Move over Coachella, Stagecoach and Hard Summer. I am here to tell you why Outside Lands is not only the best weekend ever, but the best music festival ever. However, I would like to give a disclaimer because this article is about to be extremely bias -- I am from the Bay Area and the only music festivals I have ever been to are Coachella and Outside Lands.
To be completely honest, the idea of a music festival completely terrified me up until about three years ago. Outside Lands, however, has completely changed my out look on music festivals and cultivated a deep love for standing for hours in crowds of intoxicated 20-somethings. So, here goes my extremely bias (yet, accurate) take on why Outside Lands is truly the best musical festival, nay weekend, of all time.
1. The location.
While it may be disappointing to have your skimpy, cute outfit be completely torn apart by San Francisco's "summer," the weather of Outside Lands is a huge plus. I don't know about you, but standing in the heat pressed against other sweaty unknown bodies sounds like hell to me. Here is where Outside Lands comes in. San Francisco's summer hardly pushes past 70 degrees, making standing in crowds actually bearable. Located in Golden Gate Park, the festival is also beautiful and in a prime location along with the Bay Area's superior public transportation system.
2. The food.
Bulging with some of the Bay Area's finest eateries, Outside Lands takes festival food to a whole new level. At what other festival would you be able to find ramen, a curry burrito or Chocolate Lands? Yes, you heard that right. There is a section of Outside Lands dedicated to just chocolate. Need I say more? Outside Lands literally releases a line up for their featured food, which in my opinion, was almost nearly as exciting as their music lineup.
3. The people.
This is another (probably) bias statement on my part, but the people at Outside Lands are truly some of the cream of the crop. This could be because a majority of the people are from the Bay, but I hold on to the belief that the Bay Area has the ability to cultivate people in to becoming the best that they can be. While there may be some people there for more superficial reasons, the majority of the people are at Outside Lands for the music. Artists love coming to the Bay Area because of the people it attracts and the atmosphere it creates.
So, thank you Outside Lands and the Bay Area, for bringing me the best people alive.
