day, sometimes more, and still went home with dirt permanently embedded in my rain boots. I’m getting older, but I’ll probably keep coming back anyway.

Every year, I recognize something new while also finding some little reminder of the Bay Area I’ve known for the past decade – the music, the food, the fog, the strange weather, the people, the constant evolution. I may eventually trade the dancing for standing slightly farther from the speakers, but I have a feeling I’ll always feel a little nostalgic walking into Golden Gate Park, knowing that this festival has grown up alongside me.

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