They’ll be points during the 2026 Outside Lands when it might feel like every single person in the Bay Area is in attendance at this mammoth three-day music festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Yet, we’ve done the math and that’s not actually the case. There will be plenty of local music fans who don’t actually attend this festival, which is expected to draw 70,000-plus people per day from Aug. 7 to 9. (The festival also includes night shows Aug. 6-9.)
Those not going to the festival still have some excellent choices for live music that week. Here are just three options:
1. Lionel Richie; Earth, Wind & Fire
This is one of the strongest doubleheaders of the year, with Richie set to charm fans with such smooth R&B/pop favorites as “All Night Long (All Night)” and “Hello” and EWF bringing the boogie on “September,” “Shining Star” and others.” (7:30 p.m. Aug. 6, Chase Center, San Francisco chasecenter.com)
2. Benson Boone
The back-flipping pop troubadour, who rose to fame on TikToK, comes to town for two big shows in support of his second studio album, “American Heart.” (8 p.m. Aug. 7, SAP Center, San Jose, sapcenter.com; 8 p.m. Aug 8, Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, golden1center.com)
3. Santana; Doobie Brothers
Weren’t we just talking about great doubleheaders? Well, here’s another one featuring two Bay Area classic rock legends. (7 p.m. Aug. 8, Toyota Amphitheatre, Wheatland; 7 p.m. Aug. 9, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, livenation.com)