YES! It's finally happening! I freaking love putting together my schedule. Running back through all 100+ of the artists I have listened to. Remembering the ones that were cool, figuring out how to navigate the stages, activating my true inner (and outer, I guess, since this is pretty public) music nerd.
I keep hearing people, especially young people, say that the lineup is bad or weak or whatever. But after pushing through the full lineup of bands, I've got to disagree. It reminds me a little bit of the 2015 lineup, where the headliners weren't my favorite thing, but the next few lines had some top notch stuff (Alabama Shakes, Sturgill Simpson, Tame Impala, The Decemberists, TV On the Radio, Gary Clark Jr., Father John Misty). And so again, while many of those headliners are not my top choices for what I'd want to see, I'm digging a bunch of those second-tier bands who will make up the core of the weekend for me. We're going to have a great time!
If you can bail on work, the early Friday time at ACL is so great. I usually try to go eat a good lunch with my out of town buddy - impress him with something awesome and Austin-y that he can't get in the park. I'm still mad that Freedman's closed - that place ruled.
A few prelude thoughts before the hour-by-hour thoughts:
- The comments for each band are those "One Liner" things that I added to my reviews. It helps me to remember who they are (sometimes) and provides some detail on the kind of music they play. Every once in a while they make me giggle too.
- Honestly, sometimes those one liners are freaking hard to write. Some of this music is super crazy forgettable and I just can't come up with anything useful to write. "uhhh, another R&B lady with a pretty voice?"
- I've made each band name a link so that you can go read the full review and listen to some tunes if you are unswayed by the One Liner.
- The first column in each box is the stage where the band is playing (in case you thought I was just playing a weird word association game).
- No more VRBO/HomeAway stage? Damn! I had a hookup last year to go sidestage there!
- Honestly, not a lot of hard choices to be made on this day. One or two, but nothing that truly breaks my heart.
A playlist of the tunes for my selections...
Here we go:
12:30/1:00
Honda | Asleep at the Wheel: Every year's favorite western swing purveyors |
Kiddie (12:30) | Elena Moon Park: Kiddie music with a Hawaiian and East Asian bent |
American Express: | Tamino: If Jeff Buckley gave middle eastern flair to the downtempo Radiohead songs |
I doubt I'll make it to the park this early, but at the same time, both of these non-Kiddie options would be enjoyable. Asleep at the Wheel is a classic starter. Tamino makes really good alternative rock stuff with a middle eastern flair. No wrong choice there.
1:45
Miller Lite | Nation of Language: Brooklyn indie rockers channeling the 80's |
BMI | Elijah Wolf: a bedroom pop guy turned into a pretty great folk rock dud |
Barton Springs | Cassandra Jenkins: Lovely, gentle singer of gently comfortable indie folk/rock |
Tito's (1:30) | Thebrosfresh: Remember Jamie Foxx's sweet solo music career? |
T-Mobile (2:00) | ZAI1K: Auto-tuned rapping and singing with a viral hit on TikTok |
You could have offered me $50 to recall anything at all about ZAI1K as I started to write up this schedule. No freaking clue. He really sticks with you! This is actually a tough hour. Nation was probably my favorite of all of the 80's redux bands on this poster, and the Cassandra Jenkins music is super beautiful. That being said, I like Girlhouse a lot - I've been going back to that and listening more because it is just good stuff.
[EDIT] Well, too bad! Because Girlhouse is no longer on the poster, so no such luck! New entry Elijah Wolf is really good though, but I'm sad that they pulled my favorite thing for this hour! I'd probably choose Wolf in this slot now.
[EDIT] Well, too bad! Because Girlhouse is no longer on the poster, so no such luck! New entry Elijah Wolf is really good though, but I'm sad that they pulled my favorite thing for this hour! I'd probably choose Wolf in this slot now.
2:30
Honda | Kevin Morby: Chilled out folky rock greatness |
Tito’s Tent | Cory Henry: Keyboard prodigy playing fun funk and critically acclaimed jazz |
Kiddie (2:30) | School of Rock: Kids jamming cover tunes based on what they learned at private lessons |
American Express | Noah Cyrus: Miley's little sister |
Bummer. Honestly, all three of the real things in this hour are very good. I will go see Kevin Morby, because I have been wanting to catch his music for a while, but I had planned on seeing Noah when she was announced. And beyond those two, Cory Henry is an extremely talented dude - if you feel like rolling the dice I bet his show would be really good.
3:15
Miller Lite | Gayle: Bad pop-rock singer with one huge kiss-off TikTok hit |
BMI | Lilyisthatyou: Overly sexualized pop garbage for the TikTok age |
Barton Springs | Gabriels: Throwback soul bops with co-signs from Sir Elton and Harry Styles |
T-Mobile | Charlotte Cardin: Power-singing Canadian is the sixth most-popular Charlotte on Spotify |
Weak hour - none of those just sucked me in with a need to see them live. I'd go with the Gabriels though, out of these. Can you tell I think TikTok is crappy for finding music? ;)
4:00
Honda | Jazmine Sullivan: Fantastic voice used for R&B powers |
Tito’s Tent | Genesis Owusu: Ghana/Aussie rapper/singer with a little funky flair |
Kiddie (4:30) | Q Brothers: Possibly not the worst Kiddie Limits band, if you believe Joseph |
American Express | Zach Bryan: Excellent low-key singer-songwriter Americana |
Easy choice for me to go see Zach Bryan, although I think Owusu is a surprisingly solid rapper.
5:00
Miller Lite | Arlo Parks: British indie pop singer with a lovely voice and smooth delivery |
BMI | Sarah & the Sundays: Danceable and fun indie rock from our own backyard! |
Barton Springs | L'Imperatrice: Funky French groovy pop |
T-Mobile | Benee: More indie pop that sounds like lesser Billie Eilish |
Two fun choices here, I don't feel like I could go wrong with either Sarah & the Sundays or L'Imperatrice. Both seem like a good time to bop around to for a little while. And honestly, I like Arlo Parks more and more as time goes by. She's pretty slick!
6:00
Honda | James Blake: Falsetto-singing, glitchy-electronic R&B Brit |
Tito’s Tent | Big Gigantic: Electronic hip hop and jazz with lots of guest vocalists |
American Express | Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats: Soul revival masterminds who will hurt you with their live show |
Nate is the easy call here. I didn't care for Big Gigantic at all.
7:00
Miller Lite | Omar Apollo: Great singer with pop music in English and Spanish |
Barton Springs | Carly Rae Jepsen: Call Me Maybe! And more pop action since then apparently! |
T-Mobile | Billy Strings: Absolutely kickass bluegrass with a jammy side by killer musicians |
I'm sure that Jepsen will be a fun show that many people will appreciate, but I just want to revel in the excellence that is Billy Strings. I'm actually surprised that Jepsen isn't the opener for Pink. That makes a lot of sense in my head.
HEADLINERS:
Honda | SZA: Alternative R&B gal |
Tito's | |
Lady Bird | The Chicks: One of the finest country bands of all time |
It's too bad that someone else isn't the headliner opposite the Chicks, since I know I'll be seeing them for Weekend Two with the wife. So, it would have been cool if this was Paramore or Kacey Musgraves. Oh well, I expect that my friend will likely want to see the Chicks so we'll end up seeing them in this slot.
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