Outside Lands 2015: Sunday
Now in its eighth year, the annual Outside Lands Music Festival will once again bring top-flight music acts, headlining comedians, internationally known DJs and the kind of world-class cuisine, beer and wine San Francisco is known for to Golden Gate Park this weekend. Since it's inception in 2008, Outside Lands has established a deserved reputation as one of the country's best summer music celebrations.
That reputation is part of what led to the festival selling out for the fifth year in a row, thanks in part to one of the best line-ups Outside Lands has had yet. In addition to headliners Mumford & Sons, returning favorites the Black Keys and piano legend Elton John, the marathon festival offers up a host of established stars (neo-soul giant D'Angelo and his band the Vanguard, '80s punk singer Billy Idol, roots rocker Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, alt-country greats Wilco), major indie acts (guitar heroine St. Vincent, Australian psych band Tame Impala, British electro-rockers Hot Chip, LA-based crew Cold War Kids), rising R&B and hip-hop performers (next generation lyrical master Kendrick Lamar, the Bay Area's own G-Eazy, throwback vocalist Leon Bridges, UK singing sensation Sam Smith, retro southern soul group St. Paul and the Broken Bones), and popular EDM acts (SF resident Amon Tobin and his mind-bending ISAM 2.0 stage show, production wizards Porter Robinson, Caribou aka Dan Snaith, RL Grime and the Bay Area's Toro Y Moi).
The culinary side of Outside Lands has come to garner nearly as much attention as the music over the years as the festival has continued to expand the range of food offerings, culinary demonstrations and specialized areas. In addition to the long-standing cornucopia of food-focused "Lands" -- A Taste of the Bay Area, Wine Lands, Beer Lands, Choco Lands and Cheese Lands -- the festival will offer up another full schedule of appearances at the GastroMagic stage, a demonstration/performance space that was introduced last year. The stage will creatively pair restaurants and chefs with musical artists, as for Saturday's second annual Beignets & Bounce Brunch with Big Freedia that will feature the New Orleans bounce pioneer and reality television star handing out beignets made by Brenda's Soul Food to those willing to twerk for food.
Comedy fans will doubtless gravitate towards the Barbary, the antique tent presenting an all-star crew of comedians and variety shows co-curated by local institution SF Sketchfest. Saturday's schedule includes such outstanding comics as late-night talk show and podcast host Pete Holmes, Carmen Esposito and Nate Bargatze, a performance by popular Groundlings Theater show The Black Version with "Community" star Jordan Black, "Mad TV" regulars Daniele Gaither and Phil LaMarr, Gary Anthony Williams ("Boston Legal") and Cedric Yarbrough ("Reno 911") and a live presentation of the IFC show Comedy Bang! Bang! with Scott Aukerman. Dance-music enthusiasts may have plenty to enjoy on the main stages, but the Heineken-sponsored space the House will feature local and international DJs throughout the festival. Sunday highlights include SF DJ legend Page Hodel, DJ Icon and electronic artist Kidnap Kid.
The Lands End Stage will be closed out Sunday with a set from legendary piano rocker Elton John. One of the biggest solo stars on the 1970s, John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight) rose from work as a weekend pub pianist in his teens to become a staff songwriter for Liberty Records in London during the late '60s, a job that introduced him to longtime collaborator and lyricist Bernie Taupin. While they initially focused on writing songs for other artists like British pop siren Lulu (John also did plenty of session piano work in the studio), the pair eventually started working on material specifically for the pianist to perform.
John's debut album Empty Sky made little impact, but his self-titled 1970 follow-up featured his first big single, "Your Song," as well as the minor chart hits "Take Me to the Pilot" and "Border Song." It would be the first of a string of smash albums that included such timeless classics as Madman Across the Water, Honky Château, Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player and his double album magnum opus, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. By 1974, the pianist had released his first greatest hits collection and would soon graduate from playing arenas to stadiums.
While he would struggle with drug addiction and exhaustion, John remained one of the most popular solo acts on the planet through the decade, playing to sell-out crowds with his trademark flamboyant costumes and energetic performances. John would remain a prolific artist into the '80s, scoring chart success regularly even as his critical acclaim diminished. The songwriter would find other creative avenues as time passed, co-writing songs for several animated blockbusters ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight" won him the Academy Award for Best Song, one of three songs nominated from the movie in 1994), working on Broadway musicals (Aida and Billy Elliot) as well as playing extended residencies in Las Vegas.
John's more recent output like his 2010 collaborative album with piano contemporary Leon Russell The Union and 2013's Diving Board has found the pianist earning some of his best reviews since the '70s, but fans can expect a hit-heavy set of classic songs when he closes out the festival Sunday night. Leading up to John's headlining set will be performances from upstart British soul/pop vocalist Sam Smith, electro-pop act Hot Chip and simmering Southern soul ensemble St. Paul and the Broken Bones.
At the other end of Golden Gate Park, the Twin Peaks Stage will again deliver a mostly electronic line-up that will be topped by Swedish beat mavens Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso. Though they made up two-thirds of the hugely popular electronic dance music act Swedish House Mafia during a five-year run that placed them atop the EDM heap, Axwell and Ingrosso both have achieved considerable success as DJs in their own right. Though the duo has only been performing since last year, their reputation as talented party starters instantly made them major festival attraction. The line-up at the Twin Peaks will provide an array of dance music with sets from critical favorite Caribou (aka Dan Snaith), vocal-driven EDM pop act ODESZA and sought-after hip-hop producer DJ Mustard. Funky sax man Karl Denson and his Tiny Universe offer up more organic grooves after an opening set by alt-R&B siren SZA.
The Sutro Stage in Lindsey Meadow will provide another departure from electronic sounds with a full slate of bands playing reggae, soul, rock and bluegrass anchored by popular SoCal band Slightly Stoopid. For the past two decades, the core duo of Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald have been crafting their unique mix of reggae, funk, blues and punk from their San Diego base. Originally discovered by Sublime leader Bradley Nowell and signed to his Skunk Records label before his untimely death in 1996, the group started out with a sound rooted more in punk and reggae on it's self-titled debut.
The group gradually introduced elements of blues, funk and even hip hop into their sound over the years while building up a sizable global following with a relentless touring schedule. A popular festival draw that has played Coachella, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and New Orleans Jazz Fest, Slightly Stoopid earned some of its best reviews yet with their collaborative 2012 effort Top of the World, which featured guest spots from reggae heroes Barrington Levy and Don Carlos of Black Uhuru, regular touring partner Karl Denson, songwriter G. Love, Fishbone frontman Angelo Moore and Jurassic Five MC Chali 2na. The band recently returned to it's punk roots with the release of their latest album, Meanwhile...Back at the Lab.
Other highlights of Sunday's Sutro Stage schedule include Santa Cruz-based punk-influenced bluegrass trio The Devil Makes Three, acclaimed songwriters Sky Ferreira and James Bay, glam-tinged soul rocker Benjamin Booker and SoCal garage-surf outfit Allah-Las. The intimate Panhandle Stage also offers some notable acts in a far smaller setting including ferocious Toronto noise-punk trio METZ (who are headlining a night show at the Rickshaw Stop Friday), Louisiana-based indie rockers GIVERS and one-man electronic dance party Dan Deacon. For more info on what else is going on at Outside Lands including complete schedules and maps, please visit the official website.
Outside Lands 2015
Friday-Sunday, Aug. 8-10, 12 p.m. $135-$695 (sold out)
Golden Gate Park