Portola Music Festival 2023: Our awards & highlights from Year 2

Portola Music Festival 2023Photos by Matthew Medina // Written by Molly Kish //

Portola Music Festival //
Pier 80 – San Francisco
September 30th-October 1st, 2023 //

After a weekend of pavement-pounding electronic music that saw the second edition of Portola come in hot and leave the city of SF buzzing, our feet are just finally recovering. Assembling a lineup of up-and-coming talent and several legendary electronic artists, Goldenvoice dialed in a well-rounded roster this year but also improved upon both production and staging issues from its 2022 debut.

Even in the weeks leading up to the festival, the production company provided ample opportunities to hear and interact directly with Portola’s founders via Reddit AMAs, delivering some of the best social media content and marketing strategies by any Bay Area festival to date. It felt like Goldenvoice had something to prove and in turn, wanted to reassure their fans they were being heard.

Portola Music Festival 2023

On site, there were a number of improvements to the footprint at Pier 80 that included better cellphone service and stage designs. The Warehouse, being the main point of contention a year ago, was set up inversely with several entry points and exits. This allowed for much better traffic flow and sound quality, creating an immensely more enjoyable experience. The Crane Stage, meanwhile, was moved outside and had a completely different aesthetic as its big sky backdrop opened up the sound quality and was able to accommodate a larger crowd. And how could we not mention the secret Bowie bar in between the Ship Tent and Warehouse as a highlight of the weekend? Plus, reference points for those trying to meet up with friends once inside were a lot more abundant.

The crowd in 2023 felt very communal, with as many there to catch specific performers as there were to experience certain artists for the first time. During almost every set you could overhear people talk about how they have “always wanted to see this act” or how they were “blown away” by the performances they were witnessing. The stoke was real and palpable throughout the entire weekend, as both days brought relentless beats and epic headliners who left everything they had on the dance floor. Solidifying itself as easily one of the most intense Sundays every year, Portola held nothing back once again. With hopes of continuing the festival in the Bay despite Goldenvoice’s contract expiring next year, we can’t wait to see what’s to come in 2024.

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Labrinth


Labrinth

PORTOLA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2023 AWARDS:

Headliner of the Weekend: Skrillex

Favorite Stage: Warehouse

Breakthrough Performance: Avalon Emerson

Best Dance Party: Todd Terje (DJ set)

Largest Crowd: Nelly Furtado

Best Legacy Act: Basement Jaxx (DJ set)

Hardest Set: Carl Cox

Best Performance: Labrinth

Most Cunty: COBRAH

Best Stage Production: Eric Prydz Presents HOLO

Favorite Festival Addition: Bowie bar

Best Activation: Brilliant Sticker Show & Rave Flyers exhibit

Favorite Merch: BYLT Coach Jacket

Best Afterparty: The Blaze with Barry Can’t Swim at Gray Area

Best Mascot: Portola rat

Outside Lands 2023: Three full days of ‘giving life,’ saving face & switching up the game to celebrate the festival’s 15th anniversary

Outside Lands 2023 - Lands EndPhotos by Christine Kemp & courtesy of Outside Lands // Written by Molly Kish //

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 11th-13th, 2023 //

Taking a beat to fully process the 15th year of Outside Lands, we had a lot to consider in terms of our annual accolades for 2023. Our team has had the pleasure of covering the music festival’s evolution since 2012, and many of us have been on the journey with Bay Area concert promoter Another Planet Entertainment after attending OSL’s inaugural edition in 2008. But while we have learned to anticipate certain logistical nuances and look forward to countless familiarities at Golden Gate Park, this year felt different in several very unexpected and positive ways.

Walking into the festival grounds, the footprint had noticeable modifications from previous years, including brand-new stages and a relocated Wine Lands. McLaren Pass, typically home to Choco Lands, the Bubble Tea Party, Cocktail Magic and various food vendors, now included a paired-down, more communal place to sip wines from the best vineyards in the Bay. Switching spots with Cocktail Magic, the newly located Wine Lands provided a premier viewing location for the Toyota Music Den, which ended up being a backup stage for overflow acts on Saturday and a home base for surprise appearances/pop-up sets throughout the weekend.

Outside Lands 2023 - Lands End - crowd

The largest and most widely agreed upon, favorite new addition to the grounds was the Dolores Stage holding space in the Polo Field entryway. The open-air dance club brought a surge of new talent and life to the main field, highlighting DJs, drag performers and a schedule of explosive LGBTQ+ artists over three days. Providing a welcomed alternative to the SOMA Tent’s long lines and Saturday’s closure for dancefloor maintenance, the Dolores Stage proved to be a true festival MVP. The lineup highlighted an intrinsic part of Bay Area culture that never felt fully recognized on the scale that it should have been. Providing a non-stop homage to SF’s historic ballroom culture, performers hit the stage, runway and ground, keeping the sold-out crowd dancing and happy at one of the festival’s main access points.

Aside from some lineup alterations, structural damage and traffic-flow issues at the entrances and exits, OSL’s 15th anniversary was a massive success. Worried at moments that things could derail, the staff handled the various complications that came their way with super effective and seamless production pivots. Artists were quick to shift sets to alternate stages, pop-up performances kept fans excited and engaged, and the amount of satellite bars, lounges and interactive activations offered more than enough entertainment to keep the capacity crowd stoked. If this year’s success was any indication, we expect the positive changes to become mainstay additions for years to come and look forward to seeing what the future will hold for Northern California’s flagship music festival.

Outside Lands 2023 - ODESZA


ODESZA

OUTSIDE LANDS 2023 AWARDS:

Headliner of the Weekend: ODESZA

Breakthrough Performance: Crumb

Largest Crowd: DJ DIESEL

Best Stage: Dolores Stage

Most Swoonworthy Set: Lana Del Ray

Hardest Hip-Hop Moment: Tobe Nwigwe

Fiercest Performance: Reparations

Tastiest Menu: Shuggies Trash Pie and Natural Wine

Best Vineyard: Deux Punx

Most Magical Cocktail: “Large Marge-arita” // Buttery Tipple

Favorite Lands: Wine Lands

Most Impactful Artist: Balloonski

Satellite Bar Star: #OceanLove Tour by Grey Whale Gin

Favorite Merch: Outside Lands reusable festival cup

Best Marketplace: San Franpsycho

Top Showcase: Hard French at Dolores Stage

Most Memorable Experience: Outside Lands x LIVE by Amazon Music

Bay Area Favorite: Anchor Steam’s final kegs on draft at Beer Lands

Best Night Show: Interpol at The Independent