Co-written by Clementine Daniels
From August 9th to 11th 2024, San Francisco welcomed the 16th anniversary of its most popular music festival: Outside Lands. A reflection of all that San Francisco has to offer, vendors spanned from mochi donuts to gourmet truffle burgers, marijuana plants to local wine tastings. Hundreds of local Bay Area merchants studded the borders of the festival as well as made up entire sanctioned sections of the park, coined Weedlands and Winelands, showcasing the Northern California city’s diverse industries and flavors for thousands of festival goers. Pertaining to all music lovers, the festival had seven stages this year, including SOMA, an homage to house and techno sounds. Featuring iconic artists like Kaytranada, The Killers, and Post Malone, it’s no wonder the festival brought in over 75,000 people each day. Whether you love to sit down with an ice cold beer or chill out to indie music and a joint, Outside Lands is the place for you. You can catch two exclusive interviews with The Japanese House and Medium Build on the UCLA Radio Blog, and here were UCLA Radio’s top artists from the weekend!
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Grace Jones- Isabella Appell
Grace Jones is proving that age really is just a number. Heading into the festival on Day 2, the artist I was most excited to see was- you guessed it- Sabrina Carpenter. Though her performance was an extravagance in itself, the set I could not get out of my mind was an artist I had never heard of before, let alone someone I would come to appreciate and love. As I waited at the barricade an hour and a half for who I thought was the headlining act, I realized all I had to do was look up to find the reason why I wanted to come to Outside Lands in the first place: to discover new music and artists who are just as deserving to come into the spotlight. Grace Jones became this person for me.
The 76-year-old Jamaican American singer is the definition of classy and sophisticated with a little bit of edge. Making her entrance to the album Nightclubbing, Jones towered over the crowd in an over the top, yet seemingly necessary, 40-foot Keith Haring style black and white printed ball gown, accessorized with a pink structured wig. Even though half of the fans at her set were likely not there initially for her, she sure as hell convinced them to stay. The moment I knew her performance would truly be a piece of art was when she did the one thing I hadn’t seen any other artist do that weekend: have multiple outfit changes. Adorned in a black suede trench coat, fishnet tights and a corset body top that perfected her in every capacity, the artist came out on stage like she knew she deserved to be there. Topping it all off, she wore a gold skull with feathers pointing out, a physical memorabilia of the power she held. In true Grace Jones fashion, she transitioned off stage, coming out no more than two minutes later with a drink in her hand, claiming she would “take us to church!”. Staring the audience in the eye, she took one big sip, grabbed a weighted hula hoop and conquered a 20 minute core routine that people in their twenties wouldn’t dare try.
Grace Jones is a generational hero I had the honor of watching and will never be forgetting.
Last Dinner Party- Isabella Appell
When I think of The Last Dinner Party, I think of a small cottage in England, breakfast in bed, Victorian fashion, the list goes on. Now after seeing them perform live, I can confirm the band really does embody this mystical image.
With no clear cohesion between their outfits, each artist rocked a different style from monochrome looks to chunky belts to heels with high socks. Their sound reflects something of a different era as well; the Last Dinner Party’s musical aesthetic somehow makes absolutely no sense yet so much at the same time. Contrasting between their feminine and masculine side, lead singer Abigail Morris rocked pointy black glasses, a wife beater and a shag hairstyle while simultaneously wearing a brown flowy skirt and floated across the stage. This variation spanned across their entire performance, from different instruments (mandolin, bass and keyboard) to hair colors (fiery red, bubblegum pink and bleach blonde). With their sultry voices and perplexing behavior, the band created a memorable entrance as the first set of the day for the majority of attendees.
Playing a total of ten songs, each one more edgier than the rest, their performance will live on as an elegant portrait of female rage. If I learned anything, truly “nothing matters” as long as you’re dancing.
Snakehips- Isabella Appell
Amidst the crowd of indie-pop fans lay the minority- electronic dance music. As many ran to secure a front row spot at the Lands End Stage to see The Japanese House, the rest planted themselves at Twin Peaks. As they waited patiently for Snakehips to play, the crowd continuously became bigger, turning into one of the most packed stages of the day.
Making their name through collaborations with Tinashe, Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd, Snakehips’ popularity is just getting started. As someone who prefers slow music over the latter, I was hesitant that I’d fit in with the crowd. The duo, however, brought just the right amount of energy to get me through my mid-day slump. The second “All My Friends Are Wasted” played over the speakers, I may as well have taken psychedelics, my body completely separating from my brain. To add onto the excitement, Snakehips brought out surprise guest Earthgang, whom they worked closely together with in the past.
If someone went into Snakehips’ set unfamiliar with their music, I can attest that they definitely came out a superfan.
The Killers- Isabella Appell
As a classic rock fiend, the main reason I wanted to come to Outside Lands was to see one of rock’s greatest- The Killers. As one would expect, thousands of people had the same idea as me. Nevertheless, I persevered through the freezing cold and a buttload of pushy teenagers to hear my favorite band (although I’m still holding a small grudge at them for singing “Mr.Brightside” last).
Opening with a bang, lead singer Brandon Flowers introduced the group onstage with him as a “great rock and roll band”, backing up his claim with fan favorite “Somebody Told Me”. Admittedly having fun on stage, Flowers rocked a fuchsia vintage blazer, matching the sparkly “K” sign on stage. Playing hits from the ‘80s and their recent music, the band showcased their ability to appeal to every generation, their performance being an ode to the timelessness of their music and the last 20 years. Transitioning into “Shot at the Night”, played at an octave too high for Flowers, the band beautifully incorporated the background singers into the chorus, masking any voice cracks. I applaud the band for not only projecting incredibly well to the back of the grounds, but recognizing the audiences’ needs throughout. As mentioned since the event, Flowers stopped the concert in hopes of helping medics successfully get through the crowd to help a fan. Calming down the audience, Flowers began to sing “Runaway Horses” before jumping right back into his main set. Although morale had lowered, the band wasted no time to get the energy back up, with David Keuning playing an epic guitar riff and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. jamming out on the drums for “Caution”. As they neared the end of their set, The Killers played “All These Things That I’ve Done”, a nostalgic moment for me as that was the first song of theirs I ever listened to.
I came to Outside Lands to see The Killers and left with a newfound appreciation for live music and a reminder of how much I love rock.
Daniel Caesar – Clementine Daniels
In the soft mist of Friday evening in the park, Toronto-born R&B and neo-soul artist Daniel Caesar took the stage, sustaining the teeming crowd in melancholy harmony for his 50-minute set. Caesar appeared on the stage behind a flowing translucent curtain, a dark silhouette illuminated by yellow-white lights. As he sang the first words of his recent hit, “Let Me Go” from his 3rd studio album, Never Enough, Caesar appeared almost angelic and unearthly, much like his music. Yet through the mystical haze of the night and his band’s solitary arrangement onstage, the familiar grit and passion of Daniel Caesar’s lyrics rang out, strong and lucid.
Caesar began making music in 2014, when he released his first EP Praise Break. He followed with another EP in 2015 before releasing his debut studio album, Freudian (2017), which gained wide support and featured a number of his most popular songs to date, including Best Part (Feat. H.E.R.) and We Find Love. Drawing from his childhood experience of singing in his father’s congregation, Caesar’s music emulates many traditional qualities of soul and gospel music, while often offering a more nuanced subject matter or collaborations with contemporary R&B artists. Caesar has worked with Kali Uchis, Pharell Williams, Ty Dolla $ign, Omar Apollo, and more, playing artfully at the boundary between indie-acoustic genres and American rap music. While often slow-tempo and minimalist, Caesar’s music itches an unusual- yet much needed- part of the human psyche; the part of you that wants to cry, but also dance it out a bit.
And to no surprise, his set at Outside Lands did just that. As I linked arms with my few friends who had chosen Caesar’s sway-worthy set over the jump-necessitating Killers performance Friday evening, we watched Daniel Caesar ease into the night and entrance us with each song. Though his set may have come across as sleepy or slow to a non-fan, the thousands of festival-goers who attended his set in the grassy cove of the Panhandle stage seemed relieved for a moment of peace amidst the chaos of the festival- cold weather and all. After performing undeniable crowd favorites “Grace”, “Valentine”, and “CYANIDE”, the translucent curtains surrounding Caesar fell to the stage, like the release of a breath of air. Departing his place atop the platform, Caesar retreated to play an acoustic version of “Let Me Be” at the piano. His conviction as a solo artist onstage was emulated in the perfect clarity of his voice and the ease with which he played each note.
As he grabbed his acoustic guitar from its stand beside him, Caesar spoke into the crowd, “Can I tell you something? I was in a bad mood, I didn’t feel like doing this today.” I never like to hear an artist say they didn’t want to perform, let alone headline a major festival’s first night. “But now I feel great. Now I feel really good. You guys look really great, you look cute,” he smiled. Maybe it was the love and warmth exploding out of the crowd, or the way that everyone hung on to each note he sang, but I agreed wholeheartedly: I felt good now, too. Speckled throughout the remainder of the set, which was stacked with favorites like “Violet” and “Japanese Denim,” were memories of Caesar learning to play guitar growing up, his thoughts on the cold San Francisco weather, and an undeniable appreciation for his captive audience.
Ryan Beatty – Clementine Daniels
Ryan Beatty took to the Twin Peaks stage Saturday afternoon before a small-but-mighty crowd of early festival attendees, proceeding to grace his devoted listeners with 45 minutes of pure vocal talent, beautiful instrumentation, and heart wrenching lyricism. The 28-year-old Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter has been touring and celebrating the release of his third studio album, Calico, which was released in 2023 and has been on repeat in my headphones, car, speaker, and piano ever since. Having seen him perform in Los Angeles earlier this year, I made sure to make his entire set that afternoon, standing before him on the grass as he sat down in a folding chair at the center of his stage, with his band arranged in a U-shape around him. This arrangement is precisely how Beatty has been performing the last couple of years: he strolls on stage, waving modestly- almost bashfully- to the crowd, finds his seat at center stage, places his set of headphones on, and grabs hold of a silver AKG C1000S recording microphone. Simple, consistent, and smooth: that’s how Beatty does live shows. And it works.
While his dreamy and largely acoustic-sounding discography doesn’t exactly align with traditional festival performers who take the stage with flashy visuals and background dancers, Beatty’s stripped set enabled listeners to be fully immersed in his musical and emotional world in a way that few other artists have perfected. As the first notes of his 2023 track, “Ribbons” rang out in the quiet San Francisco fog, I was instantly soothed by his quiet presence on stage. You could feel that he was there because he loved his music, and he loved sharing it. After playing “Bruises Off the Peach,” and “Andromeda”, in which the twang of his band’s steel guitar spread sweetly upon the crowd, Beatty urged the audience to turn around and observe how beautiful it was where they stood. He was right– behind us were rolling soft green hills, bordered by lines of Eucalyptus trees and waves of soft gray mist. Behind Beatty on the stage swayed an enormous Eucalyptus adorned with streams of moss that blew softly in the breeze, matching the beautiful haunting nature of his music and complementing the down-to-earth ease with which he and his band played.
It might be hard to guess from his stunning-yet-subdued Outside Lands performance that Beatty has worked with rap collective Brockhampton on three of their major albums, or collaborated with Tyler the Creator on his hit album, Igor. Yet this modesty and duality in his artistry is what makes Ryan Beatty such a treasure of a musician. Ending his set with a passionate and tear-jerking rendition of “White Teeth,” Beatty graciously thanked his audience for spending time with him that day. Just as simply as he had walked onstage, he stood up from his seat, waved, and strolled away, leaving the crowd in a shared sense of awe, solitude, and gratitude.
