By Olivia Turner | Arts & Life Editor
With full sun and temperatures in the 90s, this past weekend made for a great second round of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Upon arrival at Zilker Park, we were greeted each day with the familiar, colorful flags and signage as we walked in. As the afternoon progressed, flocks of attendees morphed into one giant crowd. Between abundant hydration breaks, here are the live music sets we visited.
Friday, Oct. 11
1. Norah Jones
Hearing Norah Jones sing was like time traveling. In a stripey dress and striking blue eye makeup, Jones projected her soothing songs out into a crowd who swayed to the music in response. When the band played “Sunrise,” it took me back about 15 years to when my mom used to play Jones’ songs on CD in the car. In the same way that my mother might have, Jones reminded the crowd to stay hydrated throughout her set, even asking festival-goers to take water breaks whenever she did. Thanks for looking out for us, Nora Jones.
1. Santigold
This set was the first to make me whip out my dance moves. Some of Santigold’s hits, “Shove it” and “Unstoppable,” just have a beat to them that make me want to move my body. Similarly, backup dancers dressed in white outfits and sunglasses helped to bring the set to life. The audience gathered underneath the Tito’s tent, which had disco balls hanging from the ceiling, giving the set a club-like feel, isolated from the rest of the fest.
3. Leon Bridges
As the Texas sun set over Zilker Park, who’s concert would have been more fitting to attend than Leon Bridges? Bridges’s soulful singing of “River” with all its divine harmonies nearly brought me to my knees. Movement and dance seem to flow endlessly through me. Listening and experiencing this set was truly spiritual.
4. Chris Stapleton
Country fans got more than they bargained for during Chris Stapleton’s performance, which was set to the backdrop of the Austin city skyline. After the man himself made his grand entrance, none other than Willie Nelson was welcomed to the stage to play “Whiskey River” with Stapleton and the band.
5. Blink-182
To start off on a good note, Blink-182’s lighting and effects on their set were impressive. On a more negative note, I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about the suspect comments that were made in between songs. Why is a band that hit their peak in the early 2000s asking the women in the crowd if playing an instrument makes them attractive and if anyone wanted to hook up after the show? Whether or not they were jokes, these questions were strange. To be fair, I was tuckered out, as the band was in the last time slot of the night. Needless to say, I was gone from this set within 10 minutes.
Saturday Oct. 12
1. Jonah Kagen
This set may have just been a man and his guitar, but he certainly put on a show. Kagen, an on-the-rise indie artist with an acoustic folk sound, belted out hits “The Roads” and “God Needs The Devil” with a voice that almost sounded desperate, matching the stories in his songs. In between songs, he repeatedly thanked the crowd for their attendance despite the blazing midday sun. Kagen also introduced some unreleased songs, such as “Chrissy,” which tells his mom’s life story.
2. Movements
My inner emo resurfaced with my visit to Movements’ head-banging set. Throughout, several members of the crowd could be seen crowd surfing and forming circle pits, all to the tune of the band’s post-hardcore hits. One thing this band made very clear is that they appreciate their fans — something they showed by thanking the crowd for choosing to attend their set between practically every song.
3. Reneé Rapp
Rapp’s set was greatly anticipated, with a crowd forming hours before her set began and chants of “let’s go lesbians!” from the crowd moments before she walked out. Rapp’s voice and range were just as impressive in-person as they are recorded — a rarity in the age of autotune. As she sang hits like “Pretty Girls” and “Talk Too Much,” Rapp danced and skipped around the stage, occasionally flirting with the cameras broadcasting her performance to the screens.
4. Dua Lipa
With Dua Lipa’s set came another long intermission in a tightly-packed crowd, but it was well worth the wait. Her performance began with a drawn-out intro to “Training Season” with back-up dancers strutting down scaffolding-like set. When she emerged into the red stage lights in a crimson two-piece outfit with her long hair flowing, it was glorious.
Every once in a while, she’d taunt the crowd with “I can’t hear you,” triggering whoops, cheers and hollers in response. After “One Kiss” and “Levitating” among other hits, Lipa donned a burnt orange Longhorns jersey in honor of the university’s football win against Oklahoma earlier in the day. From start to finish, Lipa gave it her all, doing elaborate routines along with her fellow dancers, all while singing without missing a beat.
Sunday Oct. 13
1. Malcolm Todd
Indie artist Malcolm Todd’s set felt almost more like a party than it did a concert, except it happened at 2 p.m. instead of 2 a.m. The band takes on a predictable vibe for a group of guys in their twenties: rowdy, yet laid back. Todd encouraged his listeners to jump around, put their hands up and dance, making the point that they were already sweating anyways. Nearing the end of a set filled with intense guitar-playing and joking with the crowd, Todd and the band played their top song, “Roommates,” which most audience members seemed to know by heart.
2. Orville Peck
As always, country crooner Orville Peck made his appearance at ACL dressed in a hat, boots, gold-gilded western wear and his iconic mask. His voice bellowed out into the dusty air as he and his band played “How Far Will We Take It?” and “Midnight Ride.” Peck brought his guitar-strumming battles to a halt a few times in concern for audience members who seemed to need help, only resuming once he knew security was on the way. Peck even brought a familiar ACL face — Willie Nelson — to the stage to sing gay cowboy anthem “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other.”
3. Cannons
Though most know Cannons best for their 2019 hit “Fire for You,” the band really showed off their chops at their evening ACL performance. Their dreamy, groovy sound and enticing beat had the crowd swaying to and fro, even those decked-in-pink cowboys who were there waiting for Chappell Roan’s set to begin.
4. Chappell Roan
The second the stage went dark before Chappell Roan’s set, phones with red recording dots shot into the air like bullets to catch the first glimpse of the Midwest Princess. Red curls flying in the wind, Roan took to the stage with “Femininomenon” in a burst of pink light. After, Roan asked the crowd if they could believe they were at ACL. Well, Chappell, I think most of us were in more disbelief that we were able to see you.
Just as expected, with each song, the crowd seemed to sing just as loudly right back, if not louder with each song. About halfway through the set, Roan admitted to the endless multitude of pink cowgirl hats that she was losing her voice and had the crowd help her with lyrics to “Good Luck, Babe!” by holding out her microphone. Roan also revealed that this performance would be her last for the year, and that she was glad to be spending it at ACL.
5. Tyler, the Creator
I knew Tyler’s set was going to be legendary when I saw the stage being built into a rocky, rust-colored cliff pre-performance. Not long after, he emerged from the structure, coughing from all the smoke machines after his first song.
Among many of his more recent hits, Tyler performed nostalgic tracks from 2017’s “Flower Boy” such as “Boredom” and “911/Mr. Lonely,” even going back to “Wolf” with “IFHY” and “Goblin” with “Yonkers” and “She.”
At one point, a crowd member threw his ID onto the stage, which Tyler picked up and shamed him for. He even had the crowd boo the guy and joked about telling the cops to pull him over on his ride home, but instead handed the ID to a security team member to return to the crowd.
Later on, Tyler told the crowd this show would probably be the last he’d do for a while. He said he wanted to take some time to relax on the couch, to which some of the crowd booed in defiance, and some shushed in defense. Nevertheless, the announcement made the set all-the-more special and bittersweet.
Throughout, the set seemed to shift from a sunny day to a starry night in which a UFO graphic descended over Tyler as he belted lyrics into the dark and flame machines spit fire below him, making the crowd go ballistic. Then, for the last song, he ended on “See you Again,” bringing the golden light of morning to the set.
