Outside Lands had some real pop to it in 2024.
Although the genre has long factored into the offerings, this was the year where mainstream pop really took front and center at the music festival.
It opened on Friday with Renee Rapp, the actress who so wonderfully plays Regina George in this year’s “Mean Girls” film adaptation and is in the process of fashioning a convincing solo career as a pop artist. The festival was set to close on Sunday with a performance from Chappell Roan, the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer who is the most buzzed-about act on the entire three-day bill.
And in between fans got to witness soaring young pop star Sabrina Carpenter deliver a fun headlining set on Saturday on the festival’s biggest stage — Lands End.
“Outside Lands, will you scream for me?” Carpenter asked.
We most certainly would, pretty much nonstop, during the course of Carpenter’s roughly 90-minute set. The dance pop star — who first rose to fame with her work in the Disney Channel’s “Adventures in Babysitting” remake in 2016 and its popular “Girl Meets World” series — drew a big, enthusiastic audience to see her perform music from her five (soon to be six) album catalog.
Sabrina Carpenter performs on stage during the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
It was her first time ever headlining a festival and she’d knock it out of the (Golden Gate) park in the debut, combining with a backing band and dance squad to put on dizzying pop spectacle that equally highlighted Carpenter’s talent as a vocalist and her massive star power.
And that star power should only grow bigger when she releases her sixth full-length album, “Short n’ Sweet,” which I fully expect will debut at No. 1 on the pop charts after its released on Aug. 23.
She’d preview that album by playing three numbers, two of which (“Please Please Please” and “Espresso”) fans already knew and deeply love as well as another (“Slim Pickins”) with all the makings of becoming yet another hit for the 25-year-old Pennsylvania native. All three numbers went over extremely well with the big audience in attendance.
“Bay Area, it’s so crazy to be here with you,” she said. “There are so many of you.”
Sabrina Carpenter performs on stage during the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
One of the highlights of her set came when she invited Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves out on stage and the two supremely talented women joined forces for a snazzy version of the Nancy Sinatra chart-topper “These Boots Are Made for Walkin.’”
(Musgraves returns to NorCal next month for two shows — Sept. 23 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento and Sept. 24 at Chase Center in San Francisco — in support of this year’s “Deeper Well” album.)
In all, Carpenter made great use of an opportunity that originally belonged to somebody else. Yet, Tyler, the Creator — who has initially scheduled to headline the Lands End stage on Day 2 — dropped out for undisclosed reasons. (He also cancelled his performance at the previous weekend’s Lollapalooza in Chicago.)
So, Outside Lands organizers called upon Carpenter to step up to the challenge and she accepted. Plus, it was a great way to warm up for her upcoming concert tour, which kicks off in late September and, in all likelihood, should further establish Carpenter among the top pop stars of 2024.
Sabrina Carpenter performs on stage during the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Other highlights from Outside Lands Day 2 included Grace Jones, the pop/disco/new wave/avant-garde/James Bond icon who has been putting out music since the ’70s. Her set was filled with multiple elaborate costume changes as well as such fan favorites as “Pull Up to the Bumper” and “Slave to the Rhythm.” Yet, the best moment of the set came when she drew upon her church roots for a lovely rendition of “Amazing Grace.”
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Also, Charley Crockett delivered a superb set of mostly old-school country tunes (with some blues thrown in as well). He’s the real deal, with a sound that deeply recalls Johnny Cash and, even more so, Dwight Yoakam. Any country fans who misses the days when Merle Haggard ruled the charts should definitely check out Crockett.
Other notable performers on the day included K.Flay, ScHoolboy Q, Postal Service and Fletcher.
Here is the Sabrina Carpenter setlist, based on our notes and information from setlist.fm:
1. “Fast Times”2. “Read your Mind”3. “Vicious”4. “Already Over”5. “Tornado Warnings”6. “Opposite”7. “Interlude”8. “Bet U Wanna”9. “Paris”10. “Feather”11. “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”12. “Please Please Please”13. “Slim Pickins”14. “Because I Liked a Boy”Encore:15. “Nonsense”16. “Espresso”
Sabrina Carpenter performs on stage during the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Sabrina Carpenter performs on stage during the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Sabrina Carpenter performs on stage during the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Grace Jones performs on stage during the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Grace Jones performs on stage during the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
K.Flay performs on stage during the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Fletcher performs on stage during the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)