words and photography by Darius ‘DJ’ Jennings
For yet another year, Outside Lands blessed Golden Gate Park with an electric weekend. For many San Francisco natives, it’s an escape they look forward to every single year. Outside Lands has long been a festival where people of all ages come to create memories with friends, family, or even alone.
Some of those memories start while riding BART, some over the endless food options, others while walking 10–15 minutes between stages. And some come from seeing Charli XCX on day one from just 15 feet away.
Day 1 made it almost impossible to stick to a single stage. From the massive crowd at Tinashe at Twin Peaks, all the way over to Sutro for Geese, then getting more steps in on the way back to Twin Peaks for yet another timeless Clipse performance. The night ended at Lands End with Charli XCX — loud, energetic, and exactly the kind of performance you want to end a first festival day with.
Day 2 started a little later for me, beginning with the high energy of Snow Strippers and almost immediately followed by a much-needed snack break of lobster rolls and massive s’mores. Then it was time to catch the one and only Djo at the main stage. Fortunately, making it over to international pop star PinkPantheress was exceptionally easy, and she made every second of her performance worth the watch.
Day 3, just like the first two days, offered something for everyone all day long, making it pretty hard to decide who to see. Jade or Destin Conrad? Why not both? Jade showed off her incredible vocal range, while Destin made his set feel surprisingly intimate through his presence on stage.
Soon after, Not For Radio graced Sutro with her angelic voice, beautiful set design, and an emotional performance from her first solo album, *Melt*.
Then came probably the hardest decision of the weekend: RÜFÜS DU SOL to dance your heart out, Baby Keem bringing tracks from his *Ca$ino* album, or Death Cab for Cutie for their second performance of the day — somehow being both the openers and the headliners at Sutro.
Although some festivalgoers were upset about the large number of teens this year, their attendance didn’t take away from the overall feeling of Outside Lands. After all, it’s an all-ages festival, and they should be able to see some of their favorite artists too.
Closing out this year felt a little different, though. Maybe it was the constant presence of Karl the Fog, or maybe the fact that this year marked 18 years of the festival taking place in Golden Gate Park.
One feeling after Outside Lands always stays the same: excitement. Excitement for next year, and for creating new memories in Golden Gate Park all over again.
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