The Friday forecast for Zilker Park this weekend was a little daunting: three days of nonstop rain, rain, and more rain during the 25th anniversary of Austin City Limits Music Festival held in Austin, Texas. However, on day one festival organisers looked optimistic as they suggested attendees wear ponchos and rain boots and tough it out despite the difficult weather, and nevertheless, the show went on!
Photos and Text By Gaby Deimeke
Cover: Charli XCX
With blazing red hair and an acoustic guitar, Irish singer CMAT performed on Friday afternoon as fans were ushering in, belting vocals and matching with her all-red band. Paris Paloma felt straight out of a dark fairytale, spinning in a flowy blue dress and sharing an anti-AI statement to fans, explaining that AI can’t replace humans creating true art, poems, and music. Over at the Tito’s Tent, Rebecca Black, clad in a red and black pinup girl outfit, showcased her new album Age of the Exhibitionist with a sexy hyperpop set and matching backup dancers.
Meanwhile, lead vocalist for The Killers, Brandon Flowers, performed a solo set as the sun was setting in the rain. His new album Thrasher has a rootsy country western vibe that fit ACL perfectly. Alternative band Turnstile brought many mud splashes, mosh pits and crowdsurfing to the festival, getting fans riled up despite the weather.
Friday night had a lot of options for the EDM crowd. From Bunt. to Steve Aoki to Charli xcx to Skrillex, fans had their pick of some of the best electronic music in existence right now. The Chainsmokers had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand from the first melody, performing their smash hits Paris, Closer, Something Just Like This, and Roses. Steve Aoki came with many pastel-colored cakes to throw out to the crowd, to the soundtrack of his electro-pop hits. Skrillex’s set was complete with beat drops, fire and a cleaner, more spacious house sound than his earlier work.
Charli xcx’s performance was everything you’d expect from a 365 party girl’s pop show: rave-inspired black and white strobe lights, dozens of scantily clad backup dancers, Troye Sivan as a surprise guest, sweat and her throwing on her signature black sunglasses. She transported the music festival into a giant rock show and rave, with songs like Guess, Apple and Von Dutch, all while making numerous outfit changes and shaking it for the camera. Toward the end of the set, she stood on a giant boombox speaker hanging from the top of the stage, becoming almost a silhouette while singing party 4 you. The energy was high the entire time, with fans dancing the entire time.
Saturday experienced a delayed start with more rain and mud, but that didn’t stop fans from queueing up to see Lorde. Around the festival, activations continued, with Beatbox holding a music mirage complete with body art, kandi beads, and hair braiding. The Bonus Tracks stage held many interesting interviews, from Mike Posner to Antoni Porowski to a Dolly Parton drag show tribute performance. The Disco Dive secret hang was a new hidden area for any fan to stop by. It included a speakeasy and a relaxed area to hang out, if you could find it in its hidden location. Food at the festival included local favourites like De Nada margs and Cabo Bobs nacho buckets, which fans carried around from set to set.
Luckily the rain held off on Saturday, but the grounds were a bit of a mess as fans trekked in to see Finn Wolfhard (from Stranger Things) and his new band on Saturday afternoon. Other Saturday highlights included British singer-songwriter Skye Newman, Puerto Rican rapper and swag extraordinaire Young Miko. A standout was Dallas-based hip-hop band and Tiny Desk winner, Cure for Paranoia, rapping clever lyrics about the importance of self-love like “I walk into the gallery like bitch, I am the art show.”
Bleachers, a band led by frontman and producer Jack Antonoff, showcased electric guitars, a saxophone solo, and Springsteen-esque energy throughout their sunset performance, with the text “Bleachers Forever” on the screen during their set. Across the park, Messy singer Lola Young, wearing gold hoop earrings and black platform boots, told the crowd that she was a bit nervous but wanted to have a good time with fans. She delivered a great performance despite her nerves.
The night ended with sick drops and fire from future bass and dubstep trio Levity, who has been making moves in the electronic music scene, and closing sets from Rufus du Sol and Lorde. Lorde created a more vulnerable, stripped-back set with minimal props and outfits, focused on the rawness of her music. She began the show by attaching cords of an EKG to her body, so fans could see her heart rate increase in real time. Ella started in a simple track suit outfit and slowly took pieces off throughout the set, which gave the effect of peeling back layers and emotionally opening up as the show went on. Her dancers felt more like modern interpretive dancers than traditional backup dancers, with gestures that supported the emotional depth of the songs. A large square box stood behind her and alternated with lights and grids, like a tech-inspired element in the outside world in contrast to her vulnerability.
At one point, she stops to have a sip of water from a water fountain with a camera rigged up to it; it felt like it represented a simple, mundane piece of normal life, and yet she was doing it on stage in front of thousands of people. Another highlight was during Liability, she projected clips of her younger self onto her shirt, which particularly struck a meaningful chord. It felt personal; a peek at her inner dialogue. She gave Charli xcx a shout-out during their collab song Girl, so confusing, with lyrics, “It’s so confusing sometimes to be a girl.” Lorde performed hits Perfect Places, Green Light, and ended with Ribs, running through the crowd and jumping with it, a full cathartic emotional experience.
Sunday arrived and brought with it some new up-and-coming female artists. Stella Lefty, donned in cowboy boots and jean shorts, brought a country vibe to the fest as she sang her songs, ending with her hit Boston. Claire Rosinkranz felt like a fairy with a mushroom sprout in her hair, spinning around as she sang songs she has written since she was sixteen. Audrey Hobert, always the comedian, ran on stage with a giant trench coat and disguise glasses. She sang Sue Me twice to the excited crowd. The evening brought Noga Erez and Cannons, and the weekend closed with DJ’s Sofi Tukker and rock band Twenty One Pilots.
The two-person musical duo, consisting of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, started their set with a bang, as literal pyro was set off at the beginning of their set. They came out in masks and ran around not only the stage and on top of a piano but immediately into the crowd as they performed hits such as Ride, Heathens, and Stressed Out. It was an exciting show, with Josh going crazy on the drums and Tyler being the classic rock frontman, performing high-energy stunts and adding to the controlled chaos of the show. They gave a spectacular ending to the anniversary weekend of the festival, ending with fireworks to the awestruck crowd.
It felt good to be a live music lover this year at ACL. The performances across the board felt intentional, inspiring, and connected to the fan experience. It made us reflect on so many things about our own lives and appreciate the artistry involved in creating a live music experience. Next year we’d be happy to do it again without all the mud.
