Outside Lands opened Friday in its usual Golden Gate Park fashion: too many good options, too much ground to cover and the nagging feeling that something great was happening at the stage you just left.
Die Spitz got the day moving with a ferocious set of distorted guitars and punk energy, sounding less like an opening act warming up a festival crowd than a band intent on making sure everyone within earshot knew they had arrived. Wet Leg brought their dry humor and indie-pop hooks to a much bigger stage. Geese followed with their wiry, unpredictable rock, while Turnstile pushed the volume considerably higher, and a huge mosh pit opened up in front of the stage as the Baltimore hardcore band turned the festival field into something closer to a punk show.
By afternoon, the festival shifted toward pop and hip-hop. Tinashe drew one of the biggest crowds of the day at Twin Peaks, with a sea of people filling the field as she brought her sleek R&B sound to the stage. GloRilla delivered a harder change of pace, giving the afternoon plenty of energy before the festival moved toward its headlining sets.
Then Charli xcx closed the night with a set that leaned heavily into newer material. The stage was stripped down to black and white, while a live rock band gave the songs a harder edge than their club-ready recordings. She moved through “Rock Music,” “Apple,” “Girl, so confusing,” “360,” “Von dutch” and “Guess,” before working through “party 4 u,” “SS26” and “No One Lasts Forever.” The set felt closer to a rock show filtered through Charli’s pop world than a conventional festival production.
Away from the stages, the food was almost its own festival. Taste of the Bay Area brought 100 restaurants and 53 cuisines into Golden Gate Park, with longtime San Francisco spots including Perry’s, Original Joe’s and Balboa Cafe alongside collaborations such as Wise Sons x Outta Sight Pizza. Cocktail Magic mixed drinks with bingo, DJs and live magic, while Wine Lands and Beer Lands brought Northern California wineries and more than 20 craft breweries into the park.
There was plenty to wander into between sets, too. McLaren Vintage brought 12 local vintage sellers to the festival, while Dolores’ brought San Francisco’s queer nightlife and DIY spirit to the Polo Field.
By the time Charli’s black-and-white stage went dark, Friday had already covered a lot of ground, from a giant Turnstile mosh pit to a packed Twin Peaks crowd and a festival field full of people still looking for their next stop.
