Preview: Outside Lands 2011

The major musical speculation for Friday night is whether or not we will see some MGMT/Phish collaboration. As some Hidden Track readers might recall, Oracular Spectacular was one of the final eight album possibilities to be covered at Festival 8 a couple of years ago, and guitarist Trey Anastasio mentioned in 2009 that he “went through an MGMT thing for a while there.”

Despite being the first night to sell out, consensus around my circles is that Saturday is the weakest lineup of the weekend – despite boasting Vetiver and Arctic Monkeys from the indie scene, as well as sets from The Black Keys, The Roots and Warren Haynes Band. Nobody I know seems to like Muse, myself included, so closing out the night with Girlk Talk it shall be.

Sunday afternoon appropriately features a fantastic lineup of gospel music with Charles Bradley & Menahan Street Band kicking off things on the mainstage at 12:15PM (do not oversleep on them) followed by living legend Mavis Staples. Lookout for a John Fogerty sit-in with Staples or vice versa, as she released a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Wrote a Song For Everyone on her 2010 album You Are Not Alone. For me it’s Little Dragon (who starts their tour at the festival) > Beirut (who has been at the top of my must-see list for quiet some time) > Arcade Fire to end the action-packed weekend.

It’s San Francisco in the summer – bring sunscreen and a hoodie.