Outside Lands 2024 in San Francisco proved, yet again, why it’s the more grown-up Coachella — with better weather and more intimate performances.
In a time rife with political uncertainty and general unease about the future, there’s never been a more opportune time to dance at the “Pink Pony Club” — no matter its iteration. For tens of thousands of festival goers at Outside Lands this past weekend, that meant painting San Francisco’s Polo Field in all manner of pink.
The events leading up to Chappel Roan’s Sunday afternoon set at the Lands End Stage — Outside Land’s mainstage that saw the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Megan the Stallion, and others last year — were moments punctuated with joyous frivolity and frustrating dissacotations.
Outside Lands’s famously inflated food prices reached new highs, courtesy of $15 pizza slices; South African songstress and viral TikTok creator Tyla was over 30 minutes late to her under one-hour set … making the “Water” singer’s whole show feel disjointed, jammed, and half-hearted; in a strange twist, political commentary from acts remained hushed — an unusual silence not typical of Outside Lands sets.
But for all the overpriced carbohydrates and disconnect with the 2024 Presidential Election, Outside Lands 2024 delivered on (almost) every level.
The Blessed Madonna delighted those at the SOMA Stage with waves of nostalgia, DJing her way through a collection of cult-classtics that spanned the better part of three decades; Sabrinna Carpenter’s wonderfully cheeky Saturday headling performance included her summer hits “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” and proved she’s got staying power … and an evergreen Taylor Swift boost, to boot; The Killers delighted a Millenial-heavy crowd Friday evening — a set that went toe-to-toe with last year’s Foo Fighters bombastic show and 2022’s Green Day extravaganza.
Outside Lands 2024 showed exactly why it’s the shining crown jewel of San Francisco Bay Area music festivals. And, like we said before, that gemstone was brightest on Sunday afternoon during Chappel Roan’s record-breaking set.
People clad in pink boas and cowboy hats filled the entirety of the Polo Field, with punctuation of pink reaching into Twin Peaks. “Where are the girls at?” the 26-year-old pop star calls to the audience. An almost deafening response echoes across the entire venue — “If you have something pink, put it up in the air so I can see you! All the way to the back!”
Piping through songs off Midwestern Princess, Roan’s debut EP set to exist as a cult-classic for generations to come, Roan’s star power was unquestionably … arguably untouched by any other performer at the weekend-long festival. Belting through “Good Luck, Babe,” flailing pink bandanas and bubblegum jewelry gave way to Roan’s sheer vocal prowess as the crowd jumped in ecstasy.
Roan’s regalia was more demure than past facial get-ups — a Chappel roan cosplaying as the Statue of Liberty all while smoking a massive blunt inside an apple will forever be costume cannon, though perhaps more emblematic of her Pink Pony Club persona. Despite the midday fog, stage lights still found her blue sequin dress as she led the audience through the “HOT TO GO” cheer: “H-O-T-T-O-G-O/ You can take me hot to go/ H-O-T-T-O-G-O/ You can take me hot to go.” (And yes, reader: Roan’s Outside Lands 2024 performance piece was the same leotard she woar in the music video fro “HOT TO GO.”)
It was estimated that some 50,000 people attended Chappel Raon’s Sunday afternoon set, efficiently breaking the Outside Lands Record for the most-attended festival performance in recent memory. (For context: 75,000 people went to the festival on Sunday, meaning Roan drew two-thirds of the day’s entire attendance.) As the Polo Field’s canvas slowly emptied into more muted browns and greens, one colorful sentiment remained crystal clear: Chappel Roan could have, and perhaps should have, headlined Outside Lands 2024.
It’s Chappel Roan’s World. We’re all just dancing at the Pink Pony Club.
Feature Image: Courtesy of Alive Coverage
