Austin City Limits Festival returned to Zilker Park for a second weekend, Friday-Sunday, October 13th-15th.
While the forecast for Weekend Two of Austin City Limits Festival was outfitted with plans for pants and a sweater, Day One turned out to be rather warm. Festivalgoers adapted their weekend looks and gathered at the Honda Stage at 2:25 PM for Thee Sacred Souls. The band quickly cooled off the crowd with their soothing sound, almost taking you back in time with their classic soul-filled style. Singer and songwriter Josh Lane asked for hands to see if the crowd was vibing and was met with thousands of fingers pointed in the air, confirming the feel. When the band of three, accompanied by their talented back up vocalists played their hit “Will I See You Again” early in their set. The crowd was thrilled.
Soon after, across Zilker Park where the festival is held, fans of all ages stormed the American Express Stage to see Lil Yachty. The “Poland” rapper surprised festivalgoers with a full on rock band to accompany his performance. Yachty, sporting a vintage Mercatone Uno cycling jersey, exclaimed to the crowd that “Weekend Two is way crazier than Weekend One,” while fans moshed and even crowd surfed another fan in a wheelchair towards the front. As the show progressed so did Lil Yachty’s energy, packing in all the hits and showing his ability to spit acapella flows preluding “Minnesota”. He even joined the crowd himself to add to the hype.
A larger than life crowd began to gather at BMI, one of ACL’s smaller stages, for The Moss, to make their festival debut. Fans lined the rails with their signs eager for the band to start. The surf-rock band from Utah took to the stage shortly after 5 and delivered. The set was packed with energy and had lead singer, Tyke James, jumping and kicking his vans into the air.
Around 6PM Major Lazer, a late addition to the ACL line up after Kali Uchis couldn’t make it, turned things up on the Am-Ex Stage with their normal high-amplitude. The trio made up of Walshy Fire, Diplo and Ape Drums, stood tall upon a large LED wall showcasing their Jamaican-American sound, accompanied by remixes of club favorites. Their set also included lots of cool production and back up dancers to add to the hype of their set. If you’re wondering what color Diplo’s hair was this week, the answer is still pink.
At the same time French Kiwi Juice played the Tito’s Stage. ACL’s only covered venue was the perfect place to house FKJ, as it allowed for his moody visuals to be seen easily as it accompanied his groovy, soothing sounds. The looper moved from side to side as he blew strummed and twisted different instruments on stage, showcasing his range of musical talent.
Across the street at the IHG Stage The Revivalists played at 7:10 PM. As the sun was setting the music began. The whole band putting their bodies into motion as they busted out “Kid” to begin the show. Fans young and old could be seen swaying in the crowd. Lead vocalist, David Shaw, could be seen bouncing around the stage giving his attention to the fans that attended. Ed Williams, the steel guitar player was even epically-tipping his instrument towards the crowd.
Headlining the Honda Stage for the evening, The Lumineers opened up the night with the namesake track of their sophomore album Cleopatra (QRO review). Holy folk, they had the crowd in awe as they appeared closer than life on the catwalk before them. Playing hit after hit to the fans who many of whom just bought a pass to see their show.
About 20 minutes into The Lumineers set, drones could be seen across the park making designs in the sky for the thousands of fans gearing up for Kendrick Lamar’s performance to finish off the last Friday of ACL 2023. Much anticipation was built for this particular set due travel delays for Lamar prompting a short show in Weekend One (QRO recap). Opening with “N95” the biggest track of his latest album, Lamar erupted the atmosphere at the festival. His set was a perfectly executed art piece that echoed old-Kanye energy. It was truly something special to hear “backseat Freestyle” a track off Lamar’s debut album ring out at Zilker Park once more with thousands rapping alongside him. He graced the fans with quite a few old songs while threading in tracks from his other albums as well, ending the night with the ominous track “Count Me Out”.
Saturday was off to an unusual start at ACL with the annular solar eclipse happening that afternoon. Many festivalgoers brought special glasses for the occasion to purposely catch a glimpse of that thing your mom always told you not to stare at. For those who didn’t have the glasses, moons could be seen appearing in the shadows. U.K.-based artist Declan McKenna came prepared, decked out in his eclipse shades as he prepared to play the American Express Stage. McKenna started his set stating more they should let the GA attendees into the front pit as it had more room. The crowd cheered as front row attendees settled for just the right side. The fans were roaring for the “Brazil” artist, who played tambourine in addition to playing guitar and other instruments during staple tracks. A memorable moment though when McKenna started their fourth track of the day, “Sympathy”.
Shortly after, on the T Mobile Stage, Gus Dapperton appeared on stage ready to put on a lively performance. Unlike Declan Mckenna on the Amex Stage, The T Mobile stage was shaded from the sun during this part of the day, providing the perfect fall temperatures for attendees. Chair parkour, Kevin Bacon-quality footwork and excellent music were all to be found at the performance. The band accompanied Dapperton perfectly as he played through tracks like “I’m Just Snacking” that had fans swaying their hands back and forth immersed in the moment.
Over on the Honda Stage, Rina Sawayama had a swelling crowd growing eager to catch her set. The young female pop sensation played at 4pm, which made it a little hard to see some of the LED aspects to her performance, but nonetheless it was a showstopper. Appearing first in white, Sawayama and her back up dancers dazzled the crowd with their ballet-style choreography. It had a really powerful energy behind it and was captivating. As the set progressed, Sawayama shed her white gown for a more revealing red outfit and boots that wowed fans as she performed one of her hit tracks “This Hell”.
Coi Leray began her set on the IHG Stage laying on a bed of white sheets. However, there was no sleeping to be seen. Her performance was shortly delayed as her DJ began to hype of the crowd. Once in full motion the “Players” rapper put her fans in a daze with her sensual stage presence and on-point vocals. Everyone in attendance was rapping along with the blue-haired artist.
On the Tito’s Stage. festivalgoers were graced by Canadian duo Tegan & Sara. Whether you are a new fan of the group or have been around since their debut to the music scene more than 20 years ago, you were sure in for a treat. The singers expressed they were a bit bummed that their dream was to open for Alanis Morissette, who was playing on the main stage directly behind them, but honored to play the same set time. Hits like “back in Your Head” and “Walking With a Ghost” could be heard in the packed tent.
As the sun laid down on the park, Bob Moses, accompanied by their live performance band, turned ACL Into a dance party on the Miller Lite Stage. Laying down their deep house tracks such as “Inner Light and “afterglow”, vocalist Tom Howie and producer Jimmy Vallance, concocted a proper environment to ease the crowd into the night.
Just before The 1975 began to close out Saturday of Weekend Two on the Honda Stage the suspense started to build. A single black balloon left over from 30 Seconds to Mars set danced its way through the crowd, most likely held on to by a fan who had been waiting at the stage all day in anticipation for the headlining set. As the show started, the man who once dated the ever-famous Taylor Swift appeared on the ominous stage accompanied by his band, flask and smokes ready to dazzle the crowd. Every boy in the world probably grows up dreaming that one day girls would scream for them as they did for Matty Healy that night. The pop group stole quite a few attendees from the Foo Fighters’ crowd that started shortly before on the other side of the park. Fans sang along to every song like it was the last as rumors of the band going on hiatus circulated amongst the crowd. It was an emotional moment for many, but a happy one.
As Sunday rolled around, people were still high in spirits as they headed over to catch Morgan Wade on the IHG Stage. While the “Wilder Days” singer was a tad late to begin her performance, fans didn’t seem to mind much as the weather was the best Texas had seen for months. As Wade appeared she made verbal note of the young fan in the front sporting her t-shirt and probably made the toddler’s day. Fans enjoyed the energetic show from Wade and her band as they rocked out solos and accompanied her on vocals.
At 4:30 PM, Yves Tumor played the Tito’s Stage. As the band took the stage, Yves followed, appearing in a Slipknot hat, cut-off jeans and rocking a very unique silver plated mic. The tent made for a warmer situation with bodies packed close together to see the “Gospel For A New Century” Singer. As the show unfolded, genres started to contort themselves into tracks like “echolalia” and “Kerosene!” The vibe of the crowd accompanied by the music was next level.
Playing on the T-Mobile Stage, London-based rapper Little Simz came out hot. Dressed in business casual, the emerging female rapper demonstrated her talents cruising through her hip-hop catalog. Hands up and down casting her shadow on the silhouettes that stand behind her displayed in her set production. Fans grew to the height of their friends’ shoulders to catch a glimpse of the action unfolding on stage.
Back at the Honda Stage, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs arrived to put on an incredible performance. The band’s frontwoman Karen O arrived in a green outfit, opposite of the red one she wore at ACL the previous weekend (QRO photos). The band kicked off their set with “Spitting Off the Edge of the World”’ the first track off their latest studio album Cool It Down (QRO review). The roar from the crowd after what felt like a cinematic intro to a film was immaculate. As they began to bring the house down, the lead singer cooled herself off by spitting water straight up into the air, letting the mist pour over her as she addressed fans. About midway through the set “Soft Shock” sent an unearthly bliss through the crowd as they swayed back and forth feeling the notes melting off the stage. Soon after, displaying a purple cloth, Karen O playfully dropped it on her head signaling for the drums to start the classic song “Gold Lion” off their sophomore album Show Your Bones and followed with more hits and new favorites. Between songs, O called for peace, most likely referring to the growing troubles overseas.
A short walk from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cigarettes After Sex played the Miller Lite Stage at 7:15 PM. The trio stood under spotlights, barely lit evoking the same sense of ambiguity their music provides. Fans stood in awe as their emotions spun in different directions, possibly diverting to memories that brought them back to the first time they heard the band.
As the last set times of the festival quickly approached, ACL veterans, Mumford & Sons, closed out the American Express Stage. This was a bold pick for promoters, as Marcus Mumford had played the festival just last year. However, the crowd was plentiful to see the band, even as ODESZA, one of the largest electronic touring acts playing across the park had started just 15 minutes before. Appearing with his band on a well-lit stage Marcus Mumford, wearing a solid grayish outfit and sneakers took the crowd by storm opening up with “Babel” the namesake of their second studio album (QRO review) and quickly started running through the hits that they have accumulated throughout their ten-plus year career. Halfway through the set the band brought Trombone Shorty on stage to do a chilling cover of “ House of the Rising Sun”. This seemed to be the trend of the evening as more special guests were brought out during their set. The Huston-Tillotson University Choir, a local college in east Austin, made an appearance to help sing “October Skies” as well as Hozier, who graced the stage just hours before that evening singing “Timshel” and joined again by the choir for “Awake my Soul”. The band closed out the evening with their hit song “I Will Wait”. An appropriate anthem to close out the festival as attendees will have to wait until next October to feel the ACL magic again.
-words & photos: Sam Wilkinson
