After over a year without festivals or concerts, music lovers may have something to look forward to this fall. The iconic Outside Lands festival, which typically takes place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park every August, has moved to Halloween weekend in the hopes that a later date will allow for greater safety and a more widely vaccinated audience.
“The shift in dates allows us to work collectively to determine any new safety measures necessary to implement during the festival weekend,” said festival co-producer Allen Scott. “We ask fans to use this time before the festival to continue exercising common sense COVID safety practices and we look forward to being together again soon.” Current ticket holders who are unable to attend the new dates can request refunds until Apr. 15.
This year’s star-studded lineup includes a few Bay Area artists, like Oakland’s Kehlani and San Francisco’s 24kGolden, in addition to huge names like Lizzo, Tame Impala, The Strokes, Young Thug and Tyler, the Creator. Recent double Grammy winner Kaytranada and female rap sensations Flo Milli and Rico Nasty are set to perform as well.
Outside Lands is one of the first major music festivals to announce a post-COVID return, and may set a precedent for others to do the same. The pandemic was particularly hard on the live music industry, and while many venues had to permanently close their doors, concert-goers are eager to return, and the future of live music seems bright.
While individual passes are not yet for sale, three-day passes are currently available on the Outside Lands website. The festival will take place Oct. 29-31.
