A month and a half after Outside Lands descends on Golden Gate Park, a brand new music festival is touching down in San Francisco in September.
Today, the promoters behind Coachella—Goldenvoice—announced the inaugural Portola Music Festival to be held at Pier 80 on Sept. 24 & 25, the same weekend as the Folsom Street Fair, no less.
The lineup is packed with top-tier electronic music talent—from stadium-filling big-tent acts like Flume, M.I.A. and James Blake—to envelope-pushing experimentalists and underground knob-twiddlers, like Arca and Four Tet. They’re also bringing in OGs, like Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim, while Oakland-based Toro y Moi and the San Jose-bred DJ Shadow will hold things down for the hometown crowd.
@sfstandard There’s a brand new electronic-heavy music festival coming to SF in September—the Portola Music Festival. #sanfrancisco #greenscreen #electronicmusic #electronic #electronicamusic #flume #mia #jamesblake #outsidelands #musicfestival
♬ The Difference – Flume & Toro y Moi
According to the event’s press release, the festival takes its name from the Portola Festival of 1909, which the city hosted as a celebration after the devastating 1906 earthquake to tell the world that San Francisco was back open for business and tourism.
With its array of eye-catching acts, the festival’s arrival could add a much-needed boost to the city’s music scene after COVID. It aims to bring together artists from all corners of the dance, indie pop, hip-hop and progressive pop scenes.
“This is the festival I’ve wanted to produce for the past decade. San Francisco is the perfect city for it and now is the perfect time!,” said Goldenvoice VP Talent Buyer Danny Bell in a release.
Attendees will be able to roam through a range of tents, a 400,000-square-foot warehouse, see acts on a main stage and sample from an array of local food and beverage options.