My advice after going to day Day One of SF's Outside Lands: Go - SFGATE

Fans sit on blankets near the new windmill and watch Duckworth perform at Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, Calif.

San Francisco's Outside Lands usually sells out.

Faye Webster performs at Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, Calif.

My advice is to hop on MUNI, ride your bike or do what I did, and take the $24 pre-paid shuttle (buy your ticket online) that operates between Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and the festival grounds at Golden Gate Park.

On the bus two girls debated whether to spend the entire day at the Sutro Stage or to hop around from stage to stage — a big decision for anyone going to the festival.

I pulled up the Outside Lands app on my phone and started to put together my schedule, which required a lot of stage hopping as I like to see as much music as possible.

By 11:30 a.m., I had gone through security (super easy, just be sure to follow the strict bag requirements — find those in SFGATE's Outside Lands Guide.) and entered the festival grounds.

The festival grounds were serene with more open space than people.

Spelling performs at Outside Lands on Friday, Aug.

By noon, I was near the front row at the Sutro Stage catching Spelling, a Bay Area artist who has a gorgeous voice and a experimental, electronic-pop sound.

Wearing a full skirt and with her long hair falling down her back, she moved around the stage like a spooky ballerina, taking the crowd down dark, haunted alleyways with her spellbinding, synthy music.

Attendees sit along the grassy hill at the Twin Peaks stage where The Marias would soon perform at Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, Calif.

Over at the Lands End stage, Cory Henry roiled up a crowd with his retro funk groves.