{"id":477703,"date":"2026-09-27T21:21:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T21:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/477703\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T21:21:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T21:21:21","slug":"people-watching-at-san-franciscos-portola-musical-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/477703\/","title":{"rendered":"People watching at San Francisco’s Portola Musical Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Francisco is a hotbed of electronic music nearly every week of the year, but especially the weekend of the Portola Music Festival<\/a>. Thousands of dance music fans flock to Pier 80 for two days of electronic-leaning music, showing off their best festival fashion as performers flex their DJ muscles onstage (those knobs on the mixer sure do look heavy).<\/p>\n

Saturday kicked off with the home team taking over the decks, with Program Audio<\/a> curators erika and sfcowboy playing back to back on the Crane stage, while Felly Fell rocked the Ship tent. It was a nice nod to the San Francisco scene from the organizers Goldenvoice, rewarding those who came early with familiar flavors and giving a platform to those who are defining the local scene.<\/p>\n

\"Farheen<\/p>\n

Farheen Khan of Mgna Crrrta performs at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Tricky<\/p>\n

Tricky performs at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Local<\/p>\n

Local San Francisco act Erika and sfcowboy (Erika Martinez, right, and Arthur Javier) perform at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Robyn<\/p>\n

Robyn performs at the Portola Music Festival, on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

Although an elder statesman, Tricky played a surprisingly forward-thinking set, evolving his trip-hop styling to sound more like the XX.<\/p>\n

Now returning for its second year, Despacio<\/a> opened the doors to its hallowed dance floor at 2:45 p.m. Within an hour, it had a line that snaked halfway to the Pier stage; thankfully it moved quickly, but festivalgoers expected a 20-minute wait. The towering hi-fi speaker stacks thumped out a mix of un-Shazamble disco edits, mixed with more contemporary tracks from artists like Nicola Cruz.<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/p>\n

Austin from San Francisco shows off his outfit at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Carla<\/p>\n

Carla and Kelsey from San Francisco pause for a photo at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers line up for the Dispacio tent at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Fans<\/p>\n

Fans react to Robyn’s performance at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

The rest of the day’s lineup was a mix of up-and-comers and legends, with party-starting NYC upstarts Fcukers playing opposite Beastie Boy Mike D, one of the tougher schedule overlaps of the day. Bay Area icon DJ Shadow powered through a set of tracks from his masterpiece “Endtroducing\u2026” (for the first time ever live), and Robyn led what was likely the festival’s biggest ever sing-along for “Dancing On My Own.” Soulwax closed the night, absolutely slaying on custom-built synthesizer controllers with an armada of three live drummers.<\/p>\n

Scroll down to see all the best photos of the day from SFGATE’s photographer Charles Russo.<\/p>\n

\"DJ<\/p>\n

DJ Shadow performs at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers roller skate at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike D of the Beastie Boys, left, performs at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Dalton<\/p>\n

Dalton and Felix of San Francisco take a moment for a photo at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Kirbyliscious<\/p>\n

Kirbyliscious show off her hat during DJ Shadow’s performance at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers take some down time at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Sophia<\/p>\n

Sophia and Chris from San Francisco pause for a photo at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers attend the Portola Music Festival at Pier 80 in San Francisco, on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Ginger<\/p>\n

Ginger Scott of Mgna Crrrta performs at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers watch Prospa perform at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Lorax Gang poses for a photo at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Matt<\/p>\n

Matt and Lisa pause for a photo at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Gelli<\/p>\n

Gelli Haha perform at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers attend the Portola Music Festival at Pier 80 in San Francisco, on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Je-Nice<\/p>\n

Je-Nice and Edwin of San Francisco show out their outfits at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Lina<\/p>\n

Lina and Colby show off their outfits at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers hang out on a small set of benches (one of the few places to sit) at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Artie<\/p>\n

Artie from Salinas pauses for a photo at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers attend the Portola Music Festival at Pier 80 in San Francisco, on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Leonard<\/p>\n

Leonard and Josh from San Francisco’s Mission District pose for a photo at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Chris<\/p>\n

Chris from Reno, Nev., pauses for a photo at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Fans<\/p>\n

Fans watch Mike D perform at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers attend the Portola Music Festival at Pier 80 in San Francisco, on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Dog<\/p>\n

Dog Blood perform at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Taylor<\/p>\n

Taylor from Mendocino, Calif., waits for Dog Blood to perform at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A concert goer from Manila, Philippines, shows off his outfit in the Warehouse at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers watch Prospa perform at the Portola Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers attend the Portola Music Festival at Pier 80 in San Francisco, on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Concert<\/p>\n

Concert goers attend the Portola Music Festival at Pier 80 in San Francisco, on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

\"Robyn<\/p>\n

Robyn performs at the Portola Music Festival, on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Charles Russo\/SFGATE)<\/p>\n

This article originally published at People watching at San Francisco’s Portola Musical Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Francisco is a hotbed of electronic music nearly every week of the year, but especially the weekend…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[27542,94148,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-477703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-music-festival","tag-portola-music-festival","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}