I have tried to reduce some of the bloat in these schedule posts so that you can just get the goods. As usual, you can click the name link for each artist below to see my full post on them and find out more about each artist. Sadly, last week included a link to CAAMP, because I was really digging their chili, and then they like went to rehab or something, so you'll get nothing and like it! Here is Jungle instead.
If anything is messed up in here, blame the late-night tequila I enjoyed while continuing to write after a full weekend of ACL, after trying to catch up on work. My bad dog.
Here we go - Saturday, Weekend One:11:55/12:05
Miller Lite | Joe P: Straight-forward guitar rock that sounds great, despite the weak name |
BMI | Jordy: Pure pop that unflinchingly looks at his life being a gay man |
IHG | Being Dead: Crunchy, fuzzy, local psych rock goodness |
T-Mobile | Jonah Kagen: Poor man's Noah Kahan |
Starting before noon makes for a crazy long day, so I don't know that you'll ever find me here this early. That being said, this is an honestly amazing hour. Like, I thought that both Joe P and Being Dead are things that I would pay real money to go watch other than with the Festival. And the other two are also enjoyable (for me, Kagen more than Jordy, but diffrent strokes and all).
The UT/OU game doesn't start for a few hours anyway, come in here and check Being Dead.
12:35/12:40/12:50 (why can't we just have a single start time?)
Honda (12:40) | Billy Allen and the Pollies: Excellent alt-country band from Muscle Shoals (but fronted by a soul singer) |
Tito's (12:35) | The Tiarras: Local trio of sisters singing in English and Spanish |
AmEx (12:50) | Goldie Boutillier: Shape shifting gal seeking out the winning formula in a pop-influenced alt country |
I think the Pollies would have been my jam if I had discovered them back in the day. In this new iteration, with a soul singer blaring in the forefront, they are not as good IMO, but I think I'd still aim that way.
1:25/1:35
Miller Lite | Nico Vega: Riff-heavy rock and roll featuring the funny dude from Ant-Man |
BMI | Jon Muq: Absolutely lovely indie rock from a golden-voiced Ugandan living in Austin |
IHG | Valencia Grace: Unmemorable pop singer with a nice voice that can Adele at times |
T-Mobile | Geese: Wild NYC art rock with a few too much dissonance for my taste |
I am honestly mad about this hour. No lie. Jon Muq has an amazing backstory and a few excellent songs, but Nico Vega involves a famous person and sounds pretty rad. I'd have a hard time there. Also, I really wish that was Goose and not Geese. Eggy turned me on to the jam love in a way I had not previously recognized.
2:05/2:10/2:20 (they really don't line up the bands anymore...)
Honda (2:10) | Movements: Strained yelping on the otherwise rocking emo tunes isn't it for me |
Tito’s Tent (2:05) | Bob Schneider: An Austin institution still churning out great lyrics and well-crafted little pop rock songs |
American Express (2:20) | Lola Young: Strong voiced Brit singing hard-edged and confessional pop |
Man, Bob Schneider rules. We got to see him this summer at Antone's, and that is a legit fun time. In the Tito's Tent, working the crowd? Gimme.
3:05/3:10/3:20
Miller Lite (3:10) | Say She She: Three classically trained singers over the top of Nile Rodgers funk |
BMI (3:10) | Emei: Olivia Rodrigo rip-off and other bad pop experiences |
IHG (3:20) | Spinall: Nigerian DJ funking it up with his Afrobeats |
| Tito's (3:05) | Balthvs: Khruangbin copycats from Columbia |
T-Mobile (3:20) | The Beaches: Poppy garage rocking ladies |
Wild hour full of fun weird things. The Beaches are my choice out of this hour, saw them last weekend and it was a blast. Maybe needed some subtitles for the lyrics, but the raw fun of their music was fantastic.
4:10/4:20
Honda (4:10) | Teddy Swims: Soulful tattoo monster who went from YouTube covers to one huge hit |
Tito’s Tent (4:20) | Elyanna: Arabic pop that is otherwise pretty generic |
American Express (4:20) | Eyedress: Kinda jenky bedroom pop heavy on the new wave synths and basslines |
I forgot to remove the highlight from the AMEX stage last weekend, and the wife was more annoyed at me than I expected when we went to Teddy instead of Eyedress. It is Teddy Swims time. CAAMP cancelled their show. Freaking sucks for sure. Swims has an amazing voice for sure, even if his brand of soul/R&B/quasi-country isn't tops for me.
5:10/5:20
Miller Lite (5:10) | Remi Wolf: Former American Idol contestant who loves vocal effects despite a strong voice |
BMI (5:10) | Braxton Keith: Young guy doing classic-sounding Nashville country |
IHG (5:20) | Wave to Earth: Really lovely South Korean indie pop/soft rock (that seems weird to be here) |
T-Mobile (5:20) | Hermanos Gutierrez: Instrumental guitar magic |
Man, you should seriously see the brothers do sweet guitar things. My friends last weekend were jenky about it, but they seriously ruled. It is not going to make you dance, or mosh, or do most of the normal 5pm concert things, but the vibe is impeccable.
6:10/6:20
Honda (6:10) | Benson Boone: Sounds like a boy band refugee, with a strong voice and great lyrics |
Tito’s Tent (6:20) | Grand Funk Railroad: Homer Simpson's favorite American band jamming out since 1969 |
American Express (6:20) | Khruangbin: Funky instrumental goodness |
I still don't understand how Khruangbin is a headliner of a major festival, but whatever. I'd choose them here. That being said, know that my friends called them a, *gasp* "jam band" as they noodles and funked their way through a killer set of more impeccable vibe tunes. One friend went to Boone and was very impressed by his flips and vocals. Grand Funk has some good old hits, but it's one of those Frankenstein bands with rando members now.
7:10/7:20
Miller Lite (7:10) | Jungle: Grooving funk soul |
IHG (7:20) | Vince Staples: Great flow from an odd rapper with critical love |
T-Mobile (7:20) | Renee Rapp: Pop bubblegum from an actress-turned-belter |
Here is the deal. I bet you want to see Dua Lipa and so right now you think you should skip this hour and get close. Jack with his time machine is here to tell you that you should definitely go watch Jungle or Vince Staples, and then you can walk over and see some of the generic MTV music awards ass dancing from the screens (but you won't hear it because Pretty Lights is turned up to 11) and then bounce. That is the right call. But not Rapp. That is not good.
HEADLINERS:
Honda (8:10) | Pretty Lights: Honestly enjoyable electronic background music |
Tito's | |
AmEx (8:20) | DUA LIPA: Disco pop bubblegum somehow at the top of the ACL poster |
So, I watched Lipa last weekend. Did not love it. You can see my more fleshed-out quotes in my review of last weekend, but it was mediocre for me. And Pretty Lights was insanely loud and pummeling in a way that did not interest me. I had two friends tell me that sitting way back for Dua was awful because Pretty Lights was so loud that they couldn't hear Dua. Be forewarned if you wanted to watch something else and then truly enjoy Dua. You need to make a choice.
It would have been so great for one of the Friday night headliners to be here so that there was something to look forward to. So, I guess my advice up above stands. Or else do some wicked drugs and do Pretty Lights. Or just resign yourself to seeing a hot lady rub all over herself while powerfully singing bad nu disco.
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