Outside Lands continued in full force for day two, despite news coming early in the day that Young Thug was unfortunately no longer able to make his scheduled performance. The Outside Lands crew was on it quickly, though, and they announced with that unfortunate news a new addition to the lineup: Amine would be replacing Young Thug on the Lands End stage at 5 PM. But let’s take it one act at a time, yeah?

To start the day, Bay Area rapper Rexx Life Raj took the Twin Peaks stage wearing a dinosaur-rider costume and immediately jumped into the tracks that made him so popular out here. Accompanied by DJ Shellheart and a live band who I lament not writing down the name of – I believe it was Ghetto Kids, but I might be wrong – he covered his career, getting so much hype from the crowd that it hopefully made the promoters wonder if he should be later in the day. To end his set, he let the crowd choose between two songs: “Moxie Java,” off of 2016’s Father Figure or “Fiji,” off of 2017’s Father Figure 2: Flourish. The crowd chose “Fiji,” and it was a perfect closer to one of the best early day sets Outside Lands has ever seen.

Following Rexx Life Raj, Nap Eyes took the Panhandle stage. Their chill rock sound provided a nice respite after the intensity of Day 1, and it also showed in the crowd. One of the great things about Outside Lands is that there is enough space for people to lay out blankets and sit for certain shows, and Nap Eyes had a full crowd of people just chilling. It was a beautiful sight to see.

Following Nap Eyes, I took a little bit of a break to grab some food and just hang out. Progressive Indian Cuisine over by the Panhandle was the move, and the spices they use for their fried cauliflower were incredibly flavorful without being too hot. That cauliflower dish will stay with me for years. That’s not the main focus of this recap, it just felt important to mention.

Since I was just chilling by the Panhandle, I took in a bit of Brijean, who I had never heard of before, and this is the beauty of music festivals in general. Someone you go into the weekend with no intention of seeing simply because you don’t recognize the name becomes one of your favorite performances and musical finds. I would describe Brijean as house music played with live instruments in addition to tracks, and it was a phenomenal vibe. Following the weekend, I’m checking out their 2021 album Feelings, and I suggest you all do, too.

After Brijean, there was a mad dash over to Lands End to see Melanie Martinez. Overall, she put on an incredible show. Her dancers were on point, her band sounded incredible, and her voice carried over the entire polo field while encouraging the crowd closest to the stage to sing along with her. They obliged. Very powerfully. It was an incredible performance from an artist whose most recent output was 2019, and it was great to see that the crowd hadn’t forgotten that album. K-12 was a solid album, and I’m glad to see it was still relevant two years later.

Of course, the first major highlight of the day was when Dr. Dog took the Sutro stage for their farewell performance. Not the last one of the tour, as someone in the crowd believed, but the last one in San Francisco and the last one at Outside Lands. Earlier in the year, the band announced that they would be retiring from touring. Not disbanding, just retiring from touring. But the energy was palpable in the crowd, and, just like Remi Wolf, the crowd was much larger than the Sutro stage is capable of holding. This isn’t a bad thing, though. Particularly with Dr. Dog. Everyone was there to just enjoy some indie folk, and it was a great time. The crowd singing along with “Nellie” was the best part of the set, because it proved that this crowd wasn’t just there because “it’s the last performance,” but because they truly cared about the music. Something present in the air around Sutro during Dr. Dog just gave everyone good vibes and let us all chill out even in the midst of a massive crowd. That’s not a euphemism for marijuana, by the way. There was a lot of that, but that’s not what I was talking about.

After Dr. Dog, there was another mad dash over to Lands End because Amine was replacing Young Thug. In an apparent homage to the act he was replacing, Amine came on about 20 minutes late. HOWEVER! I give him credit because he was asked to replace day of. Furthermore, when he came out, he was on it the entire time, and constantly reminded the crowd “You’re beautiful,” asking us all to respond “I know” whenever he said it. He tore through his own hits as well as “Wannabe” by The Spice Girls, and even though he was a late addition, his crowd was massive and responsive. This was one of the best moments of the day for me, and it provided a nice burst of hype energy after the chill energy of Dr. Dog.

Rather than making another dash back to Sutro, I decided to hang out at Lands End and just wait for Vampire Weekend to start. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that Vampire Weekend will likely be the best set of the weekend. Everything was phenomenal, even risky at times. Opening with “Bambina” was an interesting choice, and the way it segued perfectly into “Unbelievers” just solidified that it was the right choice. Outside Lands also got to see the only “2021” of 2021, as this was the only Vampire Weekend show of the year. The setlist was also a healthy mix of songs from each of their four phenomenal albums, covering all the ground one would expect Vampire Weekend to cover. Just an incredible show, and I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of them closing with “Walcott.” 

Following Vampire Weekend was The Midnight on the Panhandle stage, and their brand of synth-pop with a healthy dose of saxophone was a wonderful juxtaposition from Vampire Weekend. They had a full live band with them, and it was just a great time. I did leave a bit early to go get some amazing Nepalese dumplings before ZHU, but every second I saw of The Midnight was sensational.

And, of course, I already let you know who I saw to close the night. After my Nepalese dumplings, I ran back to Twin Peaks to take in ZHU’s headlining set. After that set, may I just say: I believe in ZHU supremacy. He covered so much ground across his own material as well as covers of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” Radiohead’s “Creep,” and Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.” The man is absolutely incredible. I missed the first song for the incredible dumplings, but I showed up right as “Distant Lights” started, and I was instantly sucked in and blown away. Simultaneously. He also had live band members with him as well, pulling out all the stops for this hometown show. I felt like I was back in a dark New York club with no cell service, waiting for nothing because everything I needed was all around me. That actually did happen to me, by the way. Not just a metaphor there.

Overall, Outside Lands day two was a little more subdued than day one with much less running around, but the performances were incredible, and the food was even better. Somehow. Amine filled in perfectly for Young Thug, Vampire Weekend torched the Lands End stage, Dr. Dog enveloped the Sutro, and ZHU pulled out all the stops to close Twin Peaks. It was yet another day in paradise, and I’m excited to see what day three brings, but also sad that we’re at the end of the weekend.

Let us know who you saw or would have seen at Outside Lands day two! There’s no way to be in two places at once, but I’m always curious to hear who I missed out on in my exploits!

• Author Details

Andrew Gardner Administrator

Obsessed with all things music. Currently finishing an MFA in Chicago. If you see me at a show, say hey!

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Andrew Gardner Administrator

Obsessed with all things music. Currently finishing an MFA in Chicago. If you see me at a show, say hey!