IN ADDITION TO THE STACKED lineup of musicians, this year’s Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco featured several nonprofit organizations who promoted civic engagement to the massive crowds over the weekend.
Among the dozens of food vendors parked in Hellman Hollow near the Twin Peaks Stage, a row of nonprofits had stations where they conducted outreach to thousands of festival-goers.
“We’re here to have a good time, see incredible artists, eat amazing food, but then also participating in our civic institutions and our democracy,” said Daniel Jubelirer in an interview.
Jubelirer is the director of communications for HeadCount, a nonpartisan organization that goes to festivals, concerts and other community events to help get people registered vote.
Each year at Outside Lands, the festival rallies around a certain cause, such as climate change or mental health awareness. Multiple nonprofit groups partner with the festival and set up booths in a section called “The Mission.”
The theme for 2025 was activism and collective action, with over a dozen organizations participating, including HeadCount, Run For Something Civics, and Amnesty International.
Over the entire three-day festival, HeadCount tallied a total of 2,001 voter actions including getting 172 people to register to vote. Checking that your voter registration information is accurate, signing up for election reminders, donating, and registering to vote were considered “actions.”
With the thousands of young attendees that Outside Lands attracts, HeadCount sees the festival as an opportunity conducive to promoting civic engagement.
“For some people that are maybe 17, 18, or 19-years-old, they’re really forming core memories here that they’re going to remember for a long time,” Jubelirer said. “When they also are thinking about registering to vote and participating in elections in the same breath, we think we’ve really seen it inspire civic participation over their lifetime.”
The young crowd at Outside Lands was also an important factor for Run For Something Civics’ participation. Run For Something Civics is a group that gives tools and resources to those under the age of 40 who want to run for elected office.
When they also are thinking about registering to vote and participating in elections in the same breath, we think we’ve really seen it inspire civic participation over their lifetime.
Daniel Jubelirer, director of communications for HeadCount
“A lot of young people really aren’t happy with elected leadership,” said the organization’s senior director for organizing and recruitment, Kandice Harris, in an interview.
“They feel like they don’t represent the issues that they care about, or they feel like they’re not doing anything at all. So we’re really looking to find the next generation of young leaders. We specifically work with folks under 40, but we’re really targeting 18- to 28-year-olds.”
This was the first time that Run For Something Civics partnered with Outside Lands, and its booth attracted hundreds of attendees over the weekend, Harris said.
“We’ve talked to a lot of amazing young people, and we’ve been really surprised in a wonderful way by how engaged people are,” Harris said. “People are really excited to tell us what they would change about their communities, and also to stay in touch with us and learn more about running for office.”
Amnesty International, a nonprofit that campaigns to protect human rights around the world, also drew attention from attendees. Volunteers with the organization spoke to festival-goers about different human rights issues, allowing them to sign petitions to show support for a cause.
“There’s been a lot of people who really care about what’s happening right now and don’t really know what to do about it,” said Samantha Davison in an interview.
Davison is the director of development for Amnesty International’s west coast chapter.
Signing petitions, Davison said, is an easy way for people to take action against what they see as injustices.
“They get sent to governments and different members of Congress if they’re based in the United States,” she said. “They get sent to the Trump administration as well.”
The Mission also had an area where festival-goers could provide feedback to Outside Lands organizers by writing down their thoughts on a piece of paper in a voting booth. Attendees who participated could suggest what artists they want to see next year as well as a theme for “The Mission” in 2026.
Angelina Mendoza, a festival attendee, enjoyed stopping by the booths with her friends and learning about the different opportunities for collective action.
“This is a great place to get more people involved in issues that matter,” Mendoza said. “It kind of makes civic engagement more fun and approachable for young people who may be voting for the first time or are just starting to go to protests.”
