Outside Lands cancels 2020 event, releases 2021 festival lineup featuring Lizzo, Tame Impala – SF Gate

The 2020 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival will not take place this August, festival organizers announced Wednesday.

The long-awaited decision to cancel, they noted, was a difficult choice made after “close talks” with city and state health officials.

“Outside Lands was created to celebrate the Bay Area creative community and the small businesses that are the fabric of San Francisco’s culture,” said Superfly co-founder and festival co-producer Rick Farman in a statement. “Given everything that our community is going through, we will continue that mission with a renewed focus as we plan for the 2021 event.”

In April, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that mass gatherings, such as sports games and music festivals, were not likely to happen in California this summer, calling the prospect of such events “negligible at best.”

“Large-scale events that bring in hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of strangers all together across every conceivable difference, health and otherwise, is not in the cards based on our expectations,” Newsom said.

Notable cancellations followed, including the 50th annual Pride event in San Francisco, and Southern California music festivals Coachella and Stagecoach. At the time, Outside Lands, which has previously drawn upwards of 90,000 people per day, held off on canceling, sticking to an earlier announcement that organizers were “working closely with local officials to ensure that if Outside Lands happens, it will happen in the safest environment possible.”

Wednesday’s announcement officially squashes any hope that the event might take place as planned. But as a means to look forward, Outside Lands offered the full lineup for 2021, and is offering early ticket sales for next year’s fest. (See the full lineup below.)

Another Planet, Superfly and Starr Hill Presents announced next year’s event, due to take place August 6-8, 2021 in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, will be headlined by singer-rapper Lizzo, Australian psych-pop act Tame Impala, New York rock band the Strokes and L.A. rapper and producer Tyler the Creator.

Three-day passes go on sale on the Outside Lands website on Thursday, June 25 at 10 a.m. Those include General Admission and VIP (priced at three different tiers between $375-$395, and $815-$855, respectively) and the ultra-luxe Golden Gate ticket package. Also included is a payment plan 3-day pass, which starts at $99 upfront. Those who already purchased Eager Beaver tickets for the 2020 event may use those tickets for the 2021 festival or receive a full refund.

“We are thrilled for the festival to be coming back in 2021. There’s been a lot of bad news out there with regard to COVID-19 and we want to give people something to look forward to,” said Allen Scott, Head of Concerts & Festivals at Another Planet Entertainment and Co-Producer of Outside Lands. “We’re hopeful that in sharing our excitement about the future of the festival and next year’s lineup, that it provides some much-needed positivity for our fans and community.”

Photo: Outside Lands

A festival poster for Outside Lands 2021.

Outside Lands 2021 Lineup:

Tame Impala
Lizzo
The Strokes
Tyler, the Creator
Vampire Weekend 
J Balvin
Kehlani
The 1975
ZHU
Young Thug
Khruangbin
Beach House
Bonobo
Nelly
Brittany Howard
Burna Boy
Melanie Martinez
Polo & Pan
Big Thief
TroyBoi
Angel Olsen
SOFI TUKKER
EARTHGANG
Tones and I
EOB
Sharon Van Etten
Marc Rebillet 
A R I Z O N A
JPEGMAFIA
Dr. Dog
Shiba San
Boy Pablo
Rico Nasty
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness 
DRAMA
Trevor Daniel
070 Shake
The Midnight
Moses Sumney
mxmtoon
Parcels
Dijon
The HU
Mahalia
Yung Bae
Bakar
The Soul Rebels
Hinds
Caroline Polachek
Yves Tumor
Crooked Colours
Rolling Blackout Coastal Fever
Scarypoolparty 
J.Phlip
Marc E. Bassy
Julia Jacklin
Badshah
Goth Babe
Neil Frances
Cam
Rexx Life Raj 
The Beths
Resistance Revival Chorus
ODIE
Noga Erez
Madeline Kenney
Remi Wolf
Post Animal
Evann McIntosh
Nap Eyes
Neal Francis