Latest news with #PortolaMusicFestival
San Francisco Chronicle
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.
San Francisco Chronicle
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Outside Lands reveals daily lineup with an unexpected surprise
Outside Lands made a last-minute addition to this year's festival lineup. Beck, the eclectic Los Angeles indie-rock artist who has staged several orchestral concerts in the past year, is set to return to the festival for the fifth time. This time, however, he is billed to perform 'with symphony,' in his first appearance at the three-day San Francisco concert since 2022. In addition to Beck's surprise spot on the bill, the annual Golden Gate Park music festival, run by Another Planet Entertainment, unveiled its daily lineup Tuesday, May 6. The eight-time Grammy winner is slated to help open the festival on Aug. 8 along with headliner Doja Cat, 'Anxiety' rapper Doechii, electronic dance music star John Summit, Bay Area alternative pop artist Still Woozy and singer and producer Thundercat. Rapper Tyler, the Creator is expected to serve as the headliner on Aug. 9, to be joined on the festival's second day by 'Close to You' singer Gracie Abrams, Vallejo rapper LaRussell, Portola Music Festival alum Gesaffelstein and preppy pop band Vampire Weekend, which is billed to perform twice to deliver 'stage opening and closing sets.' Also on the festival's second day, R&B singer, rapper and drummer Anderson .Paak is listed to perform under his alter-ego, DJ Pee .Wee, followed by a set with his band, the Free Nationals, on the festival's final day on Aug. 10. Irish folk singer Hozier is scheduled to close out Outside Lands on Aug. 10. Others performing on the third day of the festival include singer-songwriter Jorja Smith, 'Friday' singer Rebecca Black, indie rock group Glass Animals and the Jack Antonoff-fronted pop rock outfit, Bleachers. Julien Baker and Torres pulled out of the festival, in addition to the remaining dates of their 'Send a Prayer My Way' tour, on Monday, May 5, citing that Baker needs time to 'focus on her health.' Outside Lands single-day ticket presales for Chase cardholders are available now, with the general sale starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 7. Three-day tickets are available now. This year's festival will see the return of the open-air SOMA experience in Marx Meadow, featuring music by DJ/producers including Nico Moreno, Black Coffee, Floating Points and former Dirtybird Records owner Claude VonStroke. The Dolores' stage, which offers programming celebrating LGBTQ+ communities, and City Hall, the festival's wedding venue for devoted couples looking to tie the knot in-between sets, will also be making a comeback this year.
San Francisco Chronicle
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Portola Music Festival is returning to S.F. despite history of noise complaints
Portola Music Festival is coming back to San Francisco's Pier 80 for a third year despite its history of noise complaints from residents across the Bay Area. The permit required to host two nights of bass-thumping live performances at the waterfront space on Sept. 20-21 was unanimously approved by the Entertainment Commission during a public meeting in March. Goldenvoice, the festival's producer, also secured the necessary authorization from the Port of San Francisco. Goldenvoice just needs to ensure that the festival is up to date with fire codes and emergency response access, among other precautions, to receive a final approval from SFFD, according to Lt. Mariano Elías. Captain Jonathan Baxter said that the event plan is expected to be finalized during a meeting with Goldenvoice on July 23. Meanwhile, Goldenvoice has teased the festival's return in an X post shared on Monday, May 5. 'Blue smoke has just been spotted coming from Coit Tower, signifying a new Portola lineup has been chosen,' Portola Festival's official account declared, along with an edited video of cobalt blue smoke coming out of the North Beach landmark. Last year's event saw performances by 'Friday' singer Rebecca Black, controversial rapper and producer M.I.A. as well as headlining sets by French DJ Gesaffelstein and English electronic duo Disclosure that drew 42,000 attendees per day. 'There's a whole generation that missed what dancing and going out was about,' festivalgoer Deron Delgado told the Chronicle last year, reflecting on the pandemic era. 'There's more appetite again for it.' But while Portola Festival is becoming a beloved tradition for EDM lovers, the event has evoked equal frustration among the hundreds of Bay Area residents nearby who have filed noise complaints since it began in 2022. Even with increased efforts to reduce noise from the performances last year — such as reorienting its two outdoor stages, hiring someone to monitor noise levels and enlisting additional call center staff — Portola Festival still drew 224 complaints over the festival weekend. That doesn't seem to be discouraging city officials who already approved a new Pride music festival to take place at Pier 80 next month. Dubbed SoSF and scheduled for June 28, a day before San Francisco's official Pride Parade, the event boasts performances by Oakland R&B star Kehlani, 'Nasty' singer Tinashe and pop artist Kim Petras, who in 2023 became the first openly transgender artist to receive a Grammy Award for best pop duo/group performance (for 'Unholy') and the second transgender woman to win a Grammy following electronic music composer Wendy Carlos. It is unclear if SoSF will be both indoors and outdoors, like Portola Festival. But with the event scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., musical performances are likely to extend well into the evening, when noise complaints tend to surge.
CBS News
01-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
San Francisco Muni ridership increases to 75% of pre-pandemic numbers
San Francisco's Muni ridership reached 158 million trips in 2024, edging ridership recovery up to 75 percent of pre-pandemic numbers, officials said Monday. San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency officials and Mayor Daniel Lurie said the recent ridership numbers, which represent 13.5 million more trips than in 2023, show growing demand for public transit. "The increase in Muni ridership demonstrates that when we get the basics right on service delivery people will want to take public transit," Lurie said in a news release. Last year's ridership represents the highest volume of growth since the pandemic, with recovery at 75 percent of 2019 levels. Officials also said the agency received its highest customer ratings since 2021. The top routes showing the largest ridership gains included the T Third, 38R Geary Rapid, 49 Van Ness/Mission and N Judah. Muni officials said the agency's investment in frequent service, with arrivals every 10 minutes or less, played a key role in the gains. In addition, lines serving major events like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Portola Music Festival, and the Sunset Night Market, drew record ridership. Muni's recovery comes as the SFTMA faces short-term and long-term fiscal challenges, with a $50 million budget deficit starting this July growing to a $320 million deficit when federal and state one-time relief funds are exhausted by June 2026, according to a release from the mayor's office. More information on Muni service delivery data is available at .
