Outside Lands’ Dolores Stage is a Love Letter to San Francisco’s Queer Nightlife

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Outside Lands returns to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park on August 7–9. Pop over to the Dolores stage for a taste of local queerness.

For 18 years, Outside Lands has celebrated the music, food, art, and culture that make San Francisco unlike anywhere else. But one of its most distinctive offerings remains the Dolores stage, an open-air dancefloor dedicated to the queer and trans communities, DIY spaces, and nightlife that have long shaped the Bay Area.

This year, the stage feels more intentional than ever. Three beloved local collectives — Oasis, Hot Goth GF, and Polyglamorous — have joined forces to curate a weekend that captures the spectrum of San Francisco’s queer and trans nightlife. Together, they’ve curated a fabulous menu that spans house and techno, live electronic music, drag, performance art, and underground club culture, inviting festival-goers to experience the city through the communities that have defined it for decades.

The result is one of the festival’s queerest, campiest, and most culturally rich lineups. Throughout the weekend, attendees can catch a special DJ set from The XX’s Romy, Detroit legend DJ Minx, and the synth-driven sounds of Light Asylum. This is on top of performances from Kori King, Lydia B. Kollins, and San Francisco’s First Drag Laureate, D’Arcy Drollinger. The lineup also houses a standout roster of local talent, many of whom we’ll highlight below.

For Christina Villanueva, widely known as Hot Goth GF, curating the Dolores Stage wasn’t simply about booking performers. It was more about creating unforgettable moments that introduce attendees to San Francisco’s darker, more boundless punk side.

“I want people to feel confronted by feminine power and sexy queer punk anarchy,” she told EDM Identity. “I hope to make people dance, mosh, make out, question their ideas of beauty and art, discover underground music genres and artists, and step into the darker sides of their personalities.” She continued, “I want to shock, confuse, and seduce them.”

That philosophy has made Hot Goth GF’s namesake brand one of San Francisco’s sought-after nightlife destinations. What began as Hot Goth GF Radio — a platform dedicated to exploring goth, darkwave, industrial, and alternative sounds — eventually grew into an event series that brings those worlds together through art and community. Equal parts dance party, performance art, and queer celebration, Hot Goth GF events embrace goth aesthetics, underground music, and fierce yet dark drag, giving a platform to artists who challenge conventional ideas of beauty, gender, and sexuality.

“The Bay Area is home to so many innovative queer creatives,” Christina said. “I’m thrilled and so proud to present this lineup to the unsuspecting masses.”

Staying true to Hot Goth GF’s darker, more experimental essence, on Friday, August 7, the stage will feature Romy, Ms. Boan, Soltera, Pink Stiletto, Hopeless, Starr Noir, Dolomedes and Erinyes. The day is supported with a lineup of fierce queer performers, including a Hot Goth GF Freak Show featuring Abortia Clinika, Harlet & The Torture Revivalist, Hex The Deceased, Papi Payaso, Jagged Powerviolence, and more. Sure to bring different performance art forward, Christina also pieced together a Hot Goth Pole Show starring local dancers Maddy Valentine, Medusa Strong, Scarlet Moon, and Sofia Hex.

For Oasis, this year’s festival also carries a special significance. Late in 2025, the iconic queer nightclub and drag cabaret space faced the threat of closing. But an overwhelming wave of community support helped keep its doors open, leading it to reopen in July. That experience shaped the way Tito Soto approached stage curation. He’s the producer of Princess, one of Oasis’ biggest parties, the venue’s booking manager, and a headliner on the Dolores Stage.

“Oasis is still alive because of our community,” Soto explained. “We really wanted to highlight the performers that have been a part of our shows for years.” He continued, “The ones that helped build Oasis into what it is today as a beacon of queer nightlife.”

For more than a decade, Oasis has become synonymous with San Francisco drag, offering a home where performers can experiment, audiences can find chosen family, and every show feels like a celebration of queer artistry. It’s nothing short of a staple in the city. Bringing that special force to Outside Lands means introducing thousands of festival attendees to the magic that has kept the community coming back year after year.

On Saturday, August 8, Oasis will host its popular parties: Princess with Soto and DJ Ion The Prize; Reparations featuring Nicki Jizz and DJ Newoncé, and a musical singalong with Oasis owner and former drag lauréate D’Arcy Drollinger, Vrok & Beverley Chills, alongside special guests Kori King and Lydia B Kollins.

“When people come to an Oasis show, they’re not just walking into a bar,” Soto said. “They’re getting a sickening experience — from our diverse roster of hosts on the mic, to the DJs playing great music, to the friends and strangers dancing around them.”

That sense of belonging is ultimately what makes Dolores stand out. While many festival stages are built around genres, this one is built around community. It’s a space where internationally acclaimed artists share the bill with local performers, where dance music exists alongside drag and live performance, and where San Francisco’s queer nightlife isn’t simply represented, but is celebrated on its own terms.

While Oasis and Hot Goth GF represent different corners of San Francisco’s underground, Polyglamorous brings another essential piece of the city’s nightlife forward. Since launching in 2015, the latter brand has become a pillar in the Bay Area’s queer electronic music community. The series was founded by Ben Bellayuto (BEYA) and Mark O’Brien, who will also be performing on Sunday, August 9. Recognized for their inclusive parties and genre-fluid programming such as Pink Black and Sneaks, their main motivation is to create dancefloors where LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and femme artists thrive.

Carrying that same energy to Dolores, Polyglamorous will showcase a lineup rooted in the sounds and spirit of the underground. It features artists such as DJ Minx, Stanley Frank Sensation, Charles Hawthrone, Elaine & Robin, and many more who represent the collective’s dedication to inclusive club culture. Grace Towers & Friends are also set to perform on the stage that day.

Christina wants sightseers to leave with a deeper understanding of what that community truly represents.

“I hope festival-goers learn that Pride is not just about rainbows and parades,” she said. “Sometimes our power looks like joy, and sometimes it looks like rage and resistance. I hope they find that the Bay is home to a hugely inspiring, creative community of queer weirdos that don’t conform to a mainstream idea of what it means to be gay.”

And Soto wants visitors to dance with a stranger, find your family, and remember why San Francisco is the best place in the world.

Whether dancing to Romy’s selections, witnessing DJ Minx serve house and techno, or discovering a local drag performer for the first time, the Dolores Stage offers something increasingly rare that most major festivals don’t: an authentic snapshot of the city that hosts it. This year, Oasis, Hot Goth GF, and Polyglamorous aren’t just curating a stage, they’re inviting everyone onto San Francisco’s dynamic range of queer dancefloors.

More information on the presale, as well as links to purchase weekend or single-day passes, can be found on the official website. Be sure to follow Outside Lands on social platforms to stay up to date on announcements.