Electronic music is king at Outside Lands.
That’s been true for ages, but it absolutely manifested itself during this year’s three-day festival as electronic music continued to outdraw all other genres.
Sure, there were some exceptions — most notably, the Day 1 sets by rock buzz bands Geese and Turnstile that brought out massive crowds at the festival at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Yet, for the most part, it was EDM/electronic-pop acts that absolutely dominated over hip-hop, indie-pop, alt-rock and the many other genres represented at the 2026 Outside Lands.
That was especially true for the final day (Sunday, Aug. 9), which was topped by two of Australia’s biggest electronic music exports — Rüfüs du Sol and Empire of the Sun — as well as massively popular DJ/producer Disco Lines and other notables from the genre.
Fire shoots up from the stage as Disco Lines plays the Lands End stage during Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
The best of the bunch was main-stage headliner Rüfüs du Sol, which drew way more than its fair share — maybe 80 percent? — of the 75,000 music fans who filled Outside Lands to capacity on Sunday. (The rest of the attendees could be found watching either Death Cab for Cutie or Baby Keem on the festival’s two other big stages.)
Vocalist-keyboardist Tyrone Lindqvist looked out at the tens of thousands of people in front of him and reflected back upon the first time his Grammy-winning EDM trio out of Sydney performed at Outside Lands. That was 10 years ago, when Lindqvist and crew set up shop at one of the festival’s smaller stages.
And, wow, how times have changed.
“To be back here headlining is a dream,” Lindqvist remarked. ‘It’s surreal.”
From our side of the equation — being out in the crowd and watching the band perform in 2026 — it didn’t seem surreal at all. Indeed, the group showcased all the reasons why it’s continued to skyrocket in popularity over the last decade as it crafted a wonderfully atmospheric and moving mix of electronic music styles that continually pulsed toward emotionally resonant peaks.
Rüfüs du Sol was the last of three EDM acts who drew massive crowds — or, more likely, the same crowd that just stuck around for all three sets — at the biggie Lands Ends Stage.
Disco Lines plays a song about disco and tequila as he holds up his drink at the Lands End stage during Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
The first up was Disco Lines (aka Thadeus Labuszewski), the Boulder, Colorado,-raised DJ/producer who first caught the listening public’s attention when his remix of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” went viral on TikTok in 2020.
The name, however, is a bit misleading — and I won’t get into the frat-party origins of the moniker. But there’s no real disco to be found in Labuszewski’s musical mix, or really even much of a retro vibe, but rather just a high-energy modern EDM sound that solidly connected with fans at Outside Lands.
Luke Steele plays with Empire of the Sun on the Lands End stage during Outside Lands in San Francisco on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
Empire of the Sun, the other top Aussie act in the mix, followed Disco Lines with its usual/unusual brand of futuristic, culturally convoluted and yet entirely well-received (at least by the Outside Lands fans) mix of themes and sounds. The costumes and props were as big as the beats and grooves as the band powered through what was no doubt the most over-the-top theatrical event of the 2026 Outside Lands.
The only non-EDM act who really made an impression on Sunday was Kingfishr, the Irish indie-folk band that is barely known on this side of the Atlantic yet is able to play major arenas back on the Emerald Isle. The group is the real deal — strong musicianship, solid songs, great stage presence — and came across like a vastly more interesting version of Mumford & Sons.
Thus closes the chapter on another Outside Lands. Yet, fans can already start looking forward to the next one — which, organizers have just announced, will take place Aug. 6-8, 2027.
Eddie Keogh sings with Kingfishr on the Sutro Stage during Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)
JADE performs on the Lands End stage during Outside Lands on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)