Outside Lands follows the trend, unloads 2026 lineup earlier than ever with Charli xcx, RÜFÜS DU SOL, The Strokes, The xx & more

Outside Lands - 2026 lineup

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 7th-9th, 2026 //

Looks like this trend isn’t stopping anytime soon.

Coachella, as it often does, got the ball rolling back in September by announcing its earliest lineup drop ever. Then a couple of months later, Lightning in a Bottle followed suit by giving fans even more notice on who would be performing this year. And now, it’s Outside Lands’ turn.

One of California’s largest and longest-running music festivals hasn’t been quite as consistent with the timing of its annual lineup announcements as the aforementioned, but traditionally the cat has been let out of the bag in March or April — by the third week of the latter month — at the latest.

This year’s reveal certainly marks the three-day event’s earliest since its inception in 2008, and with the industry not what it was once due to rising costs, changes in consumer tastes and many still struggling to make ends meet due to the current economic conditions, getting the word out well in advance seems to be the new strategy for some of the biggest concert promoters in the business.

Headlining the 18th edition of SF’s signature music festival this August and making her OSL debut will be Charli xcx, who will be making her long-awaited OSL debut after releasing last year’s chart-topping and award-winning album Brat. Joining her atop the bill are two more Grammy winners in RÜFÜS DU SOL and The Strokes after the fest decided to give Tyler, the Creator a second chance in 2025 while also enlisting Hozier and Doja Cat to help lead the charge.

Some of the undercard standouts for 2026, meanwhile, include The xx, Baby Keem, Turnstile, Geese, GRIZTRONICS (Subtronics + GRiZ), Djo, Labrinth, Empire of the Sun, Dijon, Disco Lines, Death Cab For Cutie (performing two sets — one during the day and another in the evening — much like Vampire Weekend did last year as sun and moon icons next to their name at the bottom of the poster indicate again), GloRilla, Ethel Cain, Clipse, Lucy Dacus, Wet Leg, Malcolm Todd, Modest Mouse, Mariah the Scientist, Sierra Ferrell, Tinashe, Audrey Hobert, JADE and DJ Trixie Mattel to name more than a few.

If that’s not enough to sell you yet, the dance-ready SOMA Tent will be back at Golden Gate Park for all your electronic needs and boasts another strong roster led by Boys Noize, Lane 8, HYPERBEAM, Boris Brejcha, Carlita, Miss Monique, Ben Böhmer, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U and KI/KI. Take a look the rest of the acts scheduled to perform above.

Three-day GA, GA+, VIP, Golden Gate Club, or Payment Plan passes go on sale to the public here for $509, $779, $1,249 and $5,096 this Thursday, March 5th at 12 p.m. PT. There are several presales for those who have previously attended within the past five years or don’t want to wait two more days as well as any Chase credit card holders, but you must sign up here for the first two options to be eligible. And before completing your purchase, make sure to peep our previous coverage here!

Outside Lands 2026 - daily lineups

UPDATE (March 11th): Ready or not, daily lineups have come out just more than a week after OSL dropped its 2026 roster and now we know who is scheduled for which day. Charli xcx will be Friday’s main attraction and The Strokes will headline Saturday before RÜFÜS DU SOL take one last bow on Sunday to close the weekend. See the poster above for more details before single-day tickets go on sale here for $249-269 (GA), $375-399 (GA+), $599-649 (VIP) and $2,369 (Golden Gate Club) at 12 p.m. PT this Thursday, March 12th. Three-day passes for GA, GA+ and VIP are already sold out, but you can join the wait list here if you’re so inclined … good luck!

Portola Music Festival 2025: Our awards & highlights for Year 4

Portola Music Festival 2025 - LCD Soundsystem


LCD Soundsystem

Photos by Christine Kemp // Written by Molly Kish //

Portola Music Festival //
Pier 80 – San Francisco
September 20th-21st, 2025 //

The Bay Area celebrated Portola’s fourth edition this September by packing SF’s Pier 80 with its most diverse lineup so far. Attendees got the opportunity to catch legendary electronic artists, festival debuts, the iconic return of several dance-punk outfits and a show-stopping performance by one of the biggest pop stars on the planet.

The weather was impeccable, but that wasn’t enough to keep crowds from forming lines all weekend long to gain entry to the Bay Area debut of Despacio. James Murphy shared unofficial joint headliner duty with his high-fidelity audio immersion system that served as an honorary fifth stage. Folks waited sometimes hours to enter the dimly lit sound enclosure, lined with seven stacks of McIntosh-powered speakers, synchronized yet very sparse lighting, 50,000 watts of amplifiers and a giant disco ball. Lead audio engineer John Klett calls it an “emotional transmission machine,” and over the course of the two-day fest, many made a point to go find themselves in there.

Portola 2025 marked some monumental comebacks, including the first Bay Area show for The Rapture in more than 10 years, The Prodigy’s highly anticipated appearance after having to reschedule one of their two Coachella sideshows at The Warfield in April (read our show review here) and Moby’s return for the first time since the Ghostship Fire Benefit in 2020 to perform his seminal album Play with a live band and vocalist. Last but certainly not least was pop icon Christina Aguilera, who turned the festival into a girly-pop fever dream for 45 minutes and blazed through one of the weekend’s most epic sets.

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Despacio


Despacio

There were clear improvements to the layout for both the Warehouse and Pier Stage with larger and more accurately located VIP sections, and though the grounds felt less activated, they seemed to be more manageable. The selection of food vendors was also greatly improved, with less waiting time at the bars and larger selections of cocktails as well as specialty drinks than ever before.

For this latest installment, Portola went all in on tried-and-true favorites that included bringing back Dom Dolla, Caribou, Chemical Brothers and 2manydjs after their previous appearances. Goldenvoice paired down the over-the-top production from prior years and brought the focus back onto the music, too.

With noticeably smaller crowds and lighter fairground fluff, attending Portola this year felt different. But for a festival that draws fans who are more concerned about seeing quality performances than posting influencer-friendly content, it remained true to form in 2025 and was a much-needed party for the Bay Area’s club core.

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Christina Aguilera


Christina Aguilera

PORTOLA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2025 AWARDS:

Headliner of the Weekend: The Prodigy

Favorite Stage: Warehouse

Breakthrough Performance: Anti Up (Chris Lake & Chris Lorenzo)

Best Dance Party: Moby

Largest Crowd: Dom Dolla

Festival Daddy: Mau P

Portola Queen: Christina Aguilera

Best Legacy Act: Underworld

Hardest Set: Brutalismus 3000

Best Live Performance: LCD Soundsystem

Biggest Comeback: The Rapture

Most Cunty: Rico Nasty

Best Stage Production: Chemical Brothers (DJ set)

Favorite Festival Addition: Despacio

Best Afterparty: Peggy Gou B2B Mau P at 888 Garage

Biggest Improvement: Relocation of VIP section

Most Swoonworthy: Maribou State

Favorite Merch: Raccoon backpack

Silliest Trend: Food label stickers

Largest Obstacle: Lack of cellular service

LCD Soundsystem, Christina Aguilera, Dom Dolla, Peggy Gou, The Chemical Brothers & Moby will lead fourth Portola Music Festival

Portola Music Festival - 2025 lineup

Portola Music Festival //
Pier 80 – San Francisco
September 20th-21st, 2025 //

Portola peeps, where you at?!?

The time for Round 4 of your favorite two-day Bay Area music festival has come, and we are pretty sure you won’t be disappointed with what Goldenvoice has in store this September at SF’s Pier 80.

The renowned California concert promoter hasn’t taken its foot off the gas pedal after its third edition featured RÜFÜS DU SOL, Justice, Disclosure, FISHER, Gesaffelstein, Jamie xx, Four Tet and M.I.A. among others a year ago.

2025’s roster is simply loaded once again with LCD Soundsystem, Christina Aguilera, Dom Dolla, Peggy Gou, The Chemical Brothers (DJ set) and Moby (Live) delivering the biggest impact while others listed in bold-faced type like Anti Up (Chris Lake x Chris Lorenzo), The Prodigy, MAU P and Underworld are also grabbing our attention upon first glance.

As you look closer at all of the artists sprinkled throughout the poster, there are plenty of more names to highlight as Caribou, Blood Orange, Duke Dumont, Rico Nasty, The Dare, Arca, Magdalena Bay, Hamdi, NEIL FRANCES (Presents Club NF), Chris Stussy, Bob Moses, The Rapture, Yousuke Yukimatsu, Noga Erez, The Hellp, Boy Harsher, Prospa B2B Kettama, Maribou State, 2ManyDJs B2B Erol Alkan, Dabeull (Live), The Blessed Madonna B2B Tiga, KI/KI, Horse Meat Disco, Zack Fox and Kreayshawn. Plus, two days of Despacio! See more details above to find out who else is performing.

While the Portola lineup has leaned electronic since the fest’s debut in 2022, Goldenvoice has done a good job of mixing in artists from other genres that fit the overall aesthetic and vibe. From rock and hip-hop to R&B, funk and soul, you can find a little bit of everything at one of the final music festivals of the season. Let’s just hope the weather holds up (fingers crossed).

Portola 2025 passes can be purchased starting this Thursday, May 15th at 12 p.m. PT with payment plans available if you put down at least 25% right now, so make sure to register here to receive your presale code. Two-day GA passes begin at $399.95 (or $279.95 for single-day tickets) while two-day VIP have increased to $649.95 (or $399.95 for one day) here for those ages 21 and up.

This will be a hot ticket so don’t miss your chance to dance down at the docks!

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Saturday set times

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Sunday set times

UPDATE (July 25th): Almost two months before Portola’s fourth installment, Goldenvoice has unveiled set times for both days. Take a peek at the schedule above and download the festival’s mobile app here before cruising to Pier 80. Tickets are still available here whether you are interested in going one or two days, so don’t miss out on what’s sure to be one of the year’s best weekends!

Goldenvoice