ACL 2016: Sunday Thoughts

Sunday is going to be so fantastic.  For those of you who have followed my musings, you know that a bunch of the bands that are on tap for today are right up my alley, people I've either liked for years or new talents who stuck with me during this listening process.  Also, in a very exciting development, the wife is going to join me for Sunday, meaning that I'll finally get to share one of my favorite things with my favorite person.  Which is highly cool. 

Although, unlike my advice about leaving the chairs and other stuff at home, I'm going to set her up with a blanket and chair and big ass Yeti cup and make her a comfortable little spot right in between the two killer stages for the day.  If you notice down below, from the 2pm show on, the best stuff is just going to be flipping back and forth between the HomeAway and the Samsung, and so I'm going to post her up right between those two stages for some good music times.

Sunday playlist.  "Look at what you made me do!  Yo pass the hotsauce."



One other note, if you were psyched to see the Metallica kid's band at Austin Kiddie Limits Sunday afternoon, they have apparently dropped out of the 'fest.  Gina Chavez is now listed in their slot.

11:30

Miller Lite	Shane Smith & the Saints: Damn fine Texas-centric country
Zilker	The Shelters: Garage-y classic rock sound that loves Tom Petty
HomeAway	July Talk: Leonard Cohen (not really) meets a lady friend for rock and freaking roll

I mean, honestly, screw you, ACL.  All three of these bands, and especially The Shelters, are good stuff.  And putting them before noon on Sunday is some B.S.  A man is entitled to sleep in a little on day three of the Festival and go get some wings and beers while watching football before the good music kicks in.  Why isn’t this portion of the Festival all gospel all the time?  Rude.  God is watching and knows that your heart is hardened.

12:15

Honda	Lizzo: Bad ass female rapper
Tito’s Tent	Jai Malano: Rootsy bluesy rock gal with a classic sound
BMI	Luke Winslow-King: New Orleans jazzy singer/songwriter
Samsung	Brett Dennen: Gentle ginger with some chilled tuneage

More stuff that I'd like to see more of - Lizzo is crazy fun, you should go see her if these four are the choice and you are there this early.  But all three of these other guys are fine stuff that I'd go to see immediately if they were on Friday at 5:00.

1:00

Miller	Domo Genesis: Cool beats and guest verses with guy from Odd Future.
Cirrus	Wild Belle: Indie pop with enough reggae tinge to be cool
Tito's	Avery*Sunshine (1:15): Smooth soul/R&B action
HomeAway	Wild Child: Local band with an unhinged, fun sound and harmonies

In all honesty, none of these four are going to get me to the festival early.  We'll see how the day shakes out, if I can motivate to get there early to see The Shelters and Lizzo, and if I do, I'll probably chose Domo Genesis for this slot.  Maybe Wild Child, but meh...

2:00

Honda	Chronixx & Zincfence Redemption: Classic reggae sound from a new school guy
Tito's	Marlon Williams (2:15): New Zealand's answer to throwback-style country
BMI	Basia Bulat: Florence & the Machine-lite
Samsung	Kacey Musgraves: Bad ass country chick with legit lyrics and cool sound

This is where POWER SUNDAY begins, with Kacey Musgraves.  I may be more excited about this show than anything other than Radiohead, and its just plain weird to me that her slot is at 2 in the afternoon.  But whatever.  Let's do this thing.  BTW, if you are a weirdo communist nutjob who hates Musgraves for some weird reason, all three of the other people in this slot are actually really enjoyable.

3:00

Miller	Pete Yorn: Pop rock mastermind
Cirrus	NF: Confessional lyrics from an Eminem-esque Christian rapper
Tito's	Break Science (3:30): Bass heavy beats electronic with two good assists from Redman
HomeAway	Margo Price: Awesome throwback country gal on Jack White's label

Man, while I'm legitimately bummed about missing out on Pete Yorn, I am excited to see Margo Price.  She is legit.  Honestly, this is another foursome where all four of these choices are solid.  NF game me lots of feels and sounds great, Break Science is fun dance music.  You can't go wrong in this slot, well, unless you don't go see Price.

4:00

Honda	Local Natives: Lovely little indie rock
Tito's	James Hunter Six (4:45): Classic soul from a time machine
BMI	Quaker City Night Hawks: Bluesy rock goodness
Samsung	Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats: Soul revival masterminds who will hurt you with their live show

Another four pack that you can't go wrong with.  But you just have to go see Nathaniel Rateliff.  His live show is amazing and so very much fun.  I'm a little bit worried about the size of the crowd for this one, but I'm telling you, he is legit.  Sad to miss out on the Quaker City Night Hawks, as they were one of the new bands I found through this process that I liked the most.  If you can't see Nate, go check them out.

5:00

Miller	Oh Wonder: Lovely but kind of boring little indie duets
Cirrus	Bob Moses: Chilly electro that sure seems out of place at ACL
HomeAway	St. Paul & the Broken Bones: That other long ass band name doing kick ass soul revival rock

Finally, and easy choice.  St. Paul's old tunes are good stuff, but the most recent album is excellent.  I expect another high energy show like Nathaniel Rateliff.  Excited about this show.

6:00

Honda	Miike Snow: Swedish electro pop indie with one too many vowels
Tito's	Gregory Porter: Jazz and soul delivered with a honey smooth voice
BMI	Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds: Soul rock boogie
Samsung	Chris Stapleton: Bad ass country star

Interestingly enough, here is one spot where my buddy has already identified that we will be splitting up for a show.  I'm all in on Stapleton, can't wait to see him play live.  His album has soundtracked a large portion of my last year.  But my friend Jason wants to go see Sister Sparrow (who are a good choice if they weren't up against Stapleton) because his brother-in-law's band is somehow connected to them.  Vaya con Dios, mi amigo.  I'll be mumbling the lyrics to "Whiskey and You" while I try not to get choked up.

7:00

Miller	Young the Giant: (apparently forgot to do a One Liner, which makes sense since I kind of forget who these guys are each time I hear their name)
Cirrus	Porter Robinson & Madeon: More electronic stuff straddling the line between EDM and indie
HomeAway	Haim: Sister party rock with some pop flourish

Easy decision here too, as Haim is great.  I was kind of hoping that their new album would be out by now, but nothing new available on Spotify.  Should still be a fun show, their debut album is fun stuff. Funny thing, I literally forgot to write a One Liner for Young the Giant, which made me chuckle, since I literally can't remember which band they are.  I know the radio plays some of their tunes, and I listened to all of their albums a few weeks ago, but I guess they just skim right over my brain or something.

8:00

Honda	LCD Soundsystem: Dance indie electronic that is more popular than I can understand
Samsung	Mumford & Sons: Rootsy Folk Revivalist Kings! (if you ignore that 2015 album)

Come on, Marcus.  Stick to the first two albums, my friend.  Nobody wants to hear the milquetoast rock stylings of the new disc.  I'm a little bit disappointed not to get to do LCD, jst to see what all the hype is about in person, but I'm not going to miss seeing Mumford.