Ep. 60 Portola 2026: Lineup Picks, Tips & What to Know Before You Go

Portola holds a special place in our story. It was the first festival we covered after starting Festies, and the first to hand us media passes. Now we're back, and leveling up: sending our first ever correspondent, Megan, to report live from the grounds at Pier 80 in San Francisco. This episode, we run through the 2026 lineup, then get practical, how to plan your day at Pier 80 so you don't burn out or miss the moments you came for.

Check out the Festies Tool Kit for festival packing lists, planning resources, helpful guides, and products we actually use to make festival weekends smoother and more fun: Free Festival Planning Toolkit 

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Transcript

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Why Portola Feels Like Home

Vanessa 0:00

Hey, Sunny.

Sunny 0:01

Yeah, Vanessa?

Vanessa 0:02

What do you call two best friends that love music festivals?

Sunny 0:05

Hmm. I guess you'd call them Festies!

Clark 0:27

Music. Festival. Friendship. Festies

Sunny 0:41

Welcome back to Festies. We're recording this on a Friday, so happy Friday.

Clark 0:46

Happy Friday.

Sunny 0:47

Happy, happy Friday. I'm Sunny, and today Clark and I are doing a quick episode on what I'm now officially calling our home festival, Portola. And here's why that title is earned. You look confused.

Clark 1:00

Yeah.

Sunny 1:01

Portola was the first festival we went to after starting Festies.

Clark 1:06

I literally forget that. Yeah, yeah.

Sunny 1:08

And it was the first festival to ever give us media passes.

Clark 1:12

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Sunny 1:13

Which is how we ended up interviewing Bob Moses last year. And now for the second year running, they've brought us back and granted us media passes again.

Clark 1:22

Yes. Which is awesome.

Sunny 1:25

So I'm now officially calling them wait. So now I'm officially calling them a home for festies. Wait, no. How do what am I trying to say?

Clark 1:35

They've been festies since day one. Yeah. Portola's day one festies.

Sunny 1:41

Yes.

Clark 1:42

You could say. It is super exciting that they're bringing us back with Media Passes because this is also giving us the opportunity to have our first ever correspondent going to cover the festival, which is exciting. And our correspondent is Megan, who is the sister of a previous guest on our show, our friend Aaron. So we're super excited to have her go cover Portola for us. I'm really excited for that, especially since her taste in the genres that are at Portola is very different from us. So I'm excited to hear when she gives us her uh her brief from the festival.

Sunny 2:21

Yeah, and she's over the most recent years that we've been going to festivals, has become a really great friend of ours, another festival veteran, a festie since day one. She's been supporting the podcast since the beginning. So just made sense to send her out there for us.

Clark 2:35

Yeah, yeah.

Sunny 2:36

Okay, let's actually get into what she's walking into this year.

Meet Our Portola Correspondent

Sunny 2:45

Portola is Saturday, September 26th and Sunday, September 27th, right at Pier 80 in San Francisco. As of right now, tickets are still up. Two-day GA, two-day VIP, single-day GA for both Saturday and Sunday, and Saturday VIP. But Sunday VIP is the only one that's sold out. Let's talk a lineup for Portola.

Lineup Picks You Cannot Miss

Sunny 3:12

Let's talk some tips and tricks.

Clark 3:14

Yeah, yeah.

Sunny 3:15

And whatever else comes up along the way.

Clark 3:17

Yeah, yeah. Whatever, yeah, whatever. It's definitely gonna bring up different memories as Portola's been posting all their stuff too. It's like brought up different memories I had from last year, too.

Sunny 3:27

Yeah. I think I want to start off with the lineup because Portola's lineup popped off this year.

Clark 3:33

Yeah.

Sunny 3:34

I mean, their lineup is always stellar.

Clark 3:36

Yes.

Sunny 3:36

But this year, especially, it's like, how do they get that person? How do they get that person? Robyn is topping the bill. Yeah. And this is literally her only festival appearance all year. And she just dropped an album called Sexistential, so the timing is perfect.

Clark 3:51

Sick.

Sunny 3:52

Saturday, she's sharing the headline slot with Dog Blood, which is Skrillex and Boys Noize together. I didn't know that. I just learned that.

Clark 4:00

Boys Noize always with the collaborations with people. I know, right? Like a nine inch noize last year with Coachella. And then this year with Coachella, right? I yeah, this year. This year with Coachella. Jeez.

Sunny 4:13

But this is their first show under that name since 2019.

Clark 4:16

Oh yeah, it's been a while.

Sunny 4:17

Their only show of 2026. So that's a big deal.

Clark 4:21

So cool.

Sunny 4:22

Then you've got Swedish House Mafia. Portola is one of only two US shows that they're doing this year. So that's also a big deal. And they got Zara Larsson, which got me thinking, I think this festival seems to always have a female vocalist on the lineup. Like last year it was Christina Aguilera. And then the year before that, I want to say it was Natasha Beddingfield, I think.

Clark 4:46

Oh yeah. No, what it what wasn't it? Yeah.

Sunny 4:50

And then maybe they've had more before that.

Clark 4:52

Yeah, that is cool.

Sunny 4:53

Fourtet is playing. Tiesto is doing a warehouse set.

Clark 4:57

Insane.

Sunny 4:58

Tove lo is also gonna be there, which rounds out this Swedish trio that we've got going on the bill because we have Swedish House Mafia. Zara Larsson is also from Sweden, right?

Clark 5:09

I wouldn't We saw her. Quote me on that. That doesn't that doesn't mean she's from Sweden.

Sunny 5:15

Okay. And then Tove lo. Soul Wax is gonna be there. Despacio is back, and if you don't know, that's this like insane immersive sound system that James Murphy from L C D Sound System built with the Soul Wax guys, actually.

Clark 5:32

I forgot that that was the connection, and that's even cooler that they're gonna be at the festival.

Sunny 5:38

Right.

Clark 5:39

Just like L C D Sound System playing last year. There's a special energy when an artist that puts something out there like that, like that they were a part of the despacio experience and they're playing at the at the festival, there's like a an energy that has to it too. And I think, you know, like just keep your ears out for interesting stuff that they might, you know, that they might do in Despacio because of that, you know?

Sunny 6:10

Yeah, if you have a break, you know, in between what you're doing at Portola, make your way over there, or just make it a point to go in there because it's it's incredible.

Clark 6:19

Yeah, it's it's very it is very worth being in there for for at least a little bit. Yeah. You know.

Sunny 6:26

The sound engineer for that, his name is John Klett. Mike D from the Beastie Boys has a new project called Mike D5D.

Clark 6:35

That's sick.

Sunny 6:36

And this is one of his only shows all year. Also a big deal.

Clark 6:39

Dope.

Sunny 6:40

Then there's a whole other layer of the lineup: Ben UFO, Groove Armada, Fat Boy Slim. Yes, Daphni, which is Caribou's Dance Alias. I didn't know that.

Clark 6:49

Cool.

Sunny 6:50

And Over Mono.

Clark 6:52

Nice.

Sunny 6:53

Live acts. You've got Skepta, Parcels, Channel Tres, SG Lewis, Adela, and Six SeX. Uh is it fuckers? Really? It is a fuckers, yeah. Fcukers. Um and in true portola fashion, they got Melanie C, who is Sporty Spice. She's doing a DJ set. That's so sick. They're also stacking next gen talent. Nina jirachi, Marlon Hofstadt, Mochekk, Prospa, Ben Sterling, Chloe Calais, Max Styler, and Dean Turnley. We just saw we just saw Mochekk at um Lightning in a Bottle. He was so fun. And then there's a huge Bay Area moment happening. DJ Shadow is playing, and he's celebrating 30 years of Endtroducing, which is one of the most important sample-based albums ever made.

Clark 7:49

Insane.

Sunny 7:50

I think that album has the record for most. I think it's only samples on the whole thing.

Clark 7:56

That's insane.

Sunny 7:57

So do not miss that. This is Portola's fifth year, and every year it just keeps getting better and better with its recognizable industrial backdrop and just the raw rave energy that it brings.

Clark 8:12

Yeah.

unknown 8:13

Yeah.

Sunny 8:13

Was there anyone on there, Clark, that you wanted to talk about? Any artists on there?

Clark 8:17

Uh, probably like the three biggest ones, at least for me, that I'm I'm like, oh, like I I would love to see in person are parcels, which is like a duh if you have you seen parcels? No.

Sunny 8:33

Have I seen parcels?

Clark 8:34

I don't think so.

Sunny 8:35

I don't think I have.

Clark 8:36

No, maybe. But oh you might have seen them as Coachella. Coachella, I think, yeah. But parcels, it's like such a no-brainer for us because they're super funky, groovy, insane four-part, three-part, four-part harmonies that they do. And I love that also thinking back to last year's lineup, how we're kind of like noticing these similarities of certain picks, it's like ha them having another uh Deboule.

Sunny 9:08

Oh.

Clark 9:08

Right? You know, like another you have another live band playing dance music as well, again, you know, just Australians instead of French. So that I'm I'm like, oh, I would I would love to be there for that. Fat Boy Slim, because I've never seen him live. And he's one of those where when I look back at we, you know, we talk about that we've haven't been into dance music that long in in the grand scheme of things. But I know for me, like Fat Boy Slim is a random outlier because I for sure was listening to Fat Boy Slim in like high school.

Sunny 9:48

Yeah.

Clark 9:49

You're old him and the chemical brothers randomly. And they played at Portola last year, too. So yeah, yeah, Fat Boy Slim. There's just something about the the energy that he brings. He just has like that infectious, there's like a bubbly, infectious vibe. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. Happy and joy, like to his set. We were talking about how that reminds us of how much love was there for Moby.

Sunny 10:17

Yeah.

Clark 10:17

So yeah, Fat Boy Slims up there, and then Nina Jirachi on the newer artist. And one of my co-workers recommended her, and then I ended up like listening to her album that really made waves for her. Um, I love my computer. Absolutely stellar dance music that touches on a few different eras, I would say, of dance music, and has some very fun, not interpretations necessarily, but like not and not jabs either. You know, she she it sounds like she's really having fun with some of the especially the lyrics in her stuff. One of her the songs on this album is called I Wanna Fuck My Computer, and the different lyrics and drops in it are pretty funny and still really good dance music.

Sunny 11:07

Yeah, when I saw Fat Boy Slim on there, that was the biggest one that I was like, oh yeah.

Clark 11:13

Definitely. We loved his um his set at uh Coachella. We were we from the live stream at the Yeah, we had a great time watching watching the live stream.

Sunny 11:25

I want to say we just happened to see Zar Larson not that long ago at the Fox Theater.

Clark 11:31

Yeah, Fox, yeah, in Oakland, yeah.

Sunny 11:33

In Oakland, our friends Justin and Connor took us. Um is not somebody that we would have gone to see without somebody bringing us, and we were so glad that they took us because she sang her ass off.

Clark 11:47

Yeah, the pr the production was just like impeccable for sure. Yeah for sure.

Sunny 11:53

That was in a small theater, so I'd be excited to see how that production gets boosted for Portola.

Clark 12:00

Yep, yep, yep, yep.

Sunny 12:02

All right, that's I think all I have for lineup stuff.

Clark 12:07

Yeah.

Concrete Floors And Smart Breaks

Sunny 12:08

Do you have any tips?

Clark 12:10

Yeah, the the couple tips that I thought of with uh with Portola in particular. So since it's on the pier, it's all concrete and cement and industrial. And my first tip is take any opportunities you can to rest a little bit, you know, take more little short breaks or find yourself a nice little pocket in the day that you can like rest. Because no matter what age you are, if you're just standing andor dancing on just straight up cement for how however long, you know, you're really gonna feel it. Doing something that simple and that little really makes a huge difference. And then on the flip side of that, the whole area of the festival isn't as big as some festivals like that. So try and take your time and like go explore little things because it's not as far away, you know. Seeing the the activations and stuff, you know, like we went to the Cafe Bustello activation. That's like the Cuban coffee.

Sunny 13:31

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Clark 13:32

Yeah, do more stuff, but also take breaks.

Sunny 13:34

But also take breaks, yeah.

Clark 13:36

Um it's definitely a festival you can see all the stuff, like the bar that we went to, the uh the dirty bar. The dirty bar. I almost said nasty. I'm like, nope, that's that's also Christina. I know, but also Oh no, that's also Janet. I'm like, that's Janet. Yeah, like that's hold up. So Janet Jackson there would be Janet Jackson at Portola would be perfect. U poll. Yeah, that would be an insanely beautiful poll for this festival.

Sunny 14:06

I would cancel whatever else I was doing.

Clark 14:07

Yeah, we would, we would, we would be there for sure. Um yeah.

Sunny 14:12

I have a couple.

Clark 14:13

Yeah, what are you thinking?

Sunny 14:15

Phone service. You will not have phone service after five o'clock at all. Zip zilch. Some people were using you know, satellite and getting that feature that iPhone has started doing. I don't know if Androids have started doing it, but yeah, I don't know how. Seriously, there is no service. So I would pick a meeting spot with your friends when you get there. Yes, there's lots of little art installations, so pick one and stick with it. Yep, pick a time.

Clark 14:45

And not a bad use for an activation too. That can be a distinct meeting in front of, yeah, or you know, or by one of the tents for things like that.

Sunny 14:56

The chicken. There's a chicken in the chicken. Stupid chicken.

Clark 14:59

Stupid chicken.

Sunny 15:00

And then kind of piggybacking, piggy piggybacking. Piggybacking. I don't wanted to sound weird. Off of what Clark said about how it's not very big. So it's really easy to just run around. It's easy to go to one set and then stay for 20 minutes and then run to another set and then run to another set. As fun as that is, try and enjoy at least one or two full sets. Like stay for the whole thing. I know it's really hard to do, especially with this type of music. We only had one full set last year, and it was probably the funnest set for us. No get it.

Clark 15:34

Um, seriously.

Sunny 15:36

Yeah. So I would just be yeah, be aware of that. Last year the festival was ending, and we were just like running around everywhere, yeah, trying to like see everything and the last countdown to it closing. And I kind of wish we just stayed somewhere. We were at Moby, we're having a great time, and then we left to go to Domdalla. And then at Dom Dalla, literally there's a video of me being like, Why do we leave Moby? And then we even though Dom Dalla was killing it. Yeah, and then we left Domdala only to see later that Domdala had played Earth Wind and Fire since it was the 21st of September.

Clark 16:12

Yes.

Sunny 16:13

And we missed that. So pace yourself.

Clark 16:16

Yeah, totally.

Sunny 16:17

And the weather's supposed to be beautiful that weekend, but always bring a jacket. Yeah. One you can tie around your waist.

Clark 16:25

It's still San Francisco.

Sunny 16:26

Yeah. I also highly recommend earplugs, especially for this festival. Yes. In particular, because one of the first things I noticed when I went to this one is how there was no break from sound. Like at a multi-genre festival, they have to change out the music equipment. And so there's like an hour break, right? Where your ears get to kind of relax. Um at this festival, that's not a thing. Never not noise. There's just it's very loud there. So bring your earplugs.

Clark 16:58

Yes. And speaking of earplugs, partners with Portola is Eargasm.

Sunny 17:05

What?

Clark 17:05

It's too soon to try and order and use code Festival. Um but similar to Outside Lands, Eargasm has a a branded Portola set. I would love those.

Sunny 17:20

Maybe I'll have some Megan and get them for me.

Clark 17:22

Yeah.

Tickets Rules And Getting There

Sunny 17:23

Okay, before we go, let's talk some logistics. Portola Music Festival is two days. Saturday, September 26th and the 27th, 2026 at Pier 80 in San Francisco. The doors open at 1 p.m. both days. And this one's happening rain or shine, so plan accordingly. And once you're in, you're in. No re-entry. Also, Portola is cashless. So leave your cash at home, bring a card. I'm sure they're gonna take tap two, but the service is so spotty there, I would just bring an actual card. Ticket prices. So there are still tickets available. Two-day GA runs you about 400 bucks. If you're only doing one day, Saturday GA is 270, Sunday GA is 290. And if you want to go VIP, two-day VIP is 730, single-day VIP is 460. And that's the same price whether you're going Saturday or Sunday. Now, at one point the website did say that Sunday was sold out for VIP, but after looking again, it's not sold out, so I'm I'm not sure. Either way, there's still some tickets available, so go get your tickets. Just want to make sure that everybody knows that this festival is 21 and up. They do check IDs. So when you get there, have your ID out, have your AXS mobile ID barcode ready. Don't be that person holding up the line. Something I feel like I really need to point out is there is no parking at Pier 80. Do not drive to this thing. On their website under plan, there is a page for get here and get out. I highly recommend looking that over. That has lots of options, but I'll tell you some of them here. Um, there's always BART and they have a shuttle. So if you want to take BART, take the BART to the 24th Street Mission BART station. There are free Portola shuttles that pick you up right at Valencia and 24th. Again, those are free. The shuttles run from 12:30 in the afternoon to 11:30 at night, and they just go on a loop all day long. Just make sure you have your ID and your mobile ticket pulled out on the Portola app before you hop on. Heads up, accessible shuttles are limited. So email if you need an accessible one. There's also Muni. The T third line drops you a block from the pier, grab it from Union Square, ride towards Sunnydale, hop off at third and Marin. There's a few bus routes too. The Route 48 Quintara, the Route 19 Polk, the Route 15 Bayview, Hunters Point Express, all get you close, just a short walk in. Heading home, that third and Marin platform closes 10 to midnight. So plan your exit on the T3rd line accordingly. There's also the Route 91 Owl running overnight if you need it. Caltrain, which is what we took last year. Caltrain gets you to the 22nd Street Station, about a mile walk to the pier. And the last train leaves at 1210, so don't miss it. One thing to know 22nd Street Station is stairs only. There's no elevator, there's no ramp. If you need accessible, ride to the San Francisco Caltrain station instead and transfer to the T3rd line. If you're a biker, there's no bike rally this year, unfortunately, but there's plenty of public bike parking nearby rolling up on a lift bike. Use code Portola26 for five bucks off. There's also Lime and Rideshare, Lime Riders, Park right at Illinois in 24th, same spot for pickup after. I will say that last year we tried to take the lime bikes or some lime scooters to Caltrain, but they were all out of battery. So maybe have a plan B if that's what you're thinking of doing. Please give yourself extra time. Traffic can get pretty crazy over there. Um the big takeaway from all this is there's no parking, zero parking at pure 80. So pick your route and stick to it.

Social Updates Recap And Episode 60

Sunny 21:25

Keep an eye on our socials this weekend because we will have content coming at you from the same scene but different and Portola. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube at Festies Podcast. And once again, just a big thanks to Portola for having Festies out. Thank you. Thank you for having Festies out there again. We're so grateful and so excited to see what the fifth year of Portola brings.

Clark 21:50

And we'll be doing a full recap with uh Megan when we are all back in the same place. Uh so we'll get uh we'll get a whole report on her Portola coverage.

Sunny 22:03

Yeah. Oh my god, I almost forgot. Did we say that this is our 60th episode?

Clark 22:08

No. Happy episode 60.

Sunny 22:11

Yay, 60. Wow. Six six zero. Okay. Please rate and review the show wherever you listen to us so more festies can find us. And we'll see you on the next one. Bye.

Clark 22:27

Bye.