Meet the Underground Talent of Outside Lands: Jackie Hollander [Interview]

“Outside Lands has always been my dream festival,” says Jackie Hollander, reflecting on her imminent debut at the San Francisco mega-fest. On Friday, August 9th, the Bay Area native will christen Outside Lands’ beloved SOMA Tent, effectively cutting the festival rope. During an undeniable milestone, Hollander will tend the same decks as fellow performers SIDEPIECE, TSHA, The Blessed Madonna, Seth Troxler, and the list goes on. Ahead of performing at the festival she grew up attending, Jackie Hollander sat down with Dancing Astronaut to discuss her summer tour, new music, her breakthrough release in “All My Friends Are Hot,” as well as what’s next for the burgeoning tastemaker.

Once the pandemic dissolved and dance floors reopened, Jackie Hollander endured a steepening rise onto the scene. Currently, she boasts releases on top performing dance imprints, including Gorgon City‘s REALM Records, Nervous Records, W&O Street Tracks, Insomniac Records, and even a one-off placement, “Freak,” appearing on LP Giobbi‘s Femme House Vol. 2. Most recently, the producer turned in “The Life” on Insomniac’s IN / ROTATION sublabel. Says Hollander,

“I actually finished [‘The Life’] in one session. If I don’t bang out a song, or at least the song’s template in one session, then usually I’ll move on to another idea. That’s what happened on ‘Pass You By’ with Ellis Moss; we literally finished the whole song in one session.”

“The Life” marks Hollander’s fifth single of 2024. Next on the release schedule is “Pass You By,” a joint effort alongside Experts Only signee Ellis Moss. The crowd tested ID is officially due August 9th, the same day Hollander will open at Outside Lands. As the only US artist on Palm Artists’ exclusive UK roster, Hollander finds herself frequenting London to work on music. There, she and Moss exported the final cut of “Pass You By” after what had been a “magical session.” “I think [Ellis] is absolutely genius,” Hollander emphasized, adding,

“It was a big goal of mine to collaborate. My team got in touch with him, and we finished [‘Pass You By’] in one day. It’s like my favorite song I’ve ever made. I’m going back [to London] in December to do a two-week [writing] camp, just me and him, making songs every day… It’ll be so fun.”

Before “The Life” and subsequent tour announcement, Hollander delivered what would become her highest streaming song to date. Landing on Mike Weiss’ historic dance music label, Nervous Records, “All My Friends Are Hot” caught fire. Hollander recalls,

“‘All My Friends’ actually took a long time to finish. I had to hone in and really work hard on it. Before the release, I was getting so many DMs about it after playing it live. It would go off. It’s fun to test your songs, either before they’re signed or before they come out. ‘The Life’ also got insane reactions. Ultimately, it’s a bit of a guessing game. You never really know who’s going to connect once the song comes out. But that’s part of the game; let’s throw some shit out there and see what happens!”

On July 3rd, Hollander took to Instagram to announce her first ever summer tour. Ten days later, she kicked off a slew of high-profile gigs at Echostage for Elrow‘s Washington D.C. showcase. Now donning a sizeable uptick in monthly listeners, Hollander continued to revel in her newly conspicuous catalog at Pioneer Square in Seattle, and then in San Francisco—her home base—where she performed at Gorgon City’s Midway Block Party.

“In Seattle, a bunch of people ran up to the front when I got onstage. For the first time, I felt like people knew me. It was so cool to see who my fans are; they’re all people I would hang out with! The most amazing people with the best energy.”

A product of the Oakland rave scene, Jackie Hollander knows the importance of connecting with the dance floor,

“I think it’s so important because those are the moments I always remember. People deserve a connection that makes them go, ‘Oh, they’re actually a person and not just a robot!”

After Outside Lands, Hollander plans to bring that same energy to appearances at The Brooklyn Mirage, The Concourse Project, Nocturnal Wonderland, and other impressionable live settings. Officially a touring DJ with notable bookings, Hollander credits Peggy Gou and Charlote de Witte as two massive sources of inspiration; whose brands align with artistic integrity above the “female DJ” archetype.

“It’s not about them being female DJs. They’re artists. They’re leaders of the industry. That’s what I hope to grow into. They’re my role models. I love how, sonically, they’re so different, and yet they’re so well-respected as tasteful brands in their respective lanes.”

Hollander’s career trajectory is a promising one. Looking down the line, she plans to launch her own record label in “three years’” time. While unsure of the unborn imprint’s name, Hollander maintains a clear conceptual grasp of what her brand should and will embody, “I don’t know what it’s going to be called, but I know what it will be about.” She adds,

“I love combining light and dark. I want the imagery of that. I would want my events to be held at sunrise or sunset. Maybe you arrive while the sun’s going down, when it’s more chill. Then it gets dark, and you get all these harder artists, rather than the more chill up-and-coming artists that played in the beginning. I want to incorporate nature in that way. I want that to be my thing. We’re already developing visuals.”

With new music around the corner and published show dates through EDC Orland on November 8th, Jackie Hollander is on the brink of a fruitful latter half of 2024. Browse Hollander’s summer tour dates here, be on the lookout for the August 9th release of “Pass You By,” and buy tickets to catch Jackie Hollander’s Outside Lands debut—12PM in the SOMA Tent—on Friday, August 9th.

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