Portola Festival 2023

Portola returned this September 30th and October 1st for its second year in San Francisco, looking to stake its name as California’s premier electronic music festival. It built, and even expanded, on the precedent set last year of establishing a broad umbrella of loosely defined electronic acts. Some acts like Hot Chip, Chromeo, and Little Dragon feel a bit more like traditional bands. Acts like Rina Sawayama, Nelly Furtado, and Pabllo Vittar brought a pop star flair to the mix. There was no shortage of experimental, hard to classify acts like Flying Lotus, SBTRKT, Jon Hopkins, Charlotte Adigéry and Bolus Pupul, and Jockstrap. There was a group of relatively newer, beloved DJs, like DJ Koze, Kavinsky and Todd Terje (who was making his first American appearance in 7 years). And there were also some all-time greats behind the decks like Eric Prydz, Underworld and Carl Cox. And they even threw in a little rap with Little Simz and Tokischa for good measure.

Portola has also continued to add variety to the experience through inviting several different organizations based in progressive causes. They teamed up with the non-partisan group HeadCount to offer onsite voter registration. The LA-based non-profit End Overdose has an area offering information about safe drug use. To date, they’ve distributed over 219,000 test strips, 82,000 Naloxone kits, and have trained over 150,000 people in the fight against the overdose epidemic. They also provided lighthearted offerings like Portola Bingo. Noteworthy squares included “Shazam 5 new bangers,” “Try to count all the disco balls,” and “Meet the disco chicken.”

The most noteworthy changes though felt like reactions to feedback from the previous year. The Crane Stage, which is farthest from the entrance, was angled away from its neighboring Ship Tent, which cut down on any noise-bleed. Even bigger was the addition of wifi services that made communication between attendees far more consistent once within the grounds. And finally, the entrance to the Warehouse Stage was moved to the opposite end. This created an incredible effect of feeling like you were in an old school U.K. rave scene as you walked the entire long hangar-like facility towards the bright lights at the end. And with all the added exits along the side, there was very little crowding or wait times to enter. It’s refreshing to see a festival make such impactful improvements in just its second year.

Here is a rundown of two standout sets from the weekend:

Best Sets:

Nelly Furtado - 9/30 - 6:00-6:50 pm - Pier Stage

Perhaps the most unique booking choice on this stacked two-day bill was Canada’s Nelly Furtado. In her long, illustrious career, she has sold over 45 million records, numbers surely dwarfing any other act on the bill. She burst into the American consciousness with her smash acoustic pop single ‘I’m Like a Bird” in 2000, with its inescapable video on MTV in the States. She later teamed up with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake for an era defining run with their unique blend of pop, R&B and rap that totally dominated the airwaves, single after single. In the years since, she continued to put out albums of quieter music.

She has had a recent return to a more dance oriented sound with two 2023 collabs. She teamed up with Australian producer Dom Dolla for “Eat Your Man,” a song with several lyrical references to her mega-hits of old: “Fly like a bird, I'm takin' it home. Movin' my body like a nympho.” And she teamed up with her classic trio of Timbaland and Timberlake on “Keep Going Up,” which rekindles their old sound. The former came out during Furtado’s late set performance of “Eat Your Man.” Dom Dolla appeared beer-in-hand and offered some dancing and a toast. He was fresh off his own performance over at the Crane Stage, during which she made a similar cameo. The most exciting appearances came from her dancers, one of whom she stated was a regular on the iconic reality competition RuPaul’s Drag Race. Their duckwalking and sasahying had the crowd at their rapturous peak. Even when Furtado played some of her slower acoustic numbers, the crowd stayed engaged, with diehards singing along. “She’s played a song off every album I know!” exclaimed one particularly exuberant fan. The set was bookended by her biggest pop hits. She started it out with “Say It Right” and “Maneater” and closed with the all-time classic “Promiscuous.”

Jai Paul - 9/30 - 7:30-8:20 pm - Crane Stage

For some, Jai Paul may not have popped out on the festival bill. For others, he might have been the main attraction. He has been one of the most mysterious figures in music since he made his debut in 2011. At the time, little was known about him. But his internet breaking single “BTSTU” was vaunted as the vanguard of a new alternative R&B movement, alongside another mysterious figure of that era whose identity was also yet unveiled, The Weekend. Unlike the Weekend, Jai Paul would not experience a meteoric rise to mega-stardom. He would however continue to trickle out singles, and one leaked mixtape, that had his fans ever begging for more.

Last year, those fans finally got their chance to see Jai Paul play these classics live, some 13 years after they debuted. He chose to play his first live show at, of all places, Coachella, the American juggernaut that carries the most eyes on it of any festival. Since then, the only other performances he gave were standalone gigs in NYC, London and LA. The buzz was evident in the crowd as dusk approached at the Crane Stage Saturday night. He started out with one of 4 covers or features on the night, with Big Boi’s “Higher Res,” on which he produced and sang. He also played 1998 pop hit “Crush” by Jennifer Paige and 80’s classic “It’s My Life” by U.K. compatriots Talk Talk. He saved his big 3 singles for last. The murder’s row of “Jasmine,” “BTSTU,” and “Str8 Outta Mumbai” wasn’t the festival pinnacle for most, but for those upfront, matching his Prince-like falsetto note for note, it clearly was.

Photo Credit: Portola Festival/Alive Coverage