Outside Lands Returns to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco

The iconic California experience, Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, returns to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco August 5th to 7th.

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival triumphantly returns to San Francisco’s historical Golden Gate Park for its 13th year. Mark Twain is popularly credited for the quote (or he more likely stole the phrase), “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” When the entire country is sweltering in the dog days of summer, festival-goers in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park will enjoy warm pleasant days and cool nights. Golden Gate Park benefits from Ocean Beach on its west end, so each evening as the well-known San Francisco Bay Area fog rolls in, the nights become cool and bring an almost fall/winter vibe, energizing the crowd and creating a surreal scene in the vast beautifully decorated and colorfully lit up park.  

Green Day, SZA, and Post Malone are the headlining flag bearers this year. More than 70 acts are set to perform including Duckwrth, Jack Harlow, Pusha T, Maxo Kream and Lil Uzi Vert, Mac DeMarco, and Weezer. Also taking the stage are popular indie favorites Phoebe Bridgers, Wet Leg, Mitski, and Spellling. Also performing will be jazz virtuoso, Robert Glasper. Grammy-nominated electronic artist Illennium will play a “Special Hometown Performance” on Sunday. There will be a diverse lineup of established artists as well as artists on the rise representing multiple genres. Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is a sonic feast presented over three days. It is as much about attendees seeing and hearing their favorite music as it is about discovering and expanding their sonic, cultural, and taste palettes. 

This year, as in the past, the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival brings unique gastro, wine, beer, and cocktail experiences with themed areas of the park within the festival. “Taste of the Bay Area” brings some of the Bay Area’s most exciting restaurants. Attendees can choose from a wide variety of foods from duck confit burritos and drunken Thai noodles to pork Cubano sandwiches and currywurst. Festival-goers will be able to explore the unique offerings of over 90 restaurants and food trucks without ever leaving Golden Gate Park. Those with special dietary needs will find that plenty of gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian options will be available at specified locations.

Returning this year, as in years past, the Beer and Wine Lands theme return, with Weed Lands, not making its return. Wine Lands offers over 100 different wines from some of the most interesting, diverse and small production California wineries, presented by the very people who make them. The very popular with festival-goers Beer Lands with 30 breweries showcases Northern California’s most talented brewers. With so many fantastic choices of brews, beer lovers can find it hard to pick a favorite to have with some warm giant pretzel knots.

While over in McLaren Pass, festival goers with an affinity for craft cocktails can enjoy magic shows and live music at “Cocktail Magic!” Featuring unique cocktail experiences from themed watering holes The Buttery Tipple “1970s-inspired lounge experience,” SilverGirls95 a silver spirits bar inspired by 1990s “vaporwave” aesthetics, and Everybody’s Tavern inspired by the history of LGBQTIA+ pride in San Francisco.

Like a cool oasis in the desert heat of summer, Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is truly an arts festival for all the senses. Single-day and three-day passes GA to VIP, and shuttle transportation passes are still available. 

There are currently no COVID guidelines for the festival or active mandates in San Francisco County.