BREAKING: The Line-Up for Inside Lands 2020 Has Been Announced

We all spent that last two weeks looking at our Facebook memories of photos from 12 years of Outside Lands, noticing how perfect the weather was two weekends ago, and being sad, and then angry, and then sad again that we weren’t going to get to commune together in Golden Gate Park for music, comedy, food, and community this year. (Especially since Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is also off the table) 

I know it’s not the same, but August 28th – 29th, starting at 4pm each day, twitch.tv is broadcasting a whole new special event called “Inside Lands.” We are getting archival performances, and although we don’t know exactly what we are going to see, but I hope to got we get to relive the portion of Gorillaz EPIC 2017 set with that bone chilling, inhuman scream that Maseo belted out at the beginning of “Feel Good Inc.” We will also be getting new, exclusive performances, including sets from Outside Lands 2021 acts Sharon Van Etten, Hinds, Brittany Howard, Beach House and more. It’s not the same as being in the park, but I hope this gets you close. May I recommend having some delicious take out from a local restaurant on hand, and maybe even see if your favorite local bar is doing craft cocktails to go so the experience is complete? If you want, you can even have your roommate spill beer on your blanket to make it feel right. (Kidding) 

The event is hosted by Lyrics Born, and can be streamed here at twitch.tv/outsidelands. While you are there, be sure to pick up tickets for Outside Lands 2021 with Lizzo, Tame Impala, The Strokes, Tyler, The Creator, Kehlani and more! And, of course, keep practicing social distancing, wear a mask, wash your hands, and let’s crush this disease to make sure we can party next year.

To quote Lyrics Born: “Don’t worry about the president. He can’t stop the show.” Here’s the line-up: Continue reading “BREAKING: The Line-Up for Inside Lands 2020 Has Been Announced”

Announcing Inside Lands, A Virtual Festival Celebration

This morning, I woke up and started getting ready for my day, and it dawned on me: I was supposed to be gathering sunscreen, a couple of empty bottles, a few layers of clothes, a blanket, snacks, and such for my day in Golden Gate Park. Instead, I’m sitting at home, feeling about peak darkness over the state of the world, and just feeling, well, blue. 

I know good news isn’t has good as it could be, but the good folks at Outside Lands did give us a lovely surprise today! They have teamed up with Twitch.tv to bring us a weekend of streamed archival performances, interviews, and fan testimonials to help us get through the lack of getting together to enjoy music outdoors this year. Go to https://www.twitch.tv/sfoutsidelands to stream this starting at 4pm August 28th & 29th. More details to come soon at https://www.sfoutsidelands.com/insidelands/!

Also, don’t forget to buy tickets to Outside Lands 2021, with the amazing lineup of Lizzo, The Strokes, Tame Impala, Tyler, The Creator, Kehlani, Hinds, and many, many more! 

Outside Lands 2021 Line Up HAS BEEN UNLEASHED

Like all of you out there in the world, I’ve been constantly checking Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, anywhere I can think of hoping to find any clue as to what was happening with Outside Lands this year. I was hopeful that measures like masks and social distancing would lead to true containment of COVID-19, and by late Summer the disease would be but a memory of a tough time we all lived through, but through strong leadership, a sense of global unity, and clear, concise directives, we succeeded in ending transmission of this wretched virus. 

I should’ve known better. Continue reading “Outside Lands 2021 Line Up HAS BEEN UNLEASHED”

Outside Lands Early Bird Tickets On Sale Thursday, March 12th at 10am

The news lately has been anything but great lately, so I have some good news! It looks like Outside Lands 2020 Eager Beaver Tickets are going on sale THIS THURSDAY at 10am. This is the cheapest tickets are going to get, and these tickets go fast, so buy them early! It’s true, there is no line up yet. But, I mean, you are going to go. Might as well buy them now!

Outside Lands 2019: Instant Gig Reviews

These are the days of miracles and wonder…

It’s been a tough couple of weeks as a nation. Mass shootings in Gilroy, Dayton, and El Paso were not particularly well timed with Outside Lands. In the days leading up to the festival, many people were debating whether or not it was safe to go. Maybe we were next? I had a long talk with my partner about going this year, which included a plan for alerting each other to our safety, and talking about all of the steps that I’ve observed in my years attending this festival that have made me feel safe. In fact, I think I feel safer in Golden Gate Park during Outside Lands than pretty much anywhere else on Earth. 

I’m also a firm believer in “not letting terrorists win.” We can’t let these folks scare us off from living. And, seriously, if you don’t have communing with friends and strangers to appreciate live music, is life really worth living? I’m going to keep going to shows and supporting life music because, well, I really think my life depends on it. Continue reading “Outside Lands 2019: Instant Gig Reviews”

Outside Lands 2019: Top 10 from the Bottom Half of the Poster

The bottom half of the 2019 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival poster is rich with amazing acts. This might be the strongest “undercard” assortment Outside Lands has ever had, with a little something for pretty much everyone. One could probably wander aimlessly during the early part of the day and not be disappointed. However, since you are reading this, I suspect you are like me and tend to plan out every moment of your day when you head out to a music festival. So here’s the early stuff I’d jump on!

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!!

Continue reading “Outside Lands 2019: Top 10 from the Bottom Half of the Poster”

Outside Lands 2019 Line Up HAS BEEN UNLEASHED

PSSST! Outside Lands has released their line up a little bit early… Like, um, 9am PST on Tuesday, March 26th early. And it’s pretty exciting! As usual, we are going to deep dive into the best acts from the bottom half of the calendar closer to the event. But, first, the headliners: both Paul Simon and Childish Gambino are postponing their retirements to visit us in Golden Gate Park. And, if you missed last year’s farewell shows at Oracle Arena from either of them, both were practically religious experiences. (I cried twice at that Childish Gambino show) Those two are pretty universally loved acts. The third headliner is twenty øne piløts, and, well, the moment I read that, I could see the Reddit page explode! That being said, just because a band sells a lot of records and crossed over to Top 40 radio, doesn’t devalue them. This duo first played early on the day in the 2013 Outside Lands Fest, and has taken their dissonant, tribal brand of dark pop rock, and continued to experiment with it while crossing over to the mainstream.

Other highlights include gospel legend Mavis Staples, R&B avant gardist Santigold, the most aggressive hip hop performer I’ve ever seen, Denzel Curry, 2018 Grammy winners Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals and Kacey Muscgraves, LA rock n roll heroes Cherry Glazerr, and SO MANY MORE! GA, VIP, and the brand new “Golden Gate Pass” with special elevated viewing area, a clear bag for your things, and much, much more. Tickets can be purchased starting Thursday, March 28th here!

Full line up below: Continue reading “Outside Lands 2019 Line Up HAS BEEN UNLEASHED”

Outside Lands 2018: 27 Instant Gig Reviews

Ate a lot of food. Got a lot of steps. But it was mostly Janet Jackson.

All photos by Dakin Hardwick unless otherwise noted

Outside Lands reached its 11th birthday this year. I’ve been to ten of those eleven installments. This year, the folks booking the festival decided it was time to take some risks… They added an extra stage for acoustic sets and magic, called “Cocktail Magic.” They added a whole pot awareness area (not that folks at a music festival need to be *more* aware of weed). Continue reading “Outside Lands 2018: 27 Instant Gig Reviews”

Spinning Platters Interview: Rae Livingston and David Owen of Outside Lands, Pt 2

Rae Livingston and David Owen both help book the Barbary at Outside Lands, and have for several years now. This, is course, means they have a lot to talk about. So we split the interview in two, because we here at Spinning Platters understand that your time is precious. In this one, we talk about the bookings that they are most excited about this year, as well as some favorite memories of passed years.

If you missed part one, it’s right here! And if you still haven’t purchased tickets yet, what are you waiting for? You can find those right here!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Rae Livingston and David Owen of Outside Lands, Pt 2”

Spinning Platters Interview: Rae Livingston and David Owen of Outside Lands, Pt 1

Outside Lands generally does quite well with the music lineup. However, I have always thought that the real gold at the festival has been the bookings for the Barbary. This year, we finally found time in their busy schedule to talk to some of the people behind those amazing bookings: Rae Livingston of Another Planet and David Owen of SF Sketchfest. We got to spend a little time with them to discuss the history of the stage, the booking process and their careers, and for a bit, we just got to nerd out about comedy.

Limited 3 Day and single day tickets to Outside Lands are still available! You can also check the full Barbary schedule!

SPINNING PLATTERS: So you’ve got Another Planet and SF Sketchfest, both doing that booking. How does that collaboration work? Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Rae Livingston and David Owen of Outside Lands, Pt 1”