It was an embarrassment of riches at Portola 2025, with a head-spinning lineup that was bursting at the seams with legends, essential acts of the moment and a whole lot of rising stars. The weather more than cooperated, with sunshine and warm winds blowing off San Francisco Bay and onto the approximately 40,000 people gathered for each of the event’s two days.

This year marked the fourth edition of the event, which more or less adopted an if-it’s-not-broke-don’t-fix-it ethos by keeping most every stage in the same position as years past. The only major visible changes were an expanded ultra-VIP viewing area at the main stage and more lights and speakers in the festival’s massive warehouse space, which, despite being built almost entirely from metal, offered a pristine sound experience.

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