Despite Poor Weather, ACL Weekend 1 Performers Marched Onward
PHOTOS BY KAITLYN WILKES
The seven days leading up to Austin City Limits Weekend 1 had attendees refreshing forecasts and watching local meteorologists like it was a second job – the fate of the festival rested on how much it would rain, because it was guaranteed there would be at least some precipitation.
Previous rainy festivals proved Zilker Park, where the festival is located, to be capable of turning into basically a mud pit, and there were rumors going around online that the dirt used at the park was DilloDirt, which contains, among other things, treated human waste. ACL had to come out and say DilloDirt hadn’t been used since 2009, but the thought of what could be in the dirt had already been placed in people’s heads.
Nevertheless, rain boots and ponchos were bought, and attendees were ready to face the mud, and the music, for a rainy ACL.
Grocery Bag
Austin-based band Grocery Bag brought the power to the BMI stage, which this year highlighted the festival’s up-and-coming talent to keep an eye on. Although a smaller stage, Grocery Bag’s ripping power cords created high-tempo music that surged with electric energy.
The set was clean, tight and showed why they’ve been getting recognition from the likes of Austin’s NPR station, the city’s soccer team and Billy Idol’s manager (they opened for a few of his shows on his recent U.S. tour.) The foursome clearly has their set nailed down tight, and are the next band to get into if you want to say, “I knew them before they were big.”
Muddy factor: 2.6/5
Charli XCX
Friday headliner Charli XCX springboarded off the success of global sensation brat and brought the party with songs from her latest album Music, Fashion, Film, older fan favorites like “Track 10,” and viral hits like “party 4 u.”
By combining past, present and future, Charli’s set was magnetic and charged, but her performance style coupled with her enchanting gaze constantly on the large stage screens made this giant party feel like it was a house party with your closest friends.
Weekend 1’s guest was Troye Sivan, who debuted new song “Le Boy” and sang recent album single “Party,” capturing the aesthetic rolled out by Charli, and giving the crowd a fun tease of potential surprises to come in Weekend 2.
Muddy factor: 2/5
Balu Brigada
Through no fault of their own, New Zealand-born brother duo Balu Brigada’s set got not only pushed back, but abbreviated for their Saturday afternoon performance. Additionally, half of the viewing area at the anchor T-Mobile stage was closed because of mud and forklifts trying to lay down wooden floorboards on the muddiest parts of the festival grounds.
Despite this, the duo kept the crowd captivated and moving with their groovy beats. The crowd followed commands to jump and dance like there wasn’t wet mud actively under their feet, singing to the slightly sleazy indie rock tunes.
The highlight of the set was hearing “Backseat” with its gravely vocals, catchy and stuttering refrain, and bouncy, extended guitar outro that got the crowd moving in unison. With over 6 million monthly listeners on Spotify, I’m glad I saw Balu Brigada when I did, because I know it will be more difficult in the future.
Muddy factor : 3.7/5
PHOTOS BY KAITLYN WILKES
Suki Waterhouse
“ACL I hope you’re ready to fall in love again,” Suki Waterhouse said as she opened her set. She then subsequently made ACL fall in love with a catalogue that showcases her fun, flirty, sincere, desiring and hurting heart.
Waterhouse’s vocals are confident and smokey, giving a bite of edge to her music that creates an alluring quality. Her set, which included an anatomically correct, giant, disco-ball like heart outwardly shows how her heart is not only on her sleeve in her work, but openly and publicly on display in all its glittering glory.
Towards the middle of the set, Waterhouse was possessed by Pat Benatar during a cover of “Love is a Battlefield.” The vocal match was eerily similar, if the listener closed their eyes, they’d believe Benatar had joined Waterhouse on stage. This cover was not only a good choice thematically and vocally, but also sonically slotted right into the rest of the set – expanding Waterhouse’s alt pop wheelhouse into the past as she looks toward the future of her career touring latest album Loveland.
Muddy factor: 1.5/5
Bleachers
Bleachers’ jangly, lyrically loaded, all-star jam style music is perfectly set for something like a festival. For music that is layered with so many instruments, allowing a large audience to see each part in play like a cog in a well-oiled machine does the production and wordsmithing skills of frontman Jack Antonoff justice.
Not only did the crowd always have something new and exciting to pay attention to, Antonoff put in the work to keep the crowd entertained in a “there’s no song where he needs to be doing all this” type of way; but, it works. Despite the mud soup happening on the ground, the crowd was singing and jumping to the music – feeding off the energy that was radiating from the stage.
The only disconnect between Antonoff and the crowd was when the crowd decided not to listen to the singer’s requests to get low so the crowd could then jump up and dance. The music may have been lively, but it seems the crowd had found the line in refusing to get more than their shoes muddy.
Muddy factor: 4.3/5
PHOTOS BY KAITLYN WILKES
Lorde
Finally experiencing a Lorde concert after about a decade of listening to her music lived up to all the expectations I’d set. Her quirky, sincere personality comes out in her show and makes it thrum with energy – like the heartbeat monitor she wears as the concert starts.
Even though the performance was for her tour promoting her most recent album Virgin, there were still a lot of songs off her arguably most popular album Melodrama, which is as fun and pop maximalist live as it is listening to the album.
The set spanned complex emotions, like transitions from the freefalling, youth injected “Greenlight” to the reflective and mature “David” (which was diabolical), to hugging her dancer at the end of “Hard Feelings” with a camera in hand. She showed the hug only from her perspective, which felt like a stand-in for so many similar experiences held by the audience.
Jumping back to the early part of her career and closing out her set with “Ribs” – a song about friendship, growing up and losing childhood innocence – only feels appropriate after hearing about Lorde’s personal growth as an adult in her latest album. Although with now more life experience, the sentiments of “Ribs” often continue to carry on through adulthood, and hearing such a personal song with so many people who are also with people who mean so much to them felt heartwarming and uniting.
Muddy factor: 2/5
PHOTOS BY KAITLYN WILKES
underscores
As dance pop continues to find itself in the spotlight, I’m always curious which acts will be the next ones to catch the general public’s attention. When I first saw underscores on stage — just herself, no band, no set — I wasn’t sure how that was going to translate.
Even with only a single person on stage, underscores showed why she drew such a big crowd at the most out-of-the-way stage at ACL: the stylization of the jagged, 21st century, computerized production allows the vocals to breathe, giving audiences the best of both words with dance pop and fun, memorable lyrics.
Muddy factor: 2/5
Geese
Before seeing Geese at ACL, I’ll admit, I wasn’t completely sold on the hottest new rock act. Even though I think the band still has room to grow in their live performances, the talent of the group cannot be denied.
Lead singer Cameron Winter's voice was silky and sure of itself, the instrumentals were tight and precise, there was a good mix of following the track and a jam session that’s just long enough to keep a listener’s interest.
While I may not be first in line to get Geese tickets, I can definitely say I understand where the hype is coming from, and they will definitely be playing later than 6:20 p.m. the next time they come to ACL.
Muddy factor: 1.5/5
Blood Orange
Blood Orange, his backup singers and his band just ooze talent and cool. The duets were smooth and seamless, the instrumentals groovy and deboucherous.
Even without much crowd interaction, British-singer Devonté Hynes utilized over a decade of experience to show his evolution and maturation in the alt R&B sphere – carving out a niche that is uniquely his own
When going to Hynes’ set, I was only familiar with his song “Best to You.” However, after hearing and seeing the radiance that trickles off the stage, this is definitely someone whose back catalogue I will look into.
Muddy factor: 3/5
Twenty One Pilots
The last time I was keeping track of what Twenty One Pilots was up to was the Blurryface era, and aside from viral singles and movie soundtracks, I was largely unfamiliar with their recent work. It seems Ohio duo Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph were aware I might not be the only person in the crowd experiencing this.
In closing out Sunday on Weekend 1, there was a good mix of songs for the casual and deep-cut fans which I think is the way to go at a festival like this – it allows both loose and invested fans to enjoy the energetic, highly interactive show put on.
Joseph and Dun have their set down to a science – finding pockets that allow each person to flex their skills whether that’s in a face mask singing in the middle of the crowd, or performing a drum solo on a tower overlooking the festival.
During multiple parts of the show either one or both band members were being supported on discs held up by the crowd, which shows the amount of trust they have in their fans and the strong relationship they have with them. This was arguably the most unique aspect of the show, as this is the only band I’ve ever seen do this, making the set memorable for those who are unfamiliar with Twenty One Pilot’s antics.
I was not expecting to enjoy this closer as much as I did, but after watching how Twenty One Pilots commanded the stage and brought it into the crowd, I understand how they’ve built such a dedicated fan base.
Muddy factor: turf
