Chalk one up for the lighting crew at Outside Lands, as they turned Saturday night’s thick fog into a canvas for some surreal and mesmerizing lighting effects for Tyler, the Creator, Gesaffelstein, and Vampire Weekend.

Saturday's iteration of Outside Lands culminated in chilly, foggy, and at times windy conditions that constituted some of the worst weather you can expect at the Outside Lands festival. As Saturday night headliner Tyler, the Creator observed to the crowd, “It’s cold as fuck in this shit.”

But the special effects crew at Outside Lands very much understood the assignment of how that fog could be used to create dazzling visual effects for the night’s other top acts, baroque pop favorites Vampire Weekend and dashing French DJ Gesaffelstein (as seen above). And all of them delivered remarkable sets that certainly left no one cold.

We were of course supposed to get Tyler, the Creator as an Outside Lands headliner last year, though he had to back out and was replaced with bubble-gum sensation Sabrina Carpenter. But maybe that timing was all for the best. Because this way, we got to see Tyler just two weeks after his smash hit new album Don’t Tap the Glass came out and debuted at number one. That album spawned by far the most frequently spotted t-shirt across Saturday’s Outside Lands crowd.

Tyler kicked off the set with two tracks from that album, “Big Poe” and “Sugar on My Tongue,” launching into an hour-plus, 20-song performance. There were a number of shooting fireballs and “spark drop” pyrotechnics added to the mix, though the visual appeal of this one was mostly simple, solid single-color schemes that created luminous, radiant fog effects. And this being San Francisco, fans were particularly thrilled to hear him tear into the tracks “EARFQUAKE” and “Sucka Free.”

Bay Area rapper LaRussell pumped up the crowd earlier in the day, leaning in on nostalgia with covers of tracks by local legends like E-40's "Yay Area," Too Short's "Blow the Whistle" and Tupac’s "Changes,"

State Farm insurance pitchman Ludacris took that same Land’s End stage earlier in the day, and the self-described “bedroom gangster” certainly looks taller now that he’s rocking a giant afro. Luda seems comfortable just cruising on his legacy of hits from the mid-2000s, and why wouldn’t he? Just the previous night, Doechii’s epic performance referenced his work multiple times with “Get the fuck out my way, bitch (move).” So yes, Luda is still relevant.

Area codes flew around the screen as Ludacris performed his 2001 banger “Area Codes.” He perhaps did not want to focus on some of his older tracks whose lyrics may come off as, umm, maybe a little misogynistic to the contemporary ear, instead featuring some of his duet numbers like the Fergie bit “Glamorous” and his Justin Bieber duet “Baby” (though yes, he still closed with “Move, Bitch”). And Ludacris still drew a fairly large crowd that skewed surprisingly young, even though many of his hits are 25+ years old.

Young rising pop star Gracie Abrams took the main stage after Ludacris, wearing a peach-colored, floor-length gown and delighting fans with her hits including "Let It Happen," "Death Wish," and "That's So True," closing out her set with "Close to You."

Big Freedia treated the Dolores Stage to not one but two brief sets Saturday, one during the Reparations show and the other during Princess, both sets a satisfying four songs with Freedia backed by a team of backup dancers who all flaunted their asses and made vulgar finger motions toward anatomical features in that region. Big Freedia set off utter bedlam with her hit “Rock Around the Clock,” which samples the Bill Haley & His Comets, but also mashed that up with Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You,” and then wrapped with a glorious finale of “Azz Everywhere.”

Like Doja Cat the previous night, Big Freedia declared a surprise afterparty set at Oasis, though this was billed more as a “listening party” for her new album Pressing Onward, which is touted as something of a gospel album. (Will these be ass references galore in this so-called gospel music? There probably will!)

But Big Freedia batted cleanup in an excellent drag and lip-synch variety revue from Nikki Jizz’s all-Black drag show Reparations. “I know you said the n-word one time. Tip us!” Nikki Jizz implored to the mostly white audience. “If you can buy molly, you can tip these bitches.”

Also on Saturday, Paco Versailles brought their tropical pop to the Sutro Stage, and family act Wasia Project followed them, featuring actor William Gao of Heartstopper fame and his sister Olivia Hardy on lead vocals.

Instagram-famous therapy dog Brixton also made an appearance, being carted around the festival by his caregiver. We recently learned the news that Brixton is being treated for lymphoma, and he may not have been in the best shape for festival-going.

A new feature this year is the Duboce Triangle Stage, nestled away up in the Wine Lands area. It’s certainly more of a chill spot (or a "come down from that mushroom chocolate” spot) with grass-covered couches and legit decent furniture, and a stage hosting open mic sessions and mellow DJ sets.

Outside Lands now rages into its Sunday finale. And if you’re not there, we remind you that the free Outside Lands livestream on Sunday will broacast performances from Hozier and Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals.

Some more photos from Saturday below.

Related: Outside Lands 2025 Day One: Doechii Slayed, Beck Fans Swooned