This August, San Francisco’s most notorious weekend finds its way back to Golden Gate Park. Outside Lands Music Festival, inducts itself into its fourteenth year of residency as a star-studded lineup prepares to grace the California coast August 5-7 2022.

Amongst the jam-packed roster, we’re previewing some of the Latinx artists specifically this time around in anticipation of the three-day festival.

I have to preface this by saying – while I typically applaud OSL for its rich diversity across all mediums including music, visual art, and more, this year’s lineup seemed just “ok” in that respect. Dominated by house DJ’s and electronic duos, I felt that there should have been a bigger emphasis on bringing back the artists who were jilted out of their spots in the 2020 go-around or even a focal point of having a more generous spread of genres. Who knows – perhaps the post-apocalyptic COVID scariest deterred some artists from jumping onto the festival bandwagon once more? Not entirely sure. What I am sure of, however, is that despite a seemingly “lacking” lineup – I still have all the faith that the weekend will prosper. As an OSL veteran, this will be my seventh time attending the festival which fellow Bay Areans either love or hate. And boy do I love it. While yes, I will be the first to admit that I haven’t been a fervent fan of every single year’s lineup, I have yet to attend an Outside Lands I didn’t like. Quote me on that.

Outside Lands has the unique culmination of all things sensory attracting those to Golden Gate Park. I swear to you, it’s just one of those things you have to experience to fully encapsulate what makes this festival pure magic. Whether you’re a foodie, music buff, or art connoisseur – you’ll find your groove in the midst of the perfect chaos of this three-day-long summer party. With that being said, let’s spotlight some of the Latinx musicians scheduled to hit the stage this OSL 2022!

First up in the preview we have Puerto Rican lead singer María Zardoya of The Maria’s. The Maria’s have been one of my favorite bands for a while so – I might have a little bit of a preference towards my preemptive excitement to see them once more. As returning Outside Lands veterans, this will be their first show back at Golden Gate Park since their initial set in 2019. And let me just say this – if it is anything like the last time I saw them, I will be a happy camper. Their set had the perfect amount of tender ballads a good bit of crowd favorites renditions of classics and more. My only gripe was that the stage Maria’s were placed at, was significantly smaller than the other stages, making it harder to hear the band with so many festival goers passing by frantically to get to either of the main stages. I know that’s more of a scheduling thing but, still. I would love to see them get a bigger platform with maybe even a longer set time so ill circle back for that official update. I’ll keep ya posted.

Next up in the preview is Colombian-American singer-songwriter Kali Uchis. While not new to Uchis’s music, I had yet to reacquaint myself with a seemingly “revamping” of her career. After a brief hiatus from releasing music, she returned with the album Sin Miedo in 2020. A full Spanish album, this project I feel is one that is most authentic and expressive in the work I have heard from her. Personally, I have watched Uchis bloom into her own groove over the years. The last time I saw her live, I was mesmerized. She had such a command of the crowd, with both her stage presence and vocals. And of course, for a sold-out show at the Fox in Oakland no less. To say I am excited to watch her again would be a gross understatement. Through the experimental projects and all, I feel like with each passing year she comes more and more into her own. I truly believe this also translates into her live performances as well. Here’s hoping!

Another favorite I have seen live (you’ll see this is a running theme here), is Empress Of, a Honduran-American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer based in Los Angeles, California. Now this one I am so unbelievably excited for. I saw her briefly as she opened up for Blood Orange (Dev Hynes) at the Fox in Oakland a few years back. She just has it factor. A natural performer who is able to scale the entire vocal range with ease. It’s really hard to find that these days. A majority of performances I’ve been to lately have either reiterated my love for that particular artist or sent me into a tailspin of the doubt considering how loosely the music to performance matched up. She debunked this doubt, and with magnitude. Above all else, she has genuine fun on stage. The invisible barrier of the crowd to the artist is effortlessly torn down while she gives her set time a ride of its life. This will be my first time seeing her perform as a stand-alone artist and I genuinely cannot wait.

Last in our preview, let’s switch speeds a bit. Maybe we can talk about someone I haven’t seen live yet? Interweave, Innerwave, Innerwave. As clipped from an interview with the band itself via AllMusic, “The group’s quirky but catchy songs and combined Filipino, Colombian, and Mexican heritage have helped make them underground stars in the area’s Latinx indie rock community.” Boom. If there’s one thing I love, it’s a good mix of indie and rock. With that being said, it seems as if Golden Gate Park is the perfect stage for them to show us a little bit of what the Socal music scene has to offer.

So yeah, there are some nice prospects for this upcoming festival. A couple more Latinx artists im stoked to see, making their debut to Outside Lands are Lido Pimienta (Colombian American) and Anitta (Brazilian). I think all around, this isn’t a lineup you’ll want to miss, despite my initial reservations.

And yeah, maybe I’m biased because I’ve lived here all my life and have gone to every Outside Lands since I’ve had a single cognitive thought about what good music entailed but hey, there’s just something about it. And if you don’t believe me, you’ll just have to go see for yourself. I’ll meet ya at the main stage!