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Music fans all want the same thing from the 2019 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival.
We want see the best acts, eat the tastiest food and, in general, have a blast during the three days, Aug. 9-11, at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
That means making good decisions to get the most out of your time. And with scores of performers on the bill and all that music and fun scattered over a sizable area, some prep work is in order.
That’s where we come in. Once again we’re offering a step-by-step, hourly guide, detailing exactly what you should do during basically every minute of the festival.
Ready for the challenge? Then away we go.
The OSL Hourly Guide
Day 1, Aug. 9
Noon-2 p.m.
Start your 2019 Outside Lands experience with the Bay Area’s own Rainbow Girls, opening the comparatively intimate Panhandle stage at noon. Soak up the rich vocal harmonies of this Americana trio, featuring Vanessa May, Erin Chapin and Caitlin Gowdey, until 12:40 p.m. and then move over to catch Grateful Shred on the Twin Peaks stage from 12:40 to 1:30 p.m.
Why are we recommending a Grateful Dead cover band? First off, because you’re in Golden Gate Park — as fitting a place as there is in the world to hear Dead music — and, second, because Grateful Shred rocks. With thoughts of Jerry Garcia still in your mind, go fuel up with a falafel or gyro from SF Kebab Mediterranean Grill.
2-4 p.m.
Make sure to be at the Sutro stage by 2:05 p.m. to catch Cautious Clay, a young R&B talent from Cleveland who seems well poised to become a major star. Stick with Clay until 2:40 p.m., then jump over to the big Lands End stage to enjoy 20 minutes or so of hip-hop from P-Lo, a founding member of the famed Bay Area collective HBK Gang (also featuring Kehlani, Sage the Gemini, Iamsu! and others).
Then truck back up to the other side of the festival grounds to catch 15 minutes of Miya Folick, the cool SoCal indie-pop artist who performs until 3:35 p.m. on Panhadle, knowing that this puts you in the right area to then take in the ethereal pop stylings of Aurora at 3:40 p.m. on Twin Peaks.
4-6 p.m.
The two acts that we most want to see on Day One are hip-hop legend Lil Wayne and amazing Christian music artist Lauren Daigle — which really says something about the diversity of this year’s lineup. Unfortunately, their two sets overlap, so we’re recommending that you split your time between the artists.
Thus, after soaking up Aurora’s set until 4:30 p.m., head to Lil Wayne, who takes over Lands End at 4:55 p.m. Hopefully you’ll get to hear quite a few numbers from Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” — one of the best hip-hop albums of all time — before leaving at 5:25 p.m.(ish) for the Twin Peaks stage and Daigle. That should give you about a half hour of Daigle — clearly not enough time for such a huge talent. Yet, in this case, it will have to do.
6-8 p.m.
With Daigle’s gorgeous vocals still ringing in your head, swing by Sutro for 10 minutes or so of Brooklyn-based electronic music artist Yaeji.
Then it’s time for another tough choice: Blink-182 or the Counting Crows? Yes, you could potentially split your time between the two, a la Lil Wayne and Lauren Daigle. But Blink’s pop-punk and juvenile humor just sounds a bit more fun on opening day of the festival. So stick with the Pride of Poway from 6:25 to about 7:30 p.m. on Lands End, skipping over the Crows, and stay on that side of the grounds to also watch Dutch artist/producer San Holo on Sutro from 7:40 to 8 p.m.
8 p.m.-close
Look at the time! Better fuel up again, possibly with a buttermilk popcorn chicken rice bowl from Cassava, and be ready for the last two hours of Day One. Follow along with the masses to Twenty One Pilots, the Lands End headliner who begins at 8:25 p.m. The hip-hop/rock/pop duo is pretty great live, so give them about 45 minutes. Then close out your night by enjoying some adventurous electronic music with Flying Lotus 3D on Sutro, unless you just have to get your folk-pop fix with the Lumineers on Twin Peaks.
Day Two, Aug. 10
Noon-2 p.m.
Superstar vocalist Sam Smith reportedly said he was “in awe” after hearing Fatai perform one of his songs. With that vote of confidence in mind, start Day Two of Outside Lands with Fatai — who has been compared to Beyonce and other superstar singers — on Panhandle at noon.
Stick with Fatai for her entire set then move over to ALLBLACK, the Oakland rapper who performs 12:40-1:25 p.m. at Twin Peaks. At that point, hunger is probably setting in, so how about a barbecued pulled pork sandwich or meatball sub from Lucca Foods?
2-4 p.m.
We haven’t been over to the House by Heineken area yet, so let’s correct that with a quick boogie with Bay Area EDM act As You Like It featuring Mossmoss & Rich Korach. At 2:30 p.m., swing over to Sutro to catch about 10 minutes of Ohio folk band CAAMP, if only to ponder such big questions as why there is an extra “A” in the name. (Maybe it’s in honor of the Canadian Acid Aerosol Measurement Program or the Carolinas Association of Advertising and Marketing Professionals.)
By 3 p.m., at the latest 3:10 p.m., be back at Panhandle for Altın Gün. We expect that the Turkish psych-folk band from Amsterdam is going to be really good live, so give them a good half hour or so before heading down to Lands End for Santigold.
4-6 p.m.
Sure, seeing a full Santigold set would be nice. But you definitely don’t want to skip Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. So, jet over to Sutro at 4 p.m. with the hopes that you didn’t already miss hearing “What I am.” Plus — who knows? — maybe her husband and Day Three Outside Lands headliner Paul Simon will make a guest appearance during the set.
That takes us right up to 4:25 p.m., which seems like a good time — and, really, what time isn’t? — for ice cream. So do yourself a favor and find the Three Twins stand, before circling back to Lands End at 4:55 p.m. for an hour’s worth of refined pop/R&B from Alina Baraz.
6-8 p.m.
Get a good spot at Sutro to see if Better Oblivion Community Center — the acclaimed indie-rock duo of Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers — can live up the hype. Give them about 25 minutes, from 6:15 to 6:40 p.m., then make a beeline to see “Boo’d Up” singer Ella Mai at 6:50 p.m. on Twin Peaks. We have a feeling you’re going to want to stay around for all of that hour-long set.
8-10 p.m.
It’s definitely dinner time, so may we suggest a pastrami reuben or (notice we said “or,” not “and”) some pastrami cheese fries from Wise Sons? Then waddle slowly overto see Hoozier on Sutro. But the “Take Me to Church” star should get no more than 30 minutes of your time, because you need to devote most of this block to watching Day Two headliner Childish Gambino, who runs 8:25-9:55 p.m. on Lands End.
Day Three
Noon-2 p.m.
It’s Day Three and you’re either a tad fatigued or just hitting your stride. Either way, there’s no time to slow down, so let’s get right down to business with soft-rock champ Weyes Blood, who opens Sutro at noon. The singer-songwriter has described her latest Sub Pop album, “Titanic Rising,” as “Bob Seger meets Enya” — and, wow, that’s certainly enough to grab our attention.
Give Weye’s Blood 30 minutes and then cut over to PJ Morton, the Maroon 5 keyboardist and Grammy-winning R&B solo artist who should be midway through his set at Lands End by that time.
Cross lunch off your list, possibly with some Baja-style Pacific cod tacos from Tacolicious, and then get a good spot at Lands End at 1:30 p.m. for R&B/gospel legend Mavis Staples, who is the first of three must-see acts appearing on Day Three.
2-4 p.m.
Stick with Staples for every second of her 50-minute set — and then wait around an extra 5 minutes just to make sure she doesn’t come back for more — before moving on.
And — yikes! — it’s Day Three and we still haven’t been to the Barbary comedy stage. So let’s correct that situation by catching a live podcast of “Voyage to the Stars” with Colton Dunn, Felicia Day and Janet Varney from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m.
Then stroll back to Lands End, perhaps stopping off for a root beer float from Humphry Slocombe, to get ready for the second must-see act of the day — Kacey Musgraves.
4-6 p.m.
Enjoy all of the multi-Grammy winner’s set, which runs 4:10 to 5:10 p.m., and then move to the other side of the grounds for Sheck Wes on Twin Peaks. As the “Mo Bamba” rapper comes to a close at 5:55 p.m., it will be really tempting to try and race down to see Leon Bridges on Lands End. We get that. But, instead, we’re recommending that you use this time to check out promising indie-pop artist MorMor on Panhandle from 5:55 to 6:35 p.m.
6 p.m.-close
As MorMor exits, jump back over to Twin Peaks for Bebe Rexha. The talented pop vocalist, known for her collaborations with G-Eazy on “Me, Myself & I” and Florida Georgia Line on “Meant to Be,” performs 6:40-7:35 p.m. Then go to Lands End and close out the evening — as well as the overall 2019 Outside Lands experience — with one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Paul Simon, who, of course, is the third must-see act of the day.
OUTSIDE LANDS MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL
When: Aug. 9-11; music starts at noon each day.
Where: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Tickets: $155-$1,595; www.sfoutsidelands.com
Note: Outside Lands has a clear-bag policy, only see-through bags and backpacks are allowed in, along with bags, fanny packs and purses smaller than 6” by 8” by 3” and drawstring bags with only one opening, up to 13” by 16.” See event website for other details on what you can and cannot bring.
