SF greenlights Golden Gate Park concerts to follow Outside Lands

On Tuesday, San Francisco officials moved to capitalize on that popularity, with the Board of Supervisors passing an agreement to authorize a concert series on the weekend after Outside Lands for the next three years. 

Starting in 2024, Another Planet Entertainment, Outside Lands’ promoters, will throw two-to-three day concerts using Outside Lands infrastructure at the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park. As part of the agreement, APE also agreed to produce free concerts for the next three years at Civic Center Plaza, Union Square and the Embarcadero. The free events are in keeping with Mayor London Breed’s goal to revitalize downtown San Francisco.

“I’m glad that Another Planet Entertainment will be building on the success of Outside Lands to bring more music and excitement to our city, including for our Downtown, to create more memorable experiences for everyone who lives, works and visits San Francisco,” Breed said in a statement.

The agreement for the upcoming concert series passed by a 10-1 margin. The lone no vote came from Supervisor Connie Chan, who represents District 1 which encompasses the north side of Golden Gate Park and adjacent neighborhoods. 

According to KTVU, Chan noted residential parking issues, wildlife impacts and crowd and noise problems, including vandalism, as reasons for her no vote. 

“Those are real concerns for Richmond. They’re probably very, very different from your constituents and how they view these concerts,” said Chan to her fellow supervisors.

In addition to Outside Lands, Golden Gate Park also hosts the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in early fall. Starting next year, San Francisco residents near the park will have to deal with three major weekend events in less than a two month window.

The newly approved concert series is not expected to be nearly as expansive as the existing festival. The Board of Supervisors estimates the concerts will have a footprint about one-third the size of Outside Lands. The city will charge APE permit fees of $1.4 million for a two-day event and $2.1 million for a three-day event. 

The concerts will be billed as “headliner focused,” as opposed to Outside Lands, which takes pride in featuring a plethora of musicians and artists.