SAN FRANCISCO — Outside Lands opened its three-day run beneath hazy skies as Golden Gate Park’s sprawling meadows once again hosted one of the country’s largest music festivals.
Now in its 18th year, Outside Lands returned with a lineup headlined by Charli xcx, the Strokes and Rüfüs Du Sol, alongside performances from artists including Baby Keem, Turnstile, Lucy Dacus and PinkPantheress. The outdoor festival kicked off at 12 p.m. Friday and will conclude Sunday evening. Featuring over 100 Bay Area-based restaurants and 140 artists, the first day of the sold-out event drew tens of thousands of attendees.
The festival commenced across seven stages, with crowds framed by the towering cypress trees of San Francisco’s largest urban park. Artists brought the event’s landscape to life with performances that ranged from high-energy sets to more intimate moments with the crowd. As the city’s fog crept across mustard-accented windmills and winding paths, Durand Bernarr, one of Friday’s performers, paused to offer the crowd a few words of encouragement.
“Turn to your neighbor and say, ‘Neighbor, I’m proud of you,’” Bernarr said. “If nobody tells you today, hold on man, Durand is proud of you.”
Read on for the Daily Bruin’s coverage of day one of Outside Lands 2026.
[Related: Charli xcx headlines opening night at Outside Lands with era-bridging set]
GloRilla
Memphis rapper GloRilla brought Southern hip-hop energy to the Lands End stage, opening her set with a run of high-tempo tracks as audience members raised their hands and shouted along. She emerged with four dancers in matching white outfits and baseball caps, running onto a stage topped with a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge before launching into “Tomorrow 2.”
GloRilla performed tracks including “Hollon,” “Bad Bih 4 Ya” and “Wanna Be,” with her dancers moving in tight formations around her. The choreography transitioned between synchronized hip-hop routines, somersaults and sharper, individualized movements as the singer moved across the stage, swinging her hair and speaking to the crowd. Orange-tinted projections of the audience flashed on the screens framing the stage. Halfway through her set, the rapper eventually slowed the pace with a performance of her T-Pain collaboration, “I Luv Her.”
“Can I slow it down for y’all one time?” she said.
The change in tempo brought a different side of the set as GloRilla sang over slower production with golden sparkles filling the screen behind her.
She returned to the set’s high-energy pace with “TGIF,” prompting another surge from the crowd before closing with “Yeah, Glo!” – her Grammy-nominated 2024 anthem. As phones rose throughout the field, GloRilla led the audience through the song’s repeated refrain before the words “Yeah Glo” flashed in bold, capital letters behind her.
Labrinth
British singer, producer and former “Euphoria” composer Labrinth alternated between booming electronic production, live instrumentation and stripped-back piano ballads. Appearing atop a metal fortress wrapped in wire as machines released clouds of white fog, he opened with “Still Don’t Know My Name,” pairing drum effects and electric guitar riffs.
His performance pivoted between extremes. Dressed in a black coat that combined the structure of a blazer on one half and the loose drape of a gown-like trench on the other, Labrinth segued from the pounding electric sounds of “Formula” into the softer “Forever” and “Never Felt So Alone.” He later took to the piano for a run of slower songs, drawing the crowd into a quieter stretch before “Mount Everest” brought the energy back. Throughout his set, the singer stopped to address the crowd.
“I looked out the window, and I saw Karl,” Labrinth said. “I don’t know what you did to me, San Fran, but I got on a bike and I cycled around the city. … I’m having a great time.”
The performance culminated in a final surge as Labrinth climbed the metal structure and began “All for Us,” propelling the crowd into motion once more. Throughout the set, the dystopian-like stage and bold, colorful lighting mirrored the Grammy-winner’s range, from orchestral grandeur to soulful vulnerability.
Charli xcx
Charli xcx wrapped up the night, bringing the festival’s first day to a close with a 23-song headlining set that drew from across her catalog.
The “Boom Clap” singer opened with “Rock Music” and “Yeah” from her latest album, “Music, Fashion, Film,” before moving through songs from 2024’s “Brat” and earlier releases. The singer rarely said a word to the audience beyond her lyrics, instead letting the music, choreography and production engage the crowd.
Her set traversed between the darker rock of her latest album and the club-heavy tracks that defined her on “Brat.” “Apple,” “Club classics,” “360,” “Von dutch” and “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish drew some of the night’s biggest reactions. The crowd sang, jumped and screamed as Charli xcx sang across the multilevel stage.
She closed with “SS26” and “No One Lasts Forever.” The field remained packed with fans until the stage went dark and the final notes faded from Lands End.
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