Little Simz, Rina Sawayama, and Kenny Beats Shine at Portola Festival Day 2

Day two of Portola Festival kicked off with a bang because I had been waiting to see Little Simz all year long. The Londoner took stage for a whopping 70 minute long set of signature British Grime, and in just over an hour took us through a tour of several decades of rap, hip hop, and R&B.

Little Simz: Pier Stage

Dressed in all black in white Prada, Simz’s dynamic and infectious flows floated atop impactful orchestral back beats, (think: Jay-Z’s The Black Album,) as she rapped, dance, and sang her way through tracks like “Gorilla,” “Selfish,” “Woman,” “Heart on Fire,” among others. 

I first saw Little Simz in “live” action while watching the Coachella live stream earlier this year. A guest on stage with the Gorillaz, hers was one of the performances that stuck with me the most, despite only coming onstage for a couple of songs. After a highly successful performance at the Vogue World fashion show during London Fashion Week in September, Simz appears to have swiftly transitioned into the realm of mysterious recording artists adored by renowned fashion houses, all within the blink of an eye.

Simz is an excellent performer who commands the stage with a veteran sort of confidence that stands up to industry contemporaries twice her age. Born in Islington, London, to Nigerian parents, Simbiatu “Simbi”Abisola Abiola Ajikawo has covered much ground in her 29 years on this planet, with NME calling her 2021 release Sometimes I Might Be An Introvert a “near perfect” album. They followed with awarding her Album of the Year at the NME Awards later that year, she also took home the Best New Artist statue at the Brit Awards the next year in 2022. 

Reminding me of some happy middle place between Kendrick Lamar and Lauryn Hill that afternoon, Little Simz’s confident performance permeated the industrial setting of the port with exquisite vibes that could be felt from all the way across the compound. The cranes and shipping containers scattered in the distance created a unique backdrop for a set that alternated between the backing support of a small band, and a handful of dancers. Other times, it was just Simz onstage solo. 

The rotating stage that Portola Festival had reminded me of some sort of mid-century TV game show stage, efficiently rotating 180 degrees after each performance to reveal the next artist’s lights and gear all set up and ready to go. I tried to grab some food right after Simz because I wasn’t sure when else I could after looking at the schedule for the rest of the day, and it seemed that I had hardly made my way back to the rear concession stalls before Thundercat started to play.

Thundercat: Pier Stage

I craned my neck to see the Grammy winning former Suicidal Tendencies bass player, who has worked with everyone from Flying Lotus (who performed the night previous) to Kendrick Lamar. Thankfully I could still hear pretty well despite being at a distance, and the unofficial protege of Erykah Badu sailed through a groovy set of contemporary R&B, laced with soulful lyrics and pumping, funky bass lines. 

For whatever reason, my food took an excruciatingly long time. Not everyone’s food … just my food. Unsure why this seems to be my running festival karma, a walloping 25 minutes later I was able to slither my way back up to the front barricades to catch his last four to five songs up close, including “Funny Thing,” “Them Changes,” and “No More Lies.”

The crowd was mellow, stoney, and friendly, and the positive vibes reminded me a lot of the audience I was immersed in when I saw the Wu Tang Clan back in May. Thundercat himself seemed to be in a world of his own with his six-string, hollow-body bass hoisted up high like an old-school jazz or funk band member. In a way, the throwback style of his songs seemed almost out of place at an EDM music festival, as if he’d been plucked out of some sort of Art & Soul or Smokin’ Grooves sort of lineup, but the massive audience who showed up to see him on the main stage proved just how strong his crossover appeal really is. 

Rina Sawayama: Pier Stage

I was able to get up against the barricades to Rina Sawayama who was next, and thanks to the magic rotating stage, I didn’t have to wait long. The U.K. based cyber pop star was the surprising breakthrough star of the day—and I don’t mean breakthrough as if no one’s ever heard of her, but because she put on the equivalent of a miniature Broadway stage show throughout her set at Portola Festival. 

With two background dancers, a beast of a live drummer, and a rocker chick guitarist alternating from electric to acoustic to keyboards and back, the “Hurricane” singer had no less than four costume and five set changes, a dizzying amount of production aspects that included a mockup of a boxing ring on stage, feverishly set up in between songs by stage hands. It’s actually hard to believe that a set list of only 10 songs would take 50 minutes to get through, but the constant motion of gags and skits made it all go by in a flash.

“Hold the Girl,” “Frankenstein,” “Comme de Garcon,” and “This Hell,” among others were all performed with complicated choreography from Sawayama and her dancers, dramatic wardrobe reveals with her clothes being ripped off her body, not to mention the bouts of lighthearted banter she had between songs. A natural actress and comedian, I could see her hosting her own Vegas style residency some day, with her wit and natural comedic timing reminiscent of legendary TV songstress hostesses like Cher. 

Whomever saw the Hold the Girl: Reloaded Tour on the dates after Portola were for sure in for a real treat, I’d be keen to see what this woman could do with an entire arena stage to work with in five years or so if she got big enough to do a stadium tour. Something tells me she will, as she was certainly hands down one of the best talents I saw that day. As she was saying her thank you’s and salutations, I paused to make sure that she was done-done and not returning for an encore, before I sprinted over to the Ship Tent for the first time that day to catch one of my favorite producers: Kenny Beats.

The 32-year-old producer originally from Greenwich, Connecticut was following a DJ set by 2ManyDJs that stretched all the way past the back of the Ship Tent. The vibes were outstanding by the time the decks were switched out, and despite a good chunk of the crowd leaving for Labrinth’s set, a good amount more die hard fans swarmed up towards the front row, where some good old fashioned Bay Area hyphy was about to go down.

Kenny Beats: Ship Tent

One of the best things about being from the Bay Area is our local music culture—from E-40 to Metallica to Rancid and everyone in between—not only do we have great bands hailing from the Bay, but also an incredible dance party culture favoring hits from the 90s, 2000s, and beyond. Mr. Beats seemed to tap right into that collective energy, starting off strong with his signature style of taking a popular song and putting his own spin on it. Mixing popular contemporary songs and ones from the past decade kept every new song transition fresh, surprising, and a lot of fun to discover.

After a while, a crew of about eight or so Asian kids in their 20s and early 30s had all clustered behind me, they’d obviously come as a group. We all had so much fun dancing together it was a wonder that Kenny Beats wasn’t a popular local DJ reading the room with precise timing at City Nights or 1015 Folsom. By the time his remix of Lil’ Jon’s “Get Low” came on, the entire crowd was in an uproar. 

I had only intended on staying for the first five songs or so, as I had other stages to get to but I indulged myself and ended up staying his entire set. Well worth it–It was the only time that weekend I really got to dance hard with no inhibitions and truly enjoy myself in the moment. If every stage of the festival had the same energy as the Ship Tent that night for Kenny Beats, then I’d rate it a 12/10. 

Skrillex: Pier Stage

Skrillex was up next, and I was beyond curious to see what he had in store as the headlining act of Sunday night. It had not only started to get cold again, but an ultra dense fog had rolled in, making the pier look straight out of a movie, and it was packed. After a brief delay, the most award-winning EDM performer in history started up in the pitch black of his stage and remained that way, shrouded in the darkness while scribbly laser lights beamed in front of him, creating a wall between him and a virtual mosh pit of fans. 

While I’m not the biggest fan of dubstep, I can always appreciate a movement. The LA-based producer has had an interesting and swift rise to fame, starting back in the MySpace days in a number of emo and post hardcore bands. Eventually branching off solo, he went on to be one of the pioneering dubstep or “brostep” producers who has earned a slew of Grammys and other awards and nominations since dropping his first full length album in 2011.

It almost seemed as if the fog had been coordinated to be a part of the show, as it helped to keep the mysterious man behind the decks concealed for 97% of the set, only letting the spotlight beacon down on him for a brief moment or two, causing the entire crowd to stop dancing and feverishly grab for their devices. 

Although I had woven my way a good amount towards the front, the crowd quickly grew aggressive and because I wasn’t that into dancing, I slowly made my way back to film some of the light show, which I gave up on after about three tracks because the fog was winning at all costs. I would have stayed longer to watch the light show, but I was so cold, I ducked into the warehouse to catch some of DJ Carl Cox before I headed out for the night. 

And what a way to wrap up the weekend with the legendary British DJ and radio host filling up the entire building with his signature style of classic house and techno. I remember being in college at fashion design school in downtown San Francisco in the early 2000s and reading about his long running residency at the Space Ibiza nightclub in magazines like Vogue, W, and US Weekly. 

Fast-forward now to almost a decade after its conclusion in 2016, and here I stood, not in the middle of a posh nightclub in an exotic beach destination town, but inside of a port shipping warehouse with nowhere to sit on the south easternmost edge of San Francisco, watching Carl Cox. 

It’s funny how things work out sometimes. Expertly timed, Cox’s set gave the crowd exactly the all encompassing feeling that they wanted, and was a mastery of the British techno he’s become known as a legend for producing over the past 30 plus years. All in all, despite some weather and sound issues, the “speed dating” energy of rushing from stage to stage and complicated trek out to Pier 80 for Portola Festival, in my opinion, is well worth it.

One definitely feels as if they’re in on something before it gets huge when attending it, and with the ample space the pier provides, I predict it morphing into more of what events like Treasure Island Music Festival used to be, with carnival rides, art installations, and other endless immersive possibilities. I also like that it was only two days, because I was far less worse for wear at the end of it all, and so was my bank account. I look forward to what next year brings, as I have a suspicion that by its third year most of the kinks will be worked out and it will possibly be the best year yet.

All photos in this article by Rose Eden