Zilker Park served as host again for the 22nd edition of the Austin City Limits Festival – two weekends of up-and-comers such as local hip hop artist Grace Sorensen along with festival favorites like Portugal. The Man, and stadium rockers the Foo Fighters. Unlike the pandemic years, this year’s fest appeared to be on solid footing with a strong lineup, bountiful ticket sales, and the bonus of great weather expected for each weekend. A wicked hail storm a week earlier produced golf ball-sized hail causing citywide damage, but fortunately the rain barely affected the impeccably cared-for lawn aside from a smattering of mulch in the regular low parts of the park. Since the fest’s establishment in the early aughts scores of new downtown skyscrapers have risen adding a dynamic backdrop for weekend revelers donned in bucket hats, Hawaiian shirts, and cowboy boots.
Friday at the Miller Lite stage kicked off with the pleasant indie folk sounds of Utah-based quartet The National Parks. The heavy strumming and a bubbling banjo along with the band’s uplifting lyrics spirited the crowd away to the mountains. Next up was Portugal. The Man’s early afternoon set at the adjacent Honda Stage – there, the crowd stretched far into the Miller Lite stage area similar in size to Lizzo’s breakout performance in 2021, making for a tight squeeze as attendees pushed past the west gate. Friday was warm but a cool breeze blew across the field providing relief to the dancing revelers. Frontman John Baldwin Gourley wrapped in an army poncho and white cowboy hat slowly ramped up their set with “Purple Yellow Red and Blue”, a cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom”, and concluded with the popular song “Feel It Still” from the 2017 album Woodstock (QRO review).
Over at the BMI Stage, Bass Drum of Death made their ACL debut, rocking the grove with their stage-pounding garage rock. Fans took delight in seeing the band at a more intimate stage, initiating the first crowd surfing of the day. Dressed in white T’s and blue jeans, the set really got going with the Black Keys-evoking tune “Get Found” off the Mississippi trio’s 2011 debut album, Gb City.
Meanwhile, on the east headline American Express Stage, Major Lazer did an admirable job of pinch-hitting for rising R&B star Kali Uchis, who announced that El Paso would be the final stop on her “Red Moon in Venus” tour, much to the chagrin of her devoted fans. Nonetheless, the Diplo-fronted Major Lazer tropical dance party ensued, complemented by fly girl dancers on stage. The feel of the video animations was very banana republic with Diplo as a drill sergeant of love ordering the crowd to bounce, jump, and love one another.
As Weekend 1 Friday turned to night, a much anticipated set by El Paso progressive rockers The Mars Volta commanded the west side crowd at the Miller Lite Stage. Their dark and psychedelic seven-song-long voyage began with “Roulette of Dares (The Haunt Of)”, which blanketed the crowd with a muddy and moody atmosphere. Dressed in all black, lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s ominous silhouette graced the large vertical video screens that flanked the stage as he belted out the synth-driven 2022 song “Graveyard Love” before meandering to a dramatic closing with the 2003 hit “Inertiatic ESP” – a boisterous finale that showcased Cedric’s vocal range.
Friday was arguably the busiest day of Weekend 1 – one could easily tell as they were swallowed up by the large swaths of festival goers making the trek over to the American Express Stage to prep for Kendrick Lamar. Meanwhile, seasoned festies continued to lie on blankets and sit in camp chairs spread out on the west side to take in The Lumineers. Usually, noise bleed is a bad thing at music festivals and ACL has done a great job of minimizing it, but this year it was a good thing since Kendrick Lamar wouldn’t take the stage until 9:45, only 15 minutes before park curfew. That left a lot of time to, well, listen to the Lumineers. Video screens at the American Express Stage announced the heartbreaking news that Lamar’s “Abbreviated set will begin at 9:45 p.m.”. Reports indicated that plane issues were to blame, so folks waited and waited. When there are delays in 2023, they don’t send in the clowns, they send in the drones. However, a choreographed drone show, although novel, was like giving a sparkler to a kid and saying that was the fireworks show.
With the news of Lamar’s delay, around 9 p.m. on Friday, a train of tired concert-goers began exiting the park. False cheers occasionally punctuated the crowd before boisterous applause signaled the beginning of the performance around 9:45 p.m., when Lamar took the stage to rush through eleven songs featuring the intro only for “A.D.H.D”, a shortened “Swimming Pools (Drank)”, and the first half of m.A.A.d city. He addressed the crowd apologizing for the delay and challenging the park’s 10 p.m. curfew saying that he would sing as long as they’d let him, which occurred at 10:15 p.m. when his microphone was cut off mid-set of “Alright”. While festival-goers rarely purchase tickets for one act, let’s hope Weekend 2 attendees get a little more of this talented artist who made his ACL debut back in 2013.
After a great day of music followed by an anticlimactic evening at Zilker Park on Friday of Weekend One of the Austin City Limits Festival, Saturday was dry and cool allowing for multi-layered festival attire showcasing the latest fashion trends. Just about every type of cowgirl imaginable strutted across the grounds on what to some was known to some as ‘Shania Twain Day’. There were more than half a dozen distinguishable cow culture outfits: the disco cowgirl, the denim cowgirl, the fringe cowgirl, the silky cowgirl, the cheeky cowgirl, the space cowgirl, the Barbie cowgirl, and a few more.
Festivalgoers eased in on Saturday with much less backups at the Barton Springs entrance, but those who came early they were treated by emerging Austin honky-tonk singer/guitarist Gus Clark, who kicked off the music at the newly named IHG Stage that sits under a refreshing canopy of old pecan trees across the street from the main festival grounds. The overalls wearing bespectacled and mustachioed musician shared his latest single “Cheap Shots” as the breezes blew through the grove.
Ben Kweller from Greenville, Texas provided another guitar picking set during the early afternoon at the Miller Lite Stage. He returned after his first appearances in 2003 and 2004 which were followed by a rather notorious nose bleed incident in 2006 which covered his guitar in blood. This year, Kweller progressed through fourteen songs beginning with “Commerce, TX”, “Penny on a Train Track” and finished with a cover of “How I Am” by Z’Ev [editor’s note: in bass in his band was none other than McLovin himself, Christopher Mintz-Plasse].
Saturday’s vibes were definitely on the chiller side, and was well represented by the dreamy soundscapes of Poolside who followed Kweller on the Miller Lite Stage. The Los Angeles-based chill wave group and perennial festival performers are led by Jeffrey Paradise, who strummed a seafoam green guitar while he serenaded the crowd with his mid length straight hair dangling in front of his eyes. Playing what some call laid back daytime disco, beachballs bounced around the early afternoon crowd while they played a laid back version of the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street”, followed by the synthy yacht rock sounding “Can’t Stop Your Love” from their 2020 album Low Season, before closing out the uplifting and melodic Rhye collaboration “Feel Your Weight”.
At the dinner hour, Thirty Seconds To Mars got the crowd jumping after a pink emblazoned Jared Leto, known more for his cinematic performances than his stunt work, literally bungee jumped from the rafters of the Honda Stage. Meanwhile on the other side of the park at the American Express Stage, ‘90s super star Alanis Morissette got the crowd singing along nostalgically to many of her hits from her 1995 smash hit Jagged Little Pill – with a voice that hasn’t aged a bit, she belted out hits “Hand In My Pocket”, “You Learn”, “Ironic” and closing out with “You Oughta Know”. Seeing all the youngsters singing along, it was clear her music is canonical and transcends generations.
By 7pm darkness began to fall on Zilker while Bob Moses, no stranger to the festival circuit, lit up a swollen crowd with blasts of red spotlights at the Miller Lite Stage. The British Columbian electronic duo made up of Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance laid down some punchy beats while smooth lyrics sent the crowd to a dreamy trance. Their twelve-song set began with :Time and Time Again” from last year’s The Silence in Between, punctuated by a spot-on cover of “Need You Tonight” by INXS, and closing out with the Zhu collaboration “Desire” from 2020, which had fans singing the refrain, “I don’t want your desire / I just wanna be free” as they shuffled over to the Honda Stage for Shania Twain.
Dressed in a stunning long red wig, Barbarella-esque silver top and booty shorts, the Canadian born country star Shania Twain looked great for nearing 60 years of age. In this year’s Queen of Me, Twain takes on a new character, sounding more edgy and rocky than her ‘90s cowgirl stage persona. Twain started her set with “Waking Up Dreaming” from her latest album and progressed through 18 songs that included an acoustic rendition of “You’re Still the One”, “Forever and Always”, and then the iconic bachelorette party track, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” to close out her set.
To cap Saturday at ACL, arena rockers the Foo Fighters returned to Zilker Park for their third visit, having performed in 2008 and in 2015, the year frontman Dave Grohl donned his heavy metal boot cast. The difference this year is that were performing without Taylor Hawkins who was found dead of a drug overdose in Columbia. After a disappointingly shortened Friday night, the Foo Fighters delivered 18 songs that covered over ten albums. Song highlights included “All My Life”, a mid-set wild guitar solo featuring “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys, “Blitzkrieg Bop” by The Ramones, “Whip It” by Devo, and Nine Inch Nails drum-smashing “March of the Pigs”. The highlight of the evening had to be when Twain joined Grohl on stage for “Best of You”. The duo’s unsuspected chemistry will certainly leave a long lasting impression on their fanbases that are nearly polar opposites on the FM dial.
Three years have passed since Austin and most of the world were isolated due to pandemic lockdowns. Being forced to stay home seems like a lifetime ago after seeing how densely populated the city of Austin and the Austin City Limits Festival have become in October 2023. Indeed, the festival’s increased footprint anticipates a return to record numbers of attendees, especially given the city’s explosive population of young tech professionals eager to take in a prominent festival that’s just a scooter or pedicab ride away. Seeing a larger percentage of families at the festival is also notable and indicative of a return to the kind of normalcy that the public desires.
One of the best parts of ACL Fest is seeing rising stars and the BMI Stage is a great place to catch some of the newer acts such as Austin-based neo-soul/R&B singer Grace Sorensen. The 20-year-old played her first festival show on Sunday dressed in baggy beige Jordan attire and swirled around and whipped her hair around while her young fans danced along. A Fleetwood Mac cover of “Dreams” capped off her breezy looks and soulful singing before she was joined on stage by another Austin R&B artist, Megz Kelli from Magna Carda, for her song “Digits”. Sorensen graced the cover of the local alt weekly the Austin Chronicle during their 2023 ACL Fest issue and is definitely an artist to follow.
The Tito’s Stage is a nice place to take a respite from the sun and the tent gives concertgoers more of a Red River club feel to those more intimate shows. Early on Sunday, the tented stage welcomed Austin duo Jane Leo, made up of Jane Ellen Bryant and Daniel Leopold. When Leopold, known for leading the rockers Leopold and His Fiction, met Bryant, an emerging singer/songwriter, they both were in a funk and were taking creative writing classes through Black Fret, now known as Sonic Guild. After that experience, the two decided to join musical forces to form an ‘80s-style synth-forward chill-wave duo. Fresh off The Heartbeat Highway Tour that had Jane Leo traveling along the east and west coasts, the soothing guitar and warm vintage synthesizer playing were well seasoned and made for a nice starting point for the day.
Australian soul singer/songwriter Angus Stone, a.k.a. Dope Lemon, with his Stevie Ray Vaughn-style flat brim and silver buttoned guitar strap got the concertgoers shimmying at the Honda Stage early on Sunday afternoon. Surrounded by the logo from the Lemonheads candy floating around the video screens, the Sydney-based musician kicked off the set with the moody guitar song Stonecutters from their 2016 album Honey Bones that showcased Stone’s Kurt Vile-esque crooning. After playing several more songs from that album such as Coyote, the energy built up until crescendo-ing with the song “Kemosabe” from this year’s record of the same name.
Following Dope Lemon at the Honda Stage was Australian singer-songwriter Tash Sultana, immediately displaying her mastery as a multi-instrumentalist from the start of her set, seamlessly jumping from one to another on stage. Sultana was a much spoken about act having played Stubbs in Austin the evening before. She has been traveling the U.S. practically non-stop since her 29-date tour kicked off in San Diego in late August. The crowd perked up when she performed “Pretty Lady” from her 2021 album Terra Firma and closed out with her 2016 song, “Jungle”. Meanwhile over at the Tito’s Stage French-born, Nigerian artist Charlotte Adigery and Belgian-based beat maker Bolis Pupul provided an avant-garde electronic pop flare to an afternoon brimming with international artists.
Sunday not only featured a slew of foreign-born artists but also served as the backdrop from African-American artists. Memphis-based trap/hip-hop artist GloRilla, who describes her music as “crunk and dominant” has become popular since her duo with Cardi B on their 2021 song “Tomorrow 2”. Her young screaming fans had to be lifted up by security and pulled into the photo pit after the crowd began surging forward. Flanked by her dancers dressed in purple fatigues, the tatted-up GloRilla had to stop her set too early on to scold a fan who threw a shoe on stage, barely missing the long-haired artist. Over at the IHG Stage, The Breeders put on a lively set with Star Trek: The Next Generation t-shirt-wearing frontwoman Kim Deal praising the crowd throughout their 17-song set that leaned heavily on their ‘90s hit album Last Splash.
One of the most surprising additions to the festival and arguably the best sets was by Death Grips, who followed The Breeders on the IHG Stage. While Kendrick Lamar doesn’t have a reputation of being late or missing shows, no one was quite sure if Death Grips would fulfill their slot having served as no-shows in the past. The hard-to-describe Sacramento, California trio vacillates between post-punk, industrial, and spoken word, but is all adrenaline and thankfully very present as Sunday turned to night. Fronted by African-American vocalist Stefan Burnett, whose ripped physique, microphone cord whipping, and convulsing dance moves kept the energy high all set, as the sign language translator practically gave up following the lyrics and just started throwing up middle fingers and making strained faces. “I’ve Seen Footage”, “Get Got”, and “Giving Good People Bad Ideas” were some of the highlights of their performance that ended with “The Fever (Aye Aye)” before Burnett dropped his mic and followed drummer Zach Hill and guitarist Nick Rheinhart off the stage without murmuring a word to the overstimulated crowd.
To close out Weekend One, folks had the choice between two very different adventures, taking a journey with British folk-rock band Mumford & Sons or an electronic dance party with Washington state-based electronic duo ODESZA. Those who chose the latter were not disappointed as ODESZA’s live stage performance included a marching army of drummers and at least a dozen other instruments to complement the beats. The Grammy Award-nominated electronic act has hit the festival circuit hard in recent years snatching headliner status for their uplifting dance grooves – the addition of live performers and wicked light give the fans a lot of bang for their buck. Their whopping 27-song set list largely leaned on their album A Moment Apart, with standout songs such as “Sun Models” and their latest release “In the Rain” that had fans dancing like they were having seizures. The Las Vegas-style spectacle was rounded out by “Last Goodbye”, which served as a fitting end to their show as fans exited the park concluding a pleasant and relaxing weekend.
-words: Alex Freeman
-photos: Alex Freeman & Sam Wilkinson
