Emma Weidmann | Arts and Life Editor, Erika Kuehl | Staff Writer
On the second day of Austin City Limits Weekend 2, the music wasn’t eclipsed by the annular solar eclipse visible across the state in the morning. Day 2 of ACL featured sets from some of our favorite artists of all time and was perfected by lower temperatures and great vibes.
The crowd was thousands of people larger than it was on the first day because many people were able to devote their weekend to the festival now that the work week was over. The crowds were bigger at every set and the lines were longer everywhere, but it all moved quickly. Here’s a rundown of all the live music we caught throughout the day.
Mt. Joy
Our first set of the day was a folk favorite, the psychedelic Mt. Joy. As it was clear from the sheer numbers of people making the pilgrimage to the American Express Stage, Mt. Joy was calling, and Austin City Limits must go.
This set was shockingly packed for a non-headlining act, but we weren’t complaining. With security members handing out water to keep the crowd hydrated and with a constant stream of great music from the band, we couldn’t have been happier. Mt. Joy is groovy and unique, and they showed their chops with a really respectable cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.”
Coi Leray
We caught Coi Leray at the IHG Hotels and Resorts Stage while chowing down on some burgers for a late lunch. While the performance was packed with high energy and undoubtedly entertaining, the set was somewhat confusing with the interjections of Leray’s hype man every few seconds.
Noah Kahan
If you’ve never heard of Noah Kahan, allow us to introduce you to the “Jewish Ed Sheeran,” the “Prozac Lin Manuel Miranda,” the “Folk Malone.”
Other than breathing in cigarette smoke from self-proclaimed hipsters and watching someone collapse, we’d say the set was incredible. He started off his set with “Northern Attitude” and quickly followed with “Call Your Mom” with guest feature Mumford and Sons. Our personal favorite was “Orange Juice” because only the real fans can belt every word. To appease the people who heard of Kahan through TikTok, he ended the set with “Stick Season” – a classic.
The 1975
Put a finger down if you’ve ever worn too much black eyeliner. Put another finger down if you’ve ever worn all black to feel like you were edgy, and put a third finger down if you’ve ever wished you smoked cigarettes because you thought it might look cool.
If you have three fingers down right now, The 1975 is for you, and Matty Healy is your patron saint.
When Healy told the crowd to jump, they jumped. When he told the crowd to sing with him, sing they did —and loudly, we might add. This could only be the work of someone with a devout cult following such as Healy. The setlist was beyond incredible and included songs from deep in the discography, as well as some new favorites like “About You,” during which we saw couples look deeply into each others’ eyes while our hearts melted.
They opened with “Looking For Somebody (To Love)” and closed with “Sex,” both of which are completely un-skippable songs, and it took us on a journey from the latest to the very first album. This ACL set was arguably a better experience than seeing them live on the At Their Very Best Tour because the festival crowd brought an energy that was unmatched.
Foo Fighters
There are not enough words to describe the out-of-body experience we had at Foo Fighters. The energy was insanely high – and so were the people. We experienced the most vile form of PDA and watched David Grohl personally fat-shame a fan. We pretty much lost it when Grohl played the first few chords of “Blackbird” by The Beatles — he definitely knew we were there and obviously played it just for us.
Hearing “My Hero” live was something we will never forget. One of our favorite moments was when the band asked the crowd to pay homage to the late legend Taylor Hawkins by lifting their hands to the sky. As Foo Fighters fans ourselves, we shed a few tears, for sure. Ending the night with “Everlong” had tears dripping down our faces due to the sheer talent of these musicians.
With Day 3 looming, we’re excited to see what else is in store and equally sad to see it nearing an end.
