San Francisco: Outside Lands punches up music fest’s lineup

The buzz in San Francisco is how killer the lineup is for this year’s Outside Lands, the music-and-food festival Aug. 10-12 at Golden Gate Park.

When it premiered back in 2008, it gave events such as Coachella and SXSW in Austin, Texas, a run for their money. More recently, though, the mix has been weaker (when the Beastie Boys canceled in 2009, ticketholders got Tenacious D instead) and the logistics questionable. (One blogger opined that the “organizational failures and layout problems” have been “too much to withstand.”)

The harsh reviews may have motivated organizers to nab this year’s heavyweight headliners: Metallica, Stevie Wonder and Neil Young. Other performers on this year’s genre-spanning list include Jack White, Norah Jones, the Foo Fighters, Sigur Ros, Beck and fun.

This being San Francisco, the food offerings are stellar too, featuring local mainstays such as Maverick, Tacolicious, Three Twins ice cream, Philz Coffee and wineries including Hess, J. Lohr and Bonny Doon.

Might the music festival by the bay be on the verge of returning to its heyday? Only way to find out is to go: Three-day tickets start at $225 and are available at Outside Lands.