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San Francisco Chronicle​

Outside Lands hosted an open mic. Here's how it went

Duboce Triangle, Outside Lands' newest stage is giving festivalgoers an hour of intimate coffeehouse vibes amid the three-day outdoor event's booming sets. Nestled in the eucalyptus trees of McLaren Pass, Bay Area folk group Rainbow Girls kicked off programming with a relaxed open mic on Friday, Aug. 8. The set was packed with performances by their own musician friends and, for the first time ever, a few handpicked attendees. 'The spirit of an open mic is imperfection,' Rainbow Girls member Caitlin Gowdey, 35, told the early afternoon audience on Friday in introducing the first act. 'Do your best, and if it's not perfect, that's great. I want this space to be really welcoming and warm.' The open mic started out with a humble crowd, some festivalgoers lounging on the couches situated around the grassy area. But soon, others trickled in from Polo Field. By the time it ended nearly an hour later, the space had filled out with a few dozen people dancing near the stage. 'I think indie music and local art is one of the most important things,' San Francisco resident Jane Symmes told the Chronicle. 'We have to support it and raise awareness around it.' The 31-year-old was one of the local acts handpicked by the Rainbow Girls to participate in Friday's festivities. 'I just wanted to meet more people, other musicians,' she said after her performance. 'It's so important to have a networking group of musicians to support each other.' Symmes submitted an application to perform at Duboce Triangle via Google Forms last month, sharing a sample of her skills and other relevant information with the Rainbow Girls. She found out she was selected to perform earlier this week. She took the stage after Rainbow Girls member Vanessa Wilbourn, 34, kicked things off with her new song 'Summer Suns.' Symmes was followed by a slew of the Rainbow Girls' friends such as Anna Moss and Joe Ludford of the musical duo Handmade Moments, singer Tom Quell and queer indie folk singer Spencer LaJoye. Sunny Balopole, a host of the 'Festies' podcast, which delves into the details and unique experiences that music festivals offer, said she came up from San Mateo on a mission to check out Outside Lands' newest attractions for its 17th edition on Friday afternoon. 'People come to festivals and I think they dream about being able to perform at one,' said the 32-year-old. 'This opportunity is a way to get a taste of that.' Bandmates Gowdey and Wilbourn first began hosting events when they were college students in Santa Barbara, nicknaming them 'Bean Nights' because they would cook beans and rice for their friends to eat during performances. Now they've transformed that bean-and-beats series into a structured Outside Lands offering at Duboce Triangle that will continue through the final day of the festival on Sunday, Aug. 10. 'We tried to create this space that felt familial,' Wilbourn said.