Outside Lands joined the other festivals and streamed what would have been their thirteenth music festival in San Francisco. They presented "Inside Lands" to us on August 28thand 29thvia Twitch. I've had this blog post in queue since the end of last month and have been dying to share with you my virtual experience.
Tokimonsta's live DJ set for Inside Lands
Not to sound spoiled, but coronavirus ruined what would have been my first year at Outside Lands. I have always heard that it's just a different vibe from other festivals because of the Northern California weather and different "crowd". Unlike the other big West Coast music festival, Coachella, this one is in cooler weather in the middle of the lush Golden Gate Park. Overall, it's a more "laid back" scene, apparently. But, it's important to remember that this is according to the very territorial Bay Area people holding up their side of the LA-Bay Area so-called rivalry.
Anyways, I could ramble on and on about the ~ eclectic ~ lineup (there's my favorite word again), but I will keep it brief … or at least I'll try to. First off, Day 1 started off strong yet chill with Odie- the Toronto-born singer with mellow vocals and insightful lyrics (by the way, he now lives in San Diego so that makes it 1-0 for the LA-Bay Area rivalry)- and gave us a little bit of everything with Alt-J, Haim, Leon Bridges, J. Cole, and the legendary Gorillaz. As electronic music ranging from synthesizers and chill house to hardcore EDM becomes more mainstream especially during the age of coronavirus livestreams, notable artists within this genre had to take the stage. Names like Major Lazer, Gryffin, and Tokimonsta were sprinkled in there with Louis the Child closing Day 1 around midnight. Day 2 was jam-packed, so I'll just list my many favorites: Beach House, Disclosure, Elton John, Cage the Elephant, Yung Bae, Kehlani, Anderson .Paak, LCD Soundsystem, Sofi Tukker, and Zhu. If you weren't able to catch the shows last month, there is a three-hour-long YouTube video available.
Who would you guys want to watch at Inside Lands?
What was interesting about this virtual music festival in particular was the mix of live sets with archival sets from previous years, exclusive recordings of live performances, interviews with artists, and features with the festival curators. Music festivals were created to provide a physical space for music lovers to interact with music and art, engage with their fellow beat fiends, forget their obligations and menial everyday tasks for a few days, and just enjoy what artists create for the masses. With a pandemic taking that away, it seemed sad every time each festival came out with their cancellation tweets or sent out refund emails. For some, these events meant birthday celebrations, graduation gifts, vacations with family and friends. There was a void to fill and events like Inside Lands were able to fill it thanks to the magical power of the internet. Young adults could hideaway from their middle school siblings or hovering parents that they've been stuck at home with for months and stream the artist they have been dreaming of seeing for years - for free! After working from home, interacting with coworkers or professors on Zoom, sending dozens of emails, it was time to close all the tabs except one and imagine yourself in the Polo Fields of Palm Springs, stuck in a sweaty crowd of fans at EDC Las Vegas or on the grassy hill in Golden Gate Park. These virtual festivals have been the much-needed escape for so many during a time of isolation and endless mundane days.
