I recently attended Portola Music Festival, a massive two day event that is relatively new in the festival circuit. Starting out in 2022, it got off to a rocky start but has found it’s footing with the last two years. This is my first time attending. I went with Greg Garza, host of KPFA’s Indie Landscapes, who was the person that initially inquired to me about getting press passes. As the current Interim Music Director, this was my first time attempting to get press passes and hey, it worked. Just a few weeks prior to the event, I go that glorious email saying we had the green light to cover Portola. 2024 is the firs tyear this festival completely sold out of tickets, which is a incredible feat considering this event is almost two months after the widely popular Outside Lands.
If you’ve never been to Pier 80, I have to say the amount of space there is massive. Right by the water and next to giant cranes and battleships, it’s kind of perfect for a giant music festival. I have to admit I am not the music festival type. I’ve never been to Coachella, Outside Lands, any of them. In fact the only festival I ever went to was Rock The Bells. But, Portola as overwhelming as it can be, reminded me why they’re so much fun. Music really is intended to be blasted at level that cause the bass to make your body vibrate.
I has the opportunity to sit down with a couple artist in the media tent. I first caught up with West London based Lava La Rue, who’s been touring, promoting their debut album, Starface
I also managed to, at the very last min, snag an interview with LP Giobbi, who’s new album Dotr is out now and the story behind creating this debut album is very heart personal for her.
Being press, I couldn’t see all of the performance but the few I did catch were a lot of fun. I managed to see Fcukers who’s on my list of artists to watch out for. I also caught Lava La Rue, Braze & Falcon and Disclosure who ended my 2nd day there on a high. I hope to go back next year and cover this event again and it was a truly unique experience that gave me lots of fun memories and some very tired feet.
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Check out my Portola Reel below
Portola Music Festival Recap on Instagram