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Stretching over 80 acres and three days and featuring live music, art, delicious local and gourmet cuisine, wine and beer, and cannabis.
Outside Lands Festival will continue to blow attendees’ minds just as it has since its inception in 2008. This multi-genre beast of an event is the largest independently owned music festival in the United States, attracting over 220 000 people in 2023.
Background
The festival is affectionately named for San Francisco’s western neighborhoods, which were dubbed “the outside lands” in the 18th century. Its ethos is reflected in its inclusivity, sustainability and dizzying diversity.
The festival takes place annually at Golden Gate Park in California. Staying with the San Francisco theme and integrating its location into its character, stages are christened after surrounding locations like the Panhandle, Twin Peaks, the Presidio, and Lands End.
Tickets consistently sell out each year, sometimes within an hour, showcasing the undeniable allure of the event. Past headliners included Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Elton John, The Black Keys, Radiohead, Metallica, The Who, The Weeknd, Twenty One Pilots, Green Day, Jack Harlow, Foo Fighters, and more.
Drink Lands
Outside lands is so much more than a music festival. Good times are carefully curated by brewers and crafters and boisterously seized by festivalgoers.
The Wine Lands offer a selection of 100 wines plucked from the finest variety of small North Californian wineries and presented by their creators. Care for something less refined? With anything from droughts to lagers and beyond, local breweries and cideries showcase their incredible taste and talent at the Beer Lands.
And for those who prefer that the party starts in their glass already, Cocktail Magic presents uniquely themed bars, each with perfectly casted cocktail and mocktail spells.
Food Lands
The staggeringly diverse array of cuisine integrated into San Francisco’s culinary culture is the product of the city’s openness to embrace diverse cultures and lifestyles. As is fitting, Outside Lands eagerly embrace food as a primary focus. In fact, a whopping 96 Bay Area restaurants was present in 2023.
And here, the vendors are 100% local, be it pop-up stalls and food trucks or Michelin-stars shining their light over attendees’ palates. Outside Lands is so serious about good taste that they even have a food line-up announced!
Grass Lands
The grass is certainly greener at this festival! Less than 48 hours before the gates opened in 2019, Outside Lands was issued a permit condoning the recreational sale and consumption of cannabis. High-time, we say. Cannabis products were sold freely by 28 companies, including the brands Green Door and Flower to the People.
Last year, Grass Lands bragged with 20 vendors and 35 brands. Not all weeds can pop up here, though. Socially unbiased cannabis brands collabed with the Equity Trade Network and Martin Olive of the dispensary Vape Room. Take a trip to the Grass Lands stage for a laugh, cooking demos and DJs.
Eco Lands
For a festival that’s this tied to its home, sustainability is priority. Eco Lands host non-profit organizations on a solar-powered stage to educate people on eco-friendly practices and allows them to measure their carbon footprints.
Clean Vibes has an agreement with Outside Lands where volunteers get free tickets in exchange for channeling waste through recycling and compositing rather than to landfills. Other eco-initiatives include water refill stations at the festival, reusable and recyclable cups at the Drink Lands, compostable single-use items, and recycling/compost/zero waste bins on the grounds.
More Lands
Subway surfers can express themselves freely at Outsider Art, where street artists go to town (without a cop giving chase). Dance your heart out at SOMA Tent, which reverberates for 9 hours every day with underground club-inspired rhythms.
In addition to the Outside Lands merch shops, the Marketplace has a shock of selection of local creators vending their goods. Finally, as 2024 marks the 15-year anniversary of the festival, an unmissable after-party (and ice-cream!) awaits at Hibernia! Be part of this vibe of a milestone and purchase your ticket before they sell out. Explore the possibilities from 9 – 11 August, 2024.
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From Sunny South Arica, Inge takes everything she does very seriously, including having fun! She’s all about giving people the lowdown on their favorite music fests and trends.
