Austin City Limits Festival was back at Zilker Park for a sweltering Weekend 2 of its 23rd edition, Friday-Sunday, October 11th-13th. After Chappell Roan’s park-packing performance from Weekend 1, the second week saw the return of headliners such as Chris Stapleton, Dua Lipa, and Tyler, The Creator, but added singer-songwriter Santigold and rock legends Grand Funk Railroad to round out the fest. A persistent dry spell combined with hundreds of thousands of trampling feet left the grounds like most of the city, a dusty bowl of shredded wheat. Fortunately, the low humidity made the evenings pleasant with cool breezes greeting the crowds as they danced, sat on their blankets, and reveled in the late autumn air.
Like many festivals, by Day Two you get a sense of the prevailing fashion trends of the year. While 2023 was marked by all sorts of Barbie-like wardrobe and every kind of cowboy/girl attire imaginable, many concert goers got the memo this year to wear their ‘70s throwback amber tinted glasses – Amazon must be out of stock in the southwest region of the U.S. by now. Also popping up was a trend seen in boutique EDM festivals that has completely gone mainstream now – sprouts. These clipped on plastic pieces look like they were ripped from a doll house and came in different organic forms such as mushrooms, flowers, and just plain grass sprouts. Pink was and still is the prevailing garment color of ACL Fest along with colored patterned shirts with wacky things such as cacti printed on them.
Saturday was steamy and it got to a slow burn as the day progressed. Seated in front of a black and white stylized eagle set design, Ecuadorian brothers Alejandro and Estevan, better known as Hermanos Gutiérrez, took solace in the shade of the T-Mobile Stage for an hour of stripped-down Latin instrumentalization. Rotating through acoustic guitars, bongos, and lap steel guitars, their ghostly desert sounds were a welcomed shift from the bouncing bass heard nearby at Remi Wolf. While not quite danceable, the brothers entranced the late afternoon crowd with songs such as “Esperanza” and “Until We Meet Again”. The brothers made excellent use of their time in Texas, playing two weekends in Austin, as well as dates in Lubbock, San Antonio, and El Paso – a welcomed side-effect since the festival went to two weeks in 2013.
As magic hour approached on Saturday, Texas’s own Khruangbin (QRO Weekend One photos) buoyed the large field in front of the American Express Stage with their infectious instrumental grooves. Having played in the Austin area frequently, it was good to see these regional stars recognized with a notable spot on the festival’s most prominent stage. Their twelve-song showcase included “A Love International” and “May Ninth” from this year’s A LA SALA, and closed with a cover of “All My Exes Live in Texas” with Say She She joining them on stage.
Over at the Miller Lite Stage on the west side of the grounds, JUNGLE (QRO Weekend One photos) lit up the nighttime with a blinding spectacle that punctuated the Saturday lineup. Sounding scarily like their studio releases and nary taking a breather, their dance grooves had everyone moving the entire set. The British neo-soul trio was rounded out with live instrumentation and stage-wide pulsating visuals, giving them a larger-than-life presence. “Us Against the World”, the opening track from JUNGLE’s 2023 release Volcano was a notable banger, and it showed that the group isn’t stopping their quest to build a fanatical fan base for their form of Nu Disco.
While Dua Lipa kept Khruangbin fans on their blankets as she closed out the east side at the American Express Stage, the west side continued the energy harnessed by JUNGLE at the Miller Lite Stage for the electronic and live sounds of Pretty Lights on the adjacent Honda Stage. Building up slowly, Colorado producer Derek Vincent Smith, a.k.a. Pretty Lights, led the stage band through eleven tracks, dousing the crowd with blinding colorful lights from the start. Nods to Texas artists ZZ Top and Leon Bridges, with funky versions of “Cheap Sunglasses” and “Texas Sun” gave the set a Lone Star flavor. The new track “Berlin Dream Smile” with vocal samples of “Dreams” by The Cranberries was drenched in geometric fractals and oscillating lights which added to the vibe. Pretty Lights closed out their set with a kaleidoscopic take Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly” as fans exited the grounds.
