Additional Reporting and Photos by Matthew Meyer and Dakin Hardwick
Portola has figured out how to live in the impossible: a perfect balance between a giant warehouse rave, an art-party fever dream, and a legacy showcase built around titans like The Chemical Brothers and LCD Soundsystem. The festival grounds themselves were half the trip, stages stretched across a working port, tucked between hulking cranes and an airplane-hangar-sized warehouse. One side of the grounds was dominated by a massive ship; the other opened out onto the Bay, where the breeze mercifully cut through the heat.
Scantily clad post-Burning Man pilgrims roamed like the playa had drifted into San Francisco, fur and neon armor still glowing. Unlike so many other festivals, Portola spared us the dreaded sound bleed; every stage claimed its own sonic territory without stepping on another’s toes. Continue reading “Portola 2025: In Words and Pictures”