I’ve Been Through Outside Lands
(On a horse with no name)
By Croix Provence
What better place for a music festival than the home of Haight-Ashbury, land of hippie hill, and Jerry Garcia’s old stomping grounds? San Francisco offers beauty, culture, bad-ass food, and Outside Lands music festival, whose consistently amazing lineup has never let us down before! Held every summer in early August, the weather is perfect and the vibes are good.
Last year’s lineup was pretty good, featuring the “talents” of Kanye West, and the talents of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Macklemore, The Flaming Lips, Duck Sauce, Grouplove, Capital Cities, Haim, Lykke Li, John Butler Trio, Greensky Bluegrass, The Kooks, Paolo Nutini, Boys Noize, Chvrches, and so many more! The year prior featured Sir Paul freaking McCartney. What awesomeness is on deck for the 2015?
Not bad! Right off the bat we have piano legend and clever lyricist Elton John, who had yet to disappoint live. Mumford & Sons’ indie folk sound will soothe the Golden Gate Park before The Black Keys shake it up with their indie garage/blues rock. Sam Smith and Kendrick Lamar are everywhere this year and do nothing for me, but hey. Glad they’re out and about. Wilco, Axwell & Ingrosso, D’Angelo And The Vanguard, St. Vincent, and Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals round out the upper half of the lineup for bands that are good, but are everywhere and I don’t much care to re-write about again. Billy Idol, though! What a great catch! The 80’s rocker performed at Bonnaroo two years ago and still has it! Don’t miss out on seeing him. Tame Impala’s psychedelic sounds are absolutely not to be missed, nor is Slighty Stoopid’s reggae/beach rock. They have insane acoustic skills. The whole show will make you sway back and forth for a solid hour (if something else isn’t already making you sway). Other bands to check out for sure are Caribou (electronica), First Aid Kit (psychedelic pop), Lindsey Stirling (classical/hip hop violin), Glass Animals (indie rock/psychedelic), Django Django (electronic rock), Shakey Graves (one-woman folk band), The Revivalists (alt rock), and Speedy Ortiz (indie rock).
There are definitely some solid choices in this year’s lineup for Outside Lands! When put to the Croix Scale, from Bad to Bad-Ass, this line up is looking:
Overall: Good
Hell yes to Elton John and Mumford & Sons and The Black Keys. Hell yes to Tame Impala and Slightly Stoopid and Billy Idol. Hell okay to just about everything else. By no means is this a disappointing lineup, but prior years have been so much stronger that this one can’t help but feel a little weak. Regardless, if this roster of musicians is right up your alley, check out Outside Lands’ website for tickets and information on this good weekend!
Croix Provence, abridged: Singer. Actress. Model. Dork. Snack enthusiast. Freelance writer. Music lover. Comic Con freak. Adrenaline junkie. Short sentence sorcerer. Follow @CroixProvence on Twitter and Instagram, and like Croix Provence on Facebook.
