Austin City Limits Festival closed out its first weekend big on a hot Sunday, October 6th.
MisterWives, who had played the festival in the past, didn’t let the heat stop them from delivering an impeccable performance. Even a microphone issue early on didn’t break the stride of frontwoman Mandy Lee. The entire band (besides the drummer of course) made the whole stage their dancefloor, creating a high-energy environment at the Honda Stage. After playing a good mix of songs off their newest album Nosebleeds Encore as well as their earlier work, Lee got emotional from the crowd’s reaction to the performance. They finished the set off with the hit “Our Own House”.
Bakar is one of those acts that just sounds amazing on a mic. If you’ve heard the U.K. artist’s music before, you’d appreciate just how well he performs his tracks. It’s like the record you love with a warm feeling one can only obtain by being in the presence of his voice. One could see the passion he was giving the performance. He will be doing it again at 3:45 PM Weekend Two at the T-Mobile Stage.
At 4:45 PM on the American Express Stage, Cannons gave a fantastic performance. Frontwoman Michelle Joy came out fierce walking down the catwalk, becoming larger than life to the fans that surrounded her. The group held nothing back as they worked their way through their catalog of groovy synthy tunes like “Hurricane”, “Purple Sun” and “Loving You”. The L.A.-based band most likely gained some new fans as well as attendees poured into their set preparing to grab their spot for rising star Chappell Roan. The band closed their crowd pleasing performance of their hit track “Fire For You”.
If there was one thing in common amongst the crowd at ACL this year, it was the color pink. Apparently large droves of girls in pink cowboy hats is no longer reserved for bachelorette parties. It was Sunday at ACL and everyone wanted a chance to go to the Pink Pony Club. Figuratively, that was the American Express Stage at 6:45 PM where the Femininomenon herself Chappell Roan would be performing. While she wasn’t a headlining act, the artist had fans gathering as early as the gates opened to see the show. The sun started to fade as the red headed-singer and her band appeared on stage. Screams of fans poured through the air as she voiced the tracks they had longed for throughout the weekend. The feeling of being in a crowd that large was a remarkable one. Especially when the singer began teaching the dance made popular by her track “HOT TO GO!” It was an iconic moment. But there really wasn’t a moment that didn’t feel that way. She wrapped up the show with ‘Pink Pony Club’ to complete the weekend for many of ACL’s attendees.
Dom Dolla came out hot, extremely hot with lots of pyro added to his production setup. The Australian artist appeared to be on top of the world on a large pyramid structure that protruded lights into the crowd. Austin City Limits turned into a club-like atmosphere, as he cycled through the hits that have dance music enthusiasts everywhere going nuts. The artist demonstrated his knowledge of how to work a crowd throughout his set, dropping heaters like “San Frandisco” and “Miracle Maker”. The artist probably could have played all night and not many would have left.
Sturgill Simpson closed out the long weekend on the Honda Stage. The “You Can Have the Crown” singer graced the night with his unique voice backed up by his phenomenal band. The outlaw country singer drew in a sizable audience considering Tyler the Creator was playing at the same time. The high-energy set had the crowd singing and dancing the entire time. In a surprising move, Sturgill Simpson closed out the festival with “Call to Arms” and went beyond his set time to be the last act performing. It was a true testament to how he likes to push boundaries.
