By Megan Robertson

At this year’s Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park, internationally known artists like Charlie xcx, The Strokes, Djo and The xx performed, but the real heart of the festival was found in the local artists, businesses and community groups working to make the festival possible and locally-oriented.

Richmond-District Vendors

In addition to the music, Outside Lands is known for being a culinary event. With special collaborations, pop-up chefs and unique dining experiences, the festival featured more than 100 local food vendors and restaurants in its “Taste of the Bay Area” lineup this year.

Many of these vendors are based in and beloved by the west side. Brandon Sardi, the owner of Poorboy Coffee, a Richmond-district based coffee roastery and catering service that formerly operated out of Rampant Bottle & Bar on Balboa Street, had a booth set up in the VIP area of the festival.

“It’s been great,” Sardi said, whose company was back for their second year at Outside Lands. “This year, we’re taking it a little bit easier and doing mostly iced drinks, cold brew beverages, matcha…These are the drinks that I started out with in our journey of bootstrapping the business. Some old classics.”

Other west-side food vendors, like Batches Bakehouse, Cache, Hard Knox Cafe, Mamahuhu and Palmetto Superfoods were featured as part of the lineup.

Civic Engagement

During the festival, Hellman Hollow transformed into “The Mission,” an interactive area where “fans discover cause-based initiatives and ways to engage with the community,” Another Planet Entertainment states on the Outside Lands’ website.

A number of non-profit organizations and community groups shared their information at the festival, including Gardens of Golden Gate Park, the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, Women’s Audio Mission, Youth Art Exchange and HeadCount, a nonprofit working to increase voter engagement.

“We are crushing our goals this weekend,” said Dion Dowdell, HeadCount’s tour and activation manager, speaking during the festival. “We are registering people to vote, we are checking people’s voter registration status and we are signing people up for election alerts.”

Dowdell said the nonprofit had a busy weekend with significant community engagement through voter and election alert registration.

The Dolores Stage and Oasis’ Comeback

In recent years, the festival’s lineup has included seven distinct stages. The Dolores Stage, which debuted in 2023, was designed as a performance space celebrating San Francisco’s queer communities.

The stage was co-created with Oasis, one of the most beloved queer nightclubs and performance venues in San Francisco, located in the SOMA District.

“It’s been a privilege to work with Another Planet Entertainment to conceive and build what the Dolores stage is,” said Oasis Owner and San Francisco Drag Laureate D’Arcy Drolllinger. “It’s been amazing to be able to design this fabulous, queer stage… and to be able to put it in front of people that would have never seen this.”

Oasis made headlines last year when they were slated to close due to financial impediments. A last minute philanthropic gift ensured their survival and renovations, and the club reopened this summer.

“Sometimes (queer artists are) relegated into spaces that don’t care about what we’re doing,” Drollinger said. “I want to shine to the country and the rest of the world that we can create our own spaces and now, we can own our own spaces. That gives us real sustainability, and I hope that is my legacy.”

Oasis Arts will continue their performance work by putting on “Scream,” the musical, in October. Find more information about their hours and programming at sfoasis.com.

For Drollinger, the impetus behind Oasis’ work in general, and the work they and so many other San Franciscans are doing at Outside Lands each year, is to curate experiences designed for and to uplift local communities.

“If there are venues, restaurants, flower shops, whatever there is that you enjoy, go spend money there,” Drollinger said. “We have to understand that the only way small businesses are sustainable is to show up. Turn off Netflix, don’t Doordash, go out to a restaurant. See a show. It’s a win-win. You win because you’re in community, because you’re helping other businesses and you get to be out in the world. That is how we’re going to save San Francisco.”

Giselle Garza Lerma and Inés Pilar Ventura contributed to the reporting of this article.