Portola Music Festival

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

October 9, 2023 by Molly Kish Leave a Comment

Photos 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.

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.

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

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Young Fathers

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Nelly Furtado

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Polo & Pan

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Eric Prydz Presents HOLO

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Chris Lake B2B Armand Van Helden

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Flying Lotus

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Little Simz

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Pabllo Vittar

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Thundercat

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Rina Sawayama

Portola Music Festival 2023 - Charlotte de Witte

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festivals Tagged With: 2ManyDJs, Armand Van Helden, Avalon Emerson, Azzecca, Barry Can't Swim, Basement Jaxx, Bolis Pupul, Bonobo, Carl Cox, Chaos In The CBD, Charlotte Adigéry, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, Charlotte de Witte, Chris Lake, Chris Lake b2b Armand Van Helden, Chromeo, COBRAH, DJ Koze, Dom Dolla, ELIO, Eliza Rose, Eric Prydz, Eric Prydz Presents HOLO, FKJ, Flying Lotus, Gray Area, Hot Chip, Jai Paul, Jayda G, Jockstrap, Jon Hopkins, Jyoty, Kavinsky, Kenny Beats, Labrinth, LF System, Little Dragon, Little Simz, Maddy Maia, Major Lazer, Major Lazer B2B Major League DJz, Major League DJz, Masego, Model/Actriz, Nelly Furtado, Overmono, Pabllo Vittar, Pier 80, Polo & Pan, Portola, Portola 2023, Portola Music Festival, Portola Music Festival 2023, Purple Disco Machine, Rina Sawayama, Roisin Murphy, Salute, Sam Gellaitry, SBTRK, Skin On Skin, Skrillex, The Blaze, The Dare, Thundercat, Todd Terje, Tokischa, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Underworld, Very Nice Person, Winston Surfshirt, Yeule, Young Fathers, Yung Singh

Portola Music Festival returns to SF’s Pier 80 for second edition while tapping Eric Prydz & Skrillex as headliners in 2023

May 17, 2023 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

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

Well, look who’s back …

Portola, that’s who! Just when you thought we were done announcing lineups for music festivals this year, one of Goldenvoice’s newest events has returned for another go-around.

This time the two-day fest will have Eric Prydz and Skrillex, both of whom performed at Coachella last month, lead the charge after Flume and The Chemical Brothers were assigned headlining duties for its inaugural edition. But unlike last year, Portola 2023 will also boast a special guest that sees Chris Lake and Armand Van Helden teaming up for a B2B set on Saturday before Prydz presents his world-famous HOLO show.

Endorsed by DJing weenies, cats everywhere and Nicole Kidman herself* 🌐 Register now for first access to passes this Friday at 10am PT

*not actually endorsed by Nicole Kidman*https://t.co/20jE5z2jbS pic.twitter.com/j19UcjMpYe

— Portola Festival (@PortolaFestival) May 17, 2023

While the roster again leans primarily in the electronic direction, there are a few diversions — from funk and soul to hip-hop and R&B — sprinkled in that adds some variety to an excellent undercard. Here are just some of the acts you won’t want to miss at SF’s Pier 80 as September turns to October: Polo & Pan, Labrinth, FKJ, Thundercat, Nelly Furtado, Rina Sawayama, Jai Paul, Carl Cox (hybrid set), Underworld, Major Lazer B2B Major League DJz, Charlotte de Witte, Purple Disco Machine, The Blaze, Dom Dolla, Bonobo (DJ set), Hot Chip, Masego, Chromeo, Bassment Jaxx (DJ set), Tokischa, Little Dragon, Flying Lotus, Kenny Beats, Flying Lotus, Little Simz, SBTRKT, Todd Terje (DJ set), DJ Koze, Róisín Murphy, Jon Hopkins, 2manydjs (Live), Overmono, Kavinsky, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (Live), Pabllo Vittar, Young Fathers and Jockstrap.

You can buy tickets to Portola starting this Friday, May 19th at 10 a.m. PT with payment plans available, but make sure to register here for your presale code. Two-day GA passes start at $339.95 and increase to $379.95 (or $229.95-$249.95 for single-day tickets) while two-day VIP can be purchased for $559.95 before jumping to $629.95 (or $324.95 for one day) here if you’re age 21 and up.

Who’s ready to dance the day away down by the bay?!

UPDATE (August 15th): There’s still six weeks to go before Portola’s second installment, but you don’t have to wait for set times anymore! That’s right, folks … you can find the schedule for both days above, and make sure to download the festival’s mobile app here before getting your groove on at Pier 80.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: 2ManyDJs, Armand Van Helden, Avalon Emerson, Azzecca, Barry Can't Swim, Basement Jaxx, Bolis Pupul, Bonobo, Carl Cox, Chaos In The CBD, Charlotte Adigéry, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, Charlotte de Witte, Chris Lake, Chris Lake b2b Armand Van Helden, Chromeo, COBRAH, DJ Koze, Dom Dolla, ELIO, Eliza Rose, Eric Prydz, Eric Prydz Presents HOLO, FKJ, Flying Lotus, Hot Chip, Jai Paul, Jayda G, Jockstrap, Jon Hopkins, Jyoty, Kavinsky, Kenny Beats, Labrinth, LF System, Little Dragon, Little Simz, Maddy Maia, Major Lazer, Major Lazer B2B Major League DJz, Major League DJz, Masego, Model/Actriz, Nelly Furtado, Overmono, Pabllo Vittar, Pier 80, Polo & Pan, Portola, Portola 2023, Portola Music Festival, Portola Music Festival 2023, Purple Disco Machine, Rina Sawayama, Roisin Murphy, Salute, Sam Gellaitry, SBTRK, Skin On Skin, Skrillex, The Blaze, The Dare, Thundercat, Todd Terje, Tokischa, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Underworld, Very Nice Person, Winston Surfshirt, Yeule, Young Fathers, Yung Singh

Chromeo, Tipper, Vulfpeck, The Glitch Mob & more hit the beach at Lake Perris for 2022 edition of Same Same But Different

May 16, 2022 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Same Same But Different //
Moreno Beach – Lake Perris, CA‎
September 9th-11th, 2022 //

Does it feel like festival season in the Golden State or what?

On the same day Goldenvoice revealed its new Portola Music Festival with Flume and The Chemical Brothers headlining its inaugural edition at San Francisco’s Pier 80, another California music festival also has made its plans known for this September.

Same Same But Different follows in the same sort of vein as Lightning in a Bottle by offering more than just music, with yoga, educational workshops, and wellness activities, as well as arts and crafts, all part of the event’s programming two weeks prior to Portola and one week before Primavera Sound LA.

Here it is, your 2022 lineup! Tag your crew below and sign up for pre-sale access to buy tickets Thurs. May 19. General on-sale Fri May 20.

— Same Same But Different (@ssbdfest) May 16, 2022

But like LIB, it’s the music that ultimately attracts fans to SSBD and this year’s roster boasts a variety of electronic- and funk-leaning acts beginning at the top of the bill with electro-funk lords Chromeo rocking the stage Friday, British electronic composer and producer Tipper turning up Saturday, and funk quartet Vulfpeck and LA beat-scene veterans The Glitch Mob co-headlining Sunday.

Along with the aforementioned four headliners, the three-day fest’s undercard delivers other can’t-miss acts such as Washed Out, Poolside, Emancipator, Lettuce, The Brothers Macklovitch (A-Trak & Dave1), Neil Frances, Beats Antique, The Polish Ambassador, Moon Boots, The California Honeydrops, Sacha Robotti, The Floozies, Goldfish, Harry Mack, The Funk Hunters, Manic Focus, Justin Jay, Anomalie and more at Moreno Beach inside the 1,800-acre Lake Perris State Recreation Area. See the poster above, and check back here as additional artists are announced in the coming months.

SSBD tickets can be purchased starting this Thursday, May 19th at 1 p.m. PT during the presale with payment plans available for those who only want to put down $49 right now, but don’t forget to register here for your chance to also win a grand prize of four VIP weekend passes and car-camping or one free GA ticket. Three-day GA passes start at $285 and jump to $345 while VIP are available for $490 before increasing to $580 here. The general on-sale, meanwhile, begins this Friday at 1 p.m. PT so get them while they’re hot!

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Anomalie, Beats Antique, BIIANCO, Casmalia, Chromeo, Diggin Dirt, DLMT, EDI, Emancipator, Frameworks, Funktion-One, Goldfish, Harry Mack, Hollywood Principle, Justin Jay, Lake Perris, Lake Perris State Park, Lettuce, LIB, LIB 2022, Lightning in a Bottle, Lightning in a Bottle 2022, Maddy O'Neal, Manic Focus, Monster Rally, Moon Boots, Moreno Beach, NEIL FRANCES, Oren, Orgone, Party Pupils, Poolside, Portola, Portola Music Festival, Portola Music Festival 2022, Ranger Trucco, Ravenscoon, Sacha Robotti, Same Same But Different, Same Same But Different 2022, Same Same But Different Fest, Same Same But Different Fest 2022, Same Same But Different Festival, Same Same But Different Festival 2022, SSBD, SSBD 2022, SSBD Fest, SSBD Fest 2022, The Brothers Comatose, The Brothers Macklovitch, The Brothers Macklovitch (A-Trak & Dave1), The California Honeydrops, The Floozies, The Funk Hunters, The Glitch Mob, The Polish Ambassador, The Sponges, Tipper, Vincent Antone, Vulfpeck, Washed Out

Portola Music Festival makes debut at SF’s Pier 80 this September with Flume & The Chemical Brothers headlining inaugural edition

May 16, 2022 by Josh Herwitt 3 Comments

Portola Music Festival //
Pier 80 – San Francisco
September 24th-25th, 2022 //

Holy Portola!

If you thought we were done announcing festival lineups in the state of California this year, well … you thought wrong. Because with the music industry looking to make up for lost time as we try to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic into more normal times, Goldenvoice isn’t slowing down in 2022.

After bringing This Ain’t No Picnic back to SoCal for the first time in almost 20 years this August, the renowned concert promoter has uncovered the new Portola Music Festival, which is named after the Portola Festival of 1909 — a celebration of SF’s reopening following the earthquake of 1906 that was created to attract tourists at the time — and will take over Pier 80 for two days in September.

Introducing San Francisco's Portola Music Festival 🌐 Register now for first access. Pre sale begins this Friday at 10am PThttps://t.co/rMvrVYLt6O pic.twitter.com/1Zl5K5x8cm

— Portola Festival (@PortolaFestival) May 16, 2022

Flume and The Chemical Brothers are booked to headline the inaugural edition of the two-day festival leaning primarily in the electronic direction, although there’s a sliver of hip-hop and pop mixed into its stellar undercard that boasts Kaytranada, James Blake, Jamie xx, M.I.A., Jungle, Lane 8, Charli XCX, Peggy Gou, Gorgon City, Toro y Moi, Four Tet + Floating Points, Fred again.., SG Lewis, Fatboy Slim, Duke Dumont (Live), Caroline Polachek, Yaeji, Caribou, The Blessed Madonna, Omar Apollo, Bicep (Live), L’Impératrice, The Avalanches, Yves Tumor, Arca, Channel Tres, PinkPantheress, Ben Böhmer, Hot Since 82, DJ Shadow, Justin Martin, Romy, slowthai, Ross From Friends and more. Quite simply, the lineup is pretty much a dream come true for any fan of the indie-electronic space right now with a couple of local favorites like Toro y Moi and DJ Shadow thrown in for good measure. Check out the poster above for the rest of this year’s roster.

You can buy tickets to Portola starting this Friday, May 20th at 10 a.m. PT with payment plans available, but make sure to register here for your presale code. Two-day GA passes start at $299.95 and increase to $349.95 (or $199.95 to $224.95 for single-day tickets) while two-day VIP can be purchased for more than double at $774.95 (or $399.95 for one day) here if you’re age 21 and up.

Don’t sleep on what’s sure to be an epic dance party down by the docks!

UPDATE (July 19th): With the fest getting ready to make its debut in just more than two months, Bob Moses, Mochakk and Thee Mike B are joining the 2022 lineup and are set to perform on Saturday. See the updated poster above for the rest of the roster. Two-day GA and single-day GA passes for Saturday are running low but still available here so go get ’em before it’s too late!

UPDATE (September 8th): Set times are here! Portola would also like to remind attendees that “there are NO bad decisions and regret is a four letter word.” But seriously, there are some really hard choices to make when taking a closer look, including Flume vs. Jamie xx vs. Fatboy Slim on Saturday and The Chemical Brothers vs. Four Tet + Floating Points vs. Toro y Moi on Sunday. Peep the schedule as well as the map above if you’re going this month and make sure to snag your tickets here while you still can!