San Francisco – This weekend marks the ninth Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, held annually in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The first edition was held back in 2008, boasting acts like Radiohead, Beck, Tom Petty, and Jack Johnson. This year marks the triumphant return of Radiohead to OSL—as well as headlining sets from LCD Soundsystem, Lionel Richie, and Lana Del Rey—but of course there are plenty of blossoming talents taking over the festival’s four stages to keep you busy during the day. Here are a few of our suggestions to catch while breathing in the misty air and pungent smell of eucalyptus between stints exploring Wine Lands and the bountiful food options the yearly event offers:
Friday, August 5th
Whitney – Sutro Stage, 12:00pm-12:45pm
Back in 2014, youthful Chicago band Smith Westerns decided to call it quits after two stellar LPs and countless festival appearances. Members Max Kakacek and Julian Ehrlich decided to continue working together and formed the band Whitney, carrying over the same sort of lo-fi optimism as Smith Westerns into a new frontier. The band released the debut LP, Light Upon The Lake, earlier this year to critical acclaim, and has popped up at several festivals since, including this year’s Bonnaroo and Pitchfork. Whitney’s early set on Friday is sure to be full of feel-good rock and sunny guitar to battle the inevitable fog settling over the grounds on the festival’s first afternoon.
Recommended if you like: Smith Westerns, Wilco, Neil Young
Marian Hill – Twin Peaks Stage, 12:45pm-1:30pm
Philadelphia songwriting duo Marian Hill—made up of producer Jeremy Lloyd and singer Samantha Gongol—have created a brand of soulful vocal electronic music that toes the line between R&B and folk, painted with a modern edge that pushes the envelope of archetypal songwriting and performance. The duo’s debut LP ACT ONE was released earlier this year, arriving on the tails of two previous EPs: 2013’s Play and last year’s Sway. Marian Hill’s sound is an eclectic blend of jazz, deep house, and vocally driven low-key pop, the nature of which is pulsating, lively, and heavily experimental. The two have become a staple amongst the finer print on American festival lineups, and the duo’s early afternoon set is sure to set the tone for the rest of the day—if not the entire weekend—as Lloyd and Gongol’s sonic solution is sure to coexist quite naturally amidst the midsummer fog and tingling aromas of the California evergreens.
Recommended if you like: Phantogram, Chairlift, Purity Ring
Ra Ra Riot – Land’s End Stage, 2:05pm-2:55pm
Wes Miles’ college band turned international sensation Ra Ra Riot has come a long way since the sapling days of playing university parties in Syracuse, NY, as the band just released its fourth studio LP, Need Your Light, at the beginning of this year. Need Your Light is the pensive, illustrative follow-up to the more boisterous sounds of 2013’s Beta Love, stripping away some of the effervescent production the band is known for in an attempt to make more room for meditative introspection and a more mellow avenue of expression—though the vivacious energy of the band’s character is still ever-present. The collective is sure to highlight many of Need Your Light’s more poignant numbers (lead single “Water” is a hopeful shoo-in), though the colorful sounds of the band’s earlier work is sure to make their way into the set as well. If you’re looking for an early afternoon dance party, make sure to get to the main stage in time to catch Ra Ra Riot performing the title track off Beta Love, as it’s sure to have the whole audience flailing and stomping with such excitement that their collective movement may even register on the Richter scale.
Recommended if you like: Discovery, Passion Pit, Grouplove
Miike Snow – Land’s End Stage, 4:45pm-5:45pm
Swedish-American hybrid dark pop trio Miike Snow—an appellation which is in no way derived from any of the three members’ actual names—thrives on unorthodox approaches to indie pop, melting ‘80s hyper-emotive tendencies into lushly harsh musical arrangements that bound along like furious shadows underneath the haunting vocals provided by frontman Andrew Wyman. The band’s appropriately titled third LP iii is far darker than either of the band’s previous two LPs—the self-titled 2009 debut and 2012’s follow-up sophomore effort Happy To You—wielding a sonic machete that slices through any pre-conceived notions of modern pop expression. Much of the new album’s instrumentation is built off of blasting, distorted piano and Wyman’s wailing coos, but there are certain elements of tenacity and fortitude that come stomping through the more chaotic moments of the collection. Having caught the band on every tour it has embarked on—most recently, one of Miike Snow’s shows at San Francisco institution The Independent earlier this spring—I can say with confidence that Miike Snow is a forceful entity on the stage. While diehard fans will most likely be drawn to the performances of the trio’s earlier material, Miike Snow’s new songs shine most brightly on the live stage, and as a main stage act, the members of Miike Snow is sure to pull out all the stops to fill the massive space that will surround them.
Recommended if you like: Yeasayer, Peter Bjorn & John, Depeche Mode
Saturday, August 6th
Lewis Del Mar – Land’s End Stage, 12:45pm-1:30pm
Folk-pop duo Lewis Del Mar—made up of vocalist/guitarist Danny Miller and drummer Max Harwood—hail from Rockaway Beach in Queens, one of the hardest-hit areas of New York City during 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. The beachy duo provides a cool and clean (not salty!) perspective, as evident in the four tracks of Lewis Del Mar’s EP (simply titled EP), and since the band’s name translates to “Lewis of the sea,” it is not surprising that its unexpectedly percussive style of folk-pop can be both placidly fluid and abruptly turbulent. Much like MUNA at last week’s Lollapalooza, the band only has a handful of recorded material, so it’ll be interesting to see what new tracks the two pull out during their early set on the main stage this weekend.
Recommended if you like: alt-J, Hooray For Earth, Glass Animals
Ibeyi – Sutro Stage, 2:35pm-3:25pm
The artistry of sisterly French-Cuban duo Ibeyi may be built upon the bond shared by twin sisters Naomi and Lisa-Kaindé Diaz, but the two singer-songwriters often bring their own differing idiosyncratic styles to the table. The duo’s music hovers amidst a number of genres, capturing facets of down-tempo electronica, jazz, and R&B, as the sisters navigate a colorful sonic terrain whose groundwork was laid down by their father, percussionist Miguel Diaz of Buena Vista Social Club fame. The two women explore themes of love and loss, cultural identity, and contemporized mythology on their sole, self-titled full-length album, which was released last year. They’ll be bringing their flavorful blend of sound to the Sutro Stage this coming Saturday, and their saccharine, multi-lingual coos are sure to warm the souls of those eager and lucky enough to catch them during Ibeyi’s mid-afternoon set.
Recommended if you like: FKA Twigs, Kelela, Lucius
Big Grams – Land’s End Stage, 4:40pm-5:40pm
At the tail end of last year, American electronic duo Phantogram and OutKast’s very own Big Boi decided to join forces to form Big Grams, the first of what looks to be many rock/rap hybridizations to come about (recently Paul Banks of Interpol joined up with RZA from Wu-Tang Clan to form Banks and Steelz, and there is talks of a Kanye West/James Blake collaboration on the horizon). The newly formed trio played its very first show in San Francisco last fall at the Treasure Island Music Festival and has become a festival staple in the months since the release of Big Grams’ self-titled EP, whose seven tracks effectively showcase each member’s talents. Expect some hip-hop jams laced with Sarah Barthel’s eerie vocals while producer Josh Carter exercises his beat-making skills to underscore Big Boi’s rhymes; you may even be treated to a mash-up of some popular Phantogram and OutKast tunes as well.
Recommended if you like: Run The Jewels, OutKast, YACHT
Sunday, August 7th
Heron Oblivion – Panhandle Stage, 12:00pm-12:40pm
Local newcomers Heron Oblivion are one of the most unique-sounding acts this year’s Outside Lands has to offer, and thus the band’s performance at the Panhandle Stage this Sunday would be an impeccable way to kick things off on the festival’s final day. The San Francisco-based quartet plays songs that are deeply moving and peppered with poetic language, and the band’s instrumentation is a near-perfect echoing of SF’s foggy mystique. Having been categorized as everything from ‘funeral folk’ and ‘fuzz burn’ to ‘pastoral pop’ and ‘field rock,’ Heron Oblivion is sure to impress the early birds at the Panhandle Stage come Sunday afternoon, as the band has impressed audiences with its self-titled LP. Plus, the lead vocalist is also the drummer for the band, and how often does the opportunity to see that come along? You better not chance it, so be sure to get your booty to Golden Gate Park on the earlier side to bask in the glorious eccentricities of Heron Oblivion. This is something you won’t want to miss.
Recommended if you like: Woods, King Crimson, My Bloody Valentine
DIIV – Panhandle Stage, 4:20pm-5:00pm
The sweet simple sounds of Zachary Cole Smith’s band DIIV were given a substantial upgrade between the group’s two LPs (the 2012 debut Oshin and this year’s Is The Is Are), as the spaced-out guitars and heavily reverberated vocals found solid ground in craftier song arrangements and more deliberate melodic and harmonic structures. The members of DIIV have built up a bit of a reputation as a live band that is somewhat notorious, yet when the New York-based quintet delivers, the indie darlings pack quite the punch onstage. Their dreamy sound is a perfect match for the misty forest setting of Outside Lands’ smaller Panhandle Stage, and once the ethereal nature of DIIV’s waxy guitars hits your ears, you are sure to be transported to another, blissful plane of existence.
Recommended if you like: Wild Nothing, Deerhunter, Beach Fossils
RÜFÜS DU SOL – Panhandle Stage, 5:55pm-6:35pm
Indie electronic trio RÜFÜS (known as RÜFÜS DU SOL in North America, for legal reasons relating to a trademark on the name ‘Rufus’) may be escaping the winter weather in its native Australia this August, but hopefully the band is not expecting it to be particularly balmy in Golden Gate Park this weekend, as the ocean-adjacent park will most likely not boast the kind of warm temperatures one expects of California in early August. Luckily, the trio’s feisty and eager variety of alternative electronica already carries with it an ambience of warmth, comfort, and carefree spirit, one that is sure to translate well to the crowd gathered at the Panhandle Stage this Sunday evening. Mixing components of house, disco, chillwave, and Balearic pop, RÜFÜS DU SOL’s zesty mélange of upbeat electronic music is sure to make anyone within earshot feel a certain kind of temperate pleasantness, like bathing in a tropical lagoon or sipping on a hot toddy. If the band’s two studio LPs are any indication of what to expect on the stage, best to be prepared for forty minutes of unadulterated, robust electronic sound that soothes both the body and mind, while keeping listeners—quite literally—on their toes.
Recommended if you like: Delorean, Odesza, Empire of the Sun
Outside Lands starts on Friday August 5th and runs till Sunday the 7th. We will be on-site to provide coverage of these acts and many others over the weekend, so stay tuned to Best New Bands for more information, reviews, and photos in the days to come!
Photo Credit: Andrew Jorgensen
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Corey Bell
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