12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Portola Music Festival 2025: LCD Sound System, Christina Aguilera and Prodigy among headliners
LCD Sound System, Christina Aguilera, Moby and the Prodigy are among the artists set to perform at the fourth edition of Portola Music Festival in San Francisco.
They will be joined at the two-day electronic dance music event, set for Sept. 20-21 on Pier 80, by more than 50 acts including the Chemical Brothers, Rico Nasty, Zack Fox, Blood Orange, Ravyn Lenae, Caribou, Dom Dolla, Neil Frances and Magdalena Bay, among many others.
Produced by Goldenvoice, the promoter behind Southern California's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the waterfront event boasts a range of genres such as house, techno, pop and hip-hop.
Others on the bill include Charli XCX collaborator the Dare, Peggu Gou, Mau P, Anti Up, Duke Dumont, Kelly Lee Owens, Arca, Brutalismus 3000 and Boy Harsher.
Despacio, the state-of-the-art immersive sound system created by LCD Sound System frontman James Murphy and Belgian electronic band Soulwax, is expected to deliver tunes during its pop-up dance party on both days of the festival.
Ticket presales start at noon Wednesday, May 14, with General sales beginning at noon Thursday, May 15. Single-day tickets start at $279.95, while two-day passes are priced at $399.95.
Last year's festival drew more than 42,000 attendees per day, and included performances by controversial rapper and producer M.I.A., 'Unwritten' singer Natasha Bedingfield and Rebecca Black, who rose to fame as a teen for the viral hit 'Friday.'
Hosted outdoors along the San Francisco Bay, the event has had a history of noise complaints from residents in Alameda, Oakland and Berkeley since its inception in 2022. In 2024, it received 224 complaints over the festival weekend, despite enhanced efforts to reduce noise during performances, such as reorienting its two outdoor stages, hiring someone to monitor noise levels and enlisting additional call-center staff.
Its venue, Pier 80, serves as San Francisco's primary cargo terminal and spans more than 60 acres. Performances will be hosted both indoors and outdoors.
