First off, I want to apologize for not blogging in over a month. I took a long vacation to Europe, and once I returned, it took me a little longer to get back into the swing of things than I thought it would. But fortunately, all the time I spent on busses and planes traveling around, I was listening to tons of new music to share! But first, I want to make sure everyone in San Francisco knows about the Outside Lands Music Festival coming up. 

Now held annually in Golden Gate Park, Outside Lands is a 3 day music festival with a huge line up of bands; all of which I love! Headlining this year are some huge names including Pearl Jam, Incubus, Dave Matthews Band, Modest Mouse, Black Eyed Peas and Jason Mraz, just to name a few. 

Last year I was new to living in the city and Outside Lands was the first big festival I attended with my roommates. Although we saw some awesome live music including Cake, Ben Harper and Tom Petty, I have to admit we missed a few good bands thanks to a nice combination of one (or four) too many beers and being horrible at planning and directions. The park is huge with stages all over, so you have to force yourself to do a little planning, or else you could miss a lot in the time it takes to walk across the park. 

But this year my roommates and I are getting 3 day passes and vow to see every band we want to see, but there are so many good ones! Aside from the headliners, I can’t wait to see The National, TV on the Radio, Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band, Portugal. The Man, Bat For Lashes, Lenka, Brett Dennen, Calexico, Band of Horses… and the list goes on! 

Anyone who lives in the San Francisco area should definitely attend at least one day of this festival. Aside from the music, it is known to have some of the best food and drinks of any event in the bay area. The festival is coming up on August 28, 29 and 30th and I am literally counting down the days. Above is the concert poster with the lineup, but you can also visit the website to see artist bios and purchase tickets. I also posted songs by some of my favorite artists in the lineup that I can’t wait to hear live. With so many songs I’m eager to hear, there might just be a part two of this post closer to the show! 

Modest Mouse – Trailer Trash

The Avett Brothers – The Ballad of Love and Hate

TV on the Radio – Staring at the Sun

Band of Horses – Is There a Ghost

Blind Pilot – The Story I Heard