Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival has officially announced its lineup of performers for 2018, and in a welcome departure from the traditionally male-heavy booking practices of most major festivals, the late-summer celebration of music and culture will play host to female headliners on its largest stage for two of its three nights – a first in the festival's eleven-year history.
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Topping the lineup this year are GRAMMY-winning pop icon Janet Jackson and GRAMMY-nominated British indie rock band Florence + The Machine. GRAMMY-winning darkpop/alternative R&B superstar The Weeknd rounds out the lineup as the third headliner.
Both Jackson's and Florence + The Machine's music catalogues are clearly at top-of-mind for talent bookers this summer, as both were also announced as the forthcoming headliners for Los Angeles' annual two-day FYF Festival.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ranger dave is part of the rhythm nation. 3-day passes for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/outsidelands?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#outsidelands</a> 2018 go on sale thursday at 10am pt. <a href="https://t.co/Im88eBPV4d">https://t.co/Im88eBPV4d</a> <a href="https://t.co/ecyT68fMNl">pic.twitter.com/ecyT68fMNl</a></p>— ranger dave (@sfoutsidelands) <a href="https://twitter.com/sfoutsidelands/status/981220693575684097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Along with the expected appearances from top-tier artists such as Future, Beck, Portugal. The Man, Bon Iver, DJ Snake, N.E.R.D., and many others who are generally must-have bookings for any contemporary music festival looking to compete on the U.S. summer circuit, the festival's middle and upper cards are also packed deep with rising and established female and female-fronted talent.
Acts like CHVRCHES, Carly Rae Jepsen and Jessie Ware are obvious and anticipated additions to the billing of early-evening sets, but it's equally exciting to see so many newer names like Tash Sultana, Sabrina Claudio, Jessie Reyez, Margo Price, Lizzo, and others featured so prominently, bringing a welcome diversity of genre, vibe, and national origin in rising female talent to the festival's slate of offerings.
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"We wanted to create a lineup that is really well-rounded and speaks to what people are listening to now. We didn’t just want three big names on the top," said Allen Scott, VP of the festival's co-producer Another Planet Entertainment, to SF Gate. "We look at it from every level and always strive to build a unique festival."
Outside Lands 2018 will take place in San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Park on Aug. 10–12. Tickets will go on-sale at 10 a.m. PT on Thursday, April 5 via the festival's official website.
