SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — It’s a celebration that’s uniquely San Francisco. On Friday, Outside Lands will kick off in Golden Gate Park for the 16th year, welcoming some of biggest artists in music.
“The Killers, Sabrina Carpenter, Post Malone doing a country set, which he hasn’t done anywhere – and Sturgill Simpson,” said Outside Lands co-founder, Allen Scott.
Besides the performances, attendees can expect a range of some of the best food and drink offered anywhere in the city.
And this year, among other new things, a recreation of San Francisco City Hall where yes – people can actually get married.
“And believe it or not, people have signed up to exchange their vows. If I had offered to marry my spouse of 20-something years at a music festival, I would not be married but to each his own,” said Phil Ginsburg of the city’s Recreation and Parks Department.
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Organizers say they’re expecting as many as 75,000 people to descend on Golden Gate Park every day over the weekend, and that surge of people bringing a big economic boost for the entire city.
Mayor London Breed says beyond the money that the festival pumps into the city, Outside Lands helps establish San Francisco as a major center of entertainment around the nation.
“When people come here and they have these great experiences, it really just uplifts our city and people take that with them,” Breed said.
But outside the confines of Golden Gate Park, not everyone is as excited.
For years, the festival has gotten pushback from many who live nearby over the behavior of some of those who attend.
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“Don’t really respect the cleanliness of the neighborhood, trash everywhere, do their business in front of my drive way,” said Mandy Cook, who lives nearby.
Cook says while she supports the festival overall, the cleanup afterwards can be troublesome for neighbors.
Cook tells us while things have gotten better over recent years, she thinks there’s still room for improvement.
“I think they can do a bit more. You know, in terms of like hiring more sanitary crews to clean up after the people are gone,” Cook said.
Since it began, Outside Lands has contributed more than $1 billion to the local economy.
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