Following the postponement of the 2020 Outside Lands summer festival, the event will take place during the 2021 Halloween weekend, Oct. 29-31. 

In order to enter the festival, attendees must provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19, with both doses administered at least 14 days prior to entry, or a negative test result 72 hours before their day of attendance.

“As long as everyone has been listening to the CDC by getting vaccinated and wearing masks, I am not too worried about attending,” junior Sage Swartz said. “I plan to abide by the mask wearing mandate and distance myself from big clusters of people.”

While attendees can do their part to protect themselves and others against COVID-19, performers like Shilan must abide by the same rules and be mindful of their interactions with fans.

“Regarding fan contact, I haven’t heard that much but I’m sure that the closer we get to the actual date, there will be more information that they put out regarding that situation,” Shilan said. “I don’t think there will be an issue because the way the stages are set up is not really built for fan interaction.”

This year will be the festival’s first time hosting during Halloween weekend, as it is usually during the second week of August.

“I went to Outside Lands two summers ago, going into my sophomore year, and I liked that it was at the end of the summer because it’s a nice way to wrap up before school starts,” senior Bridget Mills said. “But I am also excited to see how it goes during Halloween this year because my friends and I are going to dress up in costumes which will be fun.”

In order to prepare Golden Gate Park for Outside Lands, San Francisco Recreation & Parks do their part by maintaining the grass and landscape to accommodate guests and equipment during the festival.  

“We start preparation months ahead of the start date because we have to water the grass in a certain way so it is not too soft for the weight of the stages,” gardener for SF Recreation & Parks department, Tobias Price said. “Because Outside Lands is a private event, a lot of fencing is installed and it is our job that it doesn’t mess with the infrastructure underground.”

After a period of time with no live music festivals or concerts, the in-person music industry is starting back up again, reinforcing the importance and power of live performance, according to Shilan. 

“Listening to music live is different from listening by yourself or on the radio, because it’s such a different vibe and a different spirit being around other people,” Shilan said. “I think more people are actually gravitating towards going to a live festival since everybody had a hard time with the lockdowns, so it’s kind of a freeing moment to have that human interaction.”

Although the virus still poses a risk to those vaccinated and not, the festival has established these safety and security guidelines in order to ensure a healthy and enjoyable environment for attendees. 

“I have not gone to Outside Lands before and am really looking forward to it being my first major outing since COVID hit,” Swartz said. “With the current safety measures in place, I feel confident about attending and can’t wait until October.”