Even for those not from the San Francisco Bay Area, the Golden Gate Park is widely known and regarded as a must-experience by most anyone visiting the city. Its expansive beauty, tranquility and the diversity of attractions within the park put it on the routes of all of the best San Francisco tours schedules. Last fall some of the biggest names in the music industry - with Radiohead headlining, pierced some of that tranquility to provide the first ever music experience there and usher in a new era in the history of the Golden Gate Park. By all accounts, from those in attendance and the bands playing the various stages over the three day event, the initial "Outside Lands Music Festival" was a great success. It would now appear that the city of San Francisco, Golden Gate National Recreation Administration and the event promoters concur on that assessment and have reached an agreement to stage the event again this year at the end of August.
The economic downturn undoubtedly helped to smooth the festival's return, as the city's Parks and Recreation Department's budget has certainly felt the squeeze along with the rest of the country. The festival will bring in with it a million and one half dollars in fee revenue to the department's coffers, not to mention the tourism dollars from those traveling into the area. Last year's event sold one hundred and thirty thousand tickets over the three days, and promoters hope to parlay that success into more ticket sales this year, though the line-up will play a critical role in that and the artist roster in still being negotiated.
