The Official ACL Blog for like Eight People!
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Wikipedia Genre: reggaeton, Latin trap, R&B, experimental, bedroom pop
Home: Valladolid, Spain
Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 8. Both Weekends. Day and Time.
[location]
Thoughts: Not trying to be rude, but I literally was about to start doing some other task at work, noticed the sounds coming from my speakers, said "I gotta get this thing done and move on," and then involuntarily shivered like I had tasted bad sushi. I'm going to say that this is like if Bad Bunny did techno? I don't pay attention to either of those genres, so that could be entirely off, but it makes sense to me.
Ruslan Mediavilla is from Spain, and Wikipedia claims that he explores: "underground and avant-garde genres such as bedroom pop, R&B, reggaeton, techno, hip hop and even jazz." He began his musical training by the age of four at the music school run by his mother, who was a member of a Belarusian folk group. He also studied piano at a professional conservatory. The background of the name here is that it combines his nickname of "Rus" with the name of the little green dude from Monsters, Inc. Which, uh, sure.
Lots of singles until his one album, DAISY, from 2025. "MalibU" is his top track with 108.7 million streams.
I was thinking 'bout you, BIROMBA. A little English, a lot of Spanish. I don't care for it. I am about to go vacation in Costa Rica, so maybe I need to download this to my phone so that we can roll down the windows of the rental and look legit as we cruise around the hard streets of some fancy beach resort.
His second biggest streamer is a 2022 single called "mwah :3". I have looked at that and thought through the meaning of that song title and nothing I can come up with makes me more comfortable than what I first considered. 67 million streams.
Dammit. Now I am getting AT&T commercials en Espanol before these videos. Doing this blog jacks up my algorithms so much. I will not be going out of my way to hear what this fella can do with underground and avant-garde genres...
One Liner: Argentinian Spanish TrapPop Wikipedia Genre: Latin trap, EDM, hip house, Latin pop Home: Buenos Aires
Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 16 Day: Sunday. Both Weekends.
5:30 pm on the Tito's Stage.
Thoughts: This is going to sound sort of weird, but after three songs, I sort of feel like this is Spanish K-Pop. And I know little to nothing about K-Pop, but these guys sound like they are making cutesy little pop nuggets and rap tracks over generic trap and pop tunes, just like I felt when I listened to Riize from Saturday. I definitely hate this.
Catriel Guerreiro and Ulises Guerriero make up the group, and I'm still weirded out by the fact that they are not siblings and spell their last names just one letter differently. They met in elementary school when a teacher mistook them for brothers and started collaborating in 2010. Why did they make up the Paco Amoroso name? What is going on here? The first one - makes sense, I guess, to replace the "t" with a 7, and the name Catriel has Indigenous Mapuche origins in Argentina and means "the one who cuts" or "small cutter," a reference to someone sharp and capable. Something I found on the Internet tried to explain the other name and it makes less sense: "The stage name "Paco" is a common Spanish diminutive for Francisco." Sure, okay. But the dude's name is Ulises? Why are we talking about Francisco? "The surname "Amoroso" means "amorous" or "loving" in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. While it's a play on his real last name, Guerriero, his chosen stage surname is a reference to a much-loved or affectionate person." How is that a play on his real last name? WTF are you talking about?
They apparently did a Tiny Desk in 2024 that went viral and helped them gain global recognition. They will be opening for Kendrick Lamar - which really seems like a bummer for the audience who wants to see Kendrick rap and then have to sit through this mess instead?
Okay, actually, that is pretty enjoyable. Even if I have no idea what they are singing about, the Tiny Desk, muted vibe is much better than the normal stuff. Especially when the band goes wild with those horns and whatnot.
Years of singles, followed finally by 2024's BaƱo Maria. I thought a bano was a bathroom, which made me think that they were calling poor Maria a bathroom with that album title. But Google Translate is telling me it means "double boiler"? Really? Weird. Their 2025 album named PAPOTA has four regular songs and then five recorded from that Tiny Desk show. Trying to keep the NPR crowd in their streams!
Top track is "DUMBAI" from that 2024 album. 44.1 million streams.
One Liner: Funky world grooves from local dudes Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but indie world groove sweetasticness Home: Austin! Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 22 Day: Sunday Weekend Two Only.
Beatbox Stage at 1:45.
Thoughts: I wonder if a band can head off a copyright claim by just adding "the" to the start of their name? Weird that there are so many bands on the poster who do that - why go with The Point instead of just Point? Friday gets The Favors, and Saturday gets The Strokes, The Heavy Heavy, and The Backseat Lovers. Sunday gets these guys, The Dare, and The Bends. Why not just the item? Inquiring minds want to KNOW!
These guys a pretty great though. The easy comparison is Khruangbin, but that is also wrong because they do so much more than just that Afro-funk jam. Kind of a world-surfing jam of guitar and funk - and then somewhere in the middle I hit on a half-rap/half-funky-shit album that freaking bangs. But the main thrust of this is that sort of genre-blending groove where the guitars could be Mexican, Moroccan, or Californian.
Austin natives, Joe Roddy and Jack Montesinos started the band when they were still in high school. The met in jazz band at Lamar Middle School - go Scotties! - which is pretty dope. The Chronicle called them "homegrown prodigy rockers," and Roddy was on stage with a trumpet when he was only 12 years old. They claim to have named the band after a Harry Nilsson soundtrack for a cartoon named The Point. Which, sure? Roddy's dad is a rockabilly artist, but not one I am familiar with.
4 albums. 2020's Ihop seems to have been forgotten, and maybe for good reason. Much more of a straight-forward, lo-fi rock album without any of the cool that is grabbing my ear in their later tunes. Only one tune cracks 10k streams. But 2021's Phonkadelic? Also criminally under-streamed, but silly and good times for me. Like they borrowed DJ Screw's laptop and went to town without considering their normal instruments or path. "Frio River Anthem" reps the Frio fo real! Not really, but I like that they named it that. The horns in "Julios" are dope, and "This Is It" sounds like a slow-mo party. Silly, yes, but also fun to me.
Its the next two albums where they seem to find their stride and their sound and start making the good stuff. 2022's BERTO'S BANQUET and 2024's Maldito Animal have the goods. Top streamer overall is from that most recent disc - "Mrs. Kind Eyes." 176k streams.
A little reggae, a little groovy rock and roll. The song that they apparently open their concerts with is called "Maquina Pura," and has 38k streams. Not finding an easy YouTube of just that song, so here is a live version from recently at Howler Brothers. The first song is the one I am talking about.
I mean, how can you watch that and not be entertained? I feel like all three of those dudes are freaking on point. (see what I did there? DAD JOKE, BITCHES!). That whole jam session of four songs is super tasty. I'd love to see this in person. Weekend two onllllyyyyyyy!!! WHYYYYYYYYY!!!! I'll just have to find them at a little club or something then...
One Liner: Spanish stuff from Puerto Rico Wikipedia Genre: Tropical Home: Isabela, Puerto Rico Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 23 Day: Sunday Weekend One Only.
BMI Stage at 3:15.
Thoughts: I want every song to start with a Chewbacca roar, like the little MuzzyOnABeatHoe thing that DJ Mustard does. Sadly, this is all in Spanish and with a heavy salting of Auto-Tune, so it does absolutely zero for me. I would actively prefer silence.
Chuwi is apparently an electronics manufacturer headquartered in Shenzhen, China. Maybe that is who sells me all of the weird crap on Amazon with seller names like HIJOPLAY and JUNIFUN. Interesting that they would start a band that sings only in Spanish. Actually, this is a Tropical band formed in Puerto Rico in 2019. Their very limited Wikipedia says "The group grew up in the context of the protests in Puerto Rico in the wake of Telegramgate since in their lyrics, they vindicate themes such as the independence of Puerto Rico, migration and gentrification, among others." I was unfamiliar with Telegramgate, and honestly wish that we didn't feel the need to just add -gate to the end of things just because the Watergate was named the Watergate. This was a scandal involving the Governor of Puerto Rico, when his Telegram chat messages were leaked to the world. I gather they were not very nice.
It seems as though the reason we know about these folks now is that they are featured on a Bad Bunny song called "WELTiTA." That song has 328.3 million streams. The top stream for these dudes is "Tikiri" with 2.1 million.
There you have it. A song by Chuwi. I hope that you found pleasure in it and it makes you excited to go see them jam it in person in a few months.
One Liner: Low-key Black Keys vibes for a Spanish/Welsh groover Wikipedia Genre: Singer Songwriter, Indie, Funk, Latin, Tropical, Acoustic, Folk, Rock Home: Wales (via Spain) Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 25 Day: Sunday. 1pm on the AmEx Stage. Weekend One Only.
Thoughts: GIZMO KAKA!!!
Just to make sure I was getting that quote right, and there is no way I was getting it wrong because I have said that line from Gremlins about 300,000 times in my life, I googled it. I would be embarrassed if it was actually "dudu" or something. Anyway, the four "People also ask" items on Google, after a prompt of just "gizmo kaka", are as follows: (1) What does Gizmo kaka mean?; (2) Why does Stripe hate Gizmo?; (3) What is Gizmo's full name?; (4) Does Gizmo have a gender?
Gizmo's full name? Have human beings ever actually asked that dumbass question? Really? "Well, actually, his middle name of Terrence was given to him to honor Mr. Peltzer's great-grandfather, who was actually the first Peltzer to try his hand at the age-old pasttime of invention." WTF google.
Anyhoo, sorry, I digress for sure. But this is pretty sweet guitar rock action kind of like a lower key Black Keys, if they frequently lapsed into Spanish lyrics. Guillermo Varillas Kortabarria was born in Spain but then raised in Wales. His first single was in 2014, when he was 24 and looked like he was 11. 4 albums - 2017's El Dorado, 2018's Dreaming of Better Days, 2020's Out of the Darkness, and 2025's The World in Colour. That last album is honestly great. Top song on there is "End of the Line" with 1.3 million streams.
"No War," from his first album, sampled John Lennon with the permission of Yoko. That disc still had his top five streaming songs - while his 2020 album is definitely the ignored little red-headed step-child with very few streams. "Paraiso" from the debut disc is his top streamer at 47 million.
Reminds me of those brothers who were here last year. Hermanos Gutierrez. Their sound was cool as hell. The second album sometimes has a Lord Huron flavor to it. "The Truth Will Be Heard" very much sounds like a cover of some other song that I have heard before (but Google didn't help me figure it out).
I like it. I'd go check it out, except that the 1pm Sunday show is a tough sell!
One Liner: If this is what all K-pop sounds like then I am very confused how it survives Wikipedia Genre: K-pop Home: Seoul, South Korea Poster Position: Top Quarter - Line 6 (!?!?!) Day: Saturday Weekend One Only.
Beatbox Stage at 5:30.
Thoughts: Well, that is terrible. I guess I have never really given any K-Pop a chance, but I can now very succinctly say that NOPE. In an odd maneuver, there are English words that pop up here and there - like their currently most popular track is named in English - "Fly Up" - and those words are used over and over, but the majority of the lyrics used are not English? Seems very confusing to me, but what do I know.
The group, formed by something called SM Entertainment, consists of six members: Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Sohee, and Anton. Originally a seven-piece ensemble, Seunghan departed from the group in October 2024. I really like that included in those names is "Anton." It's like a group of Asian kids and then a 72 year-old black guy are hanging out. Their name is pronounced like "rise." I need to just provide you with Wikipedia content, because this is so strange: "Members Shotaro and Sungchan previously debuted in SM's boy group, NCT, being unveiled as part of the lineup in October 2020. On July 1, 2022, SM Entertainment introduced Shohei, Eunseok, and Seunghan as part of their SM Rookies lineup. In November 2022, it was announced that they would star in the reality show Welcome to NCT Universe, hosted by Shotaro and Sungchan." So freaking odd.
Whatever. Here is their lame pop music. "Get a Guitar" was their first single, and is still their top streamer with 117.2 million streams.
Like a terrible Disney movie song. Dudes are cute and can dance tho! They also have a bad song called "Talk Saxy," which is just a fact I feel like you should know. One album, 2025's ODYSSEY - The 1st Album. So here is the top track from that thing. "Fly Up" has 6.8 million streams.
Again, feeling like a Korean Disney movie track. I can just see Zac Efron dancing to it. But like, again, why is almost all of it in Korean, but then "I don't need no fame" is in English 10 times in the middle? After doing eight seconds of research, it is apparently to broaden their audience. Sure.
I will not go and watch this show. Y'all have fun.
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but my brain wants to call this surf cumbia?
Home: Austin!
Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 24 Weekend One Only. Friday.
Tito's Tent at 1:15
Thoughts: Four total songs and no Spotify bio at all, so we are definitely at the bottom of the poster by now. The stream count on all four songs, even with the usual bump from being on this poster, maybe would add up to 10k streams. I refuse to do math today.
Wikipedia says that an Animero is a person who is popularly attributed certain holiness and has something to do with the Canary Islands.
Here is their website bio: "From the “Live Music Capital of the World”—Austin, Texas—The Animeros blend various music styles that are sonically set somewhere between the lush jungles of Colombia, the palm-lined streets of coastal Mexico circa 1960, the small dusty cantinas of West Texas, and beyond. Since their inception in 2024, their sound and live performance has resonated with listeners and tastemakers alike, and in 2025 they were invited to play SXSW and ACL Fest." A thing in the Statesman says this is made up of members from Superfonicos and El Combo Oscuro. Sure.
No vocals in any of the songs, just like, vibes, man. It all sounds cool to me! I sincerely doubt I will be watching this show, but give me a sweet background groove like this to hang on the grass with, and that sounds like a nice start to the day.
One Liner: Spanish indie pop, which, I guess I knew had to exist, but somehow didn't expect
Wikipedia Genre: reggaeton, Latin trap, house, Latin R&B, dream pop, indie pop Home: Mexico City Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 8 Day: Saturday Both Weekends.
Miller Lite Stage at 5:15.
Thoughts: This was one of the bands that was teased with the postcards that went out before the lineup was announced. I had no idea who they were, and now I know why. This first song sort of feels like if a K-Pop song was in Spanish. Which is an ignorant take, since I don't think I know a single K-Pop song, so maybe this is like what I imagine K-Pop would sound like in Spanish. It is terrible. Like, crazy generic guitar licks coming in over completely forgettable pop synth garbage. And a bunch of Spanish words saying lots of things.
This band has two twin brothers doing the vocals, which is kind of fun. Milton and Emilio de la Rosa, with their older brother Mike doing the production. It's all in the family! Wikipedia says they "appeared on the scene" using TikTok during the pandemic. Not sure which scene, but they did some tracks on video in their bedroom and received a positive response. By the end of 2022, they sold out the Olympic Velodrome in Mexico City in minutes. By April 2024, they were at Coachella, and I guess now we get to enjoy this too. They won the Lo Nuestro Award for Best Latin Fusion Song in 2024. So, they've got that going for them. Which is nice.
One album, 2024's TODOS LOS DIAS TODO EL DIA. Which is weird to type and means Every Day, All Day. JEAAAAHHHH!!! But their top song is a 2023 single called "Patadas de Ahogado," which I swear I have ordered in a restaurant before. What does that mean? According to the google, it means "Drowning Kicks." Which is a really weird title. But I can't understand what they are singing about anyway, so maybe it is all about how a person they were drowning while doing hardcore mafia shit kept kicking them as they drowned? Dunno. 221.4 million streams.
š¶ "I drowned that dude in the bathtub while he kicked like Pele!" š¶ Iconic line for sure. Yeah, not really. That song is not my thing at all. Even if I could understand it, it sounds super lame. Second-biggest streamer is "Julieta," which translates to "Julieta." 179.8 million streams.
Bro. If you can sell out a stadium, you can afford some real Chuck Taylors. Damn. Also, that song is very boring as well. Even if this was in English, I really think I would have felt the same way that these are bad tracks made by Mike in his bedroom when he should have just like, gone to college and become a nurse practitioner or something. This is not my thing.
One Liner: Japanese R&B and pop with a huge TikTok hit and then some other catchy bits
Wikipedia Genre: J-Pop, R&B, pop Home: Satosho, Okayama, Japan Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 8 Day: Saturday Weekend Two Only.
Beatbox Stage at 5:30.
Thoughts: Damn. I was really hoping that I was about to get something that matched up to the idea of a Kamikaze - like angry ass Japanese Fugazi. Instead, the top song is like if Harry Connick Jr. used trap beats and only sang in Japanese. Pretty catchy. Pretty weird! And much like my statements about Feid, I don't know what to do with all of this.
That is apparently his real name, which is interesting on its own. He began by posting piano covers of pop songs to YouTube when he was 12, and then he signed to a Universal imprint after more than 30 million views. His first album was big in Japan, 2020's Help Ever Hurt Never. reaching #1 and being certified gold. But it wasn't until "Shinunoga E-Wa" became a viral hit on social media that he made waves outside of Japan. That song is, for sure, his biggest hit. 682.7 million streams.
Nice voice. Pretty piano. I have no clue why this would go viral - have my girls done weird TikTok dances to this? But catchy, even if I have no clue what he is going on about. As I have kept this one going, I actually just had the thought that I needed to put some music on while I work. But this was already playing. Not a good sign for your music when my brain just registers it as silence. It means I need to get this over with. The song I am in now is R&B, but with Japanese lyrics. Strange thing to hear.
In 2021, he won Best Breakthrough Artist as something called Space Shower Music Awards. Way to go! He also won Popular New Artist at the Music Pen Club Music Awards and the Grand Prize <Blue> at the CD Shop Awards. I feel like this was all translated from Japanese like the words that would come on the screen in old school Nintendo games.
His second biggest streamer has a title that I don't know how to type because it is in Japanese characters. "ć¾ć¤ć" is maybe it? Whatever. 261 million streams though.
Weird that YouTube calls that "Kirari," while Spotify just uses the Japanese characters. Again, sounds kind of fun and catchy, and he's a good-looking fun bro. But none of this was made for me. I am good to let other people enjoy this adventure. I need to find a Japanese Fugazi now.
One Liner: Reggaeton/Urbano in Spanish Wikipedia Genre: Urbano Home: Medellin, Columbia
Poster Position: Top Line - Line 2 Day: Sunday Both Weekends.
T-Mobile Stage at 6:15.
Thoughts: Always a fascinating thing to realize how limited your musical scope is. I think I listen to an absolute ton of music, and yet I've never even heard the name of this guy who has FIVE billion stream songs in his top ten on Spotify. But have I ever heard anyone say the word "Feid" before? No, dear reader, I have not. In fact, I need to figure out how you pronounce it. Actually fascinating. Not like feed, and not like the end of Bonafide. You pronounce it like the word "faith," but with a Spanish emphasis. Sort of like "fade," but with a little faiid to it. There you go. Faiide.
Salomon Villada Hoyos is from Medellin, Columbia, and also performs under the name Ferxxo. To my extremely untrained ear, this just sounds like Bad Bunny. Wikipedia calls this style of music "urbano," but also mentions that he got into reggaeton after he stopped playing the clarinet. His background on Wikipedia is pretty limited - his dad is a university professor in "arts" and his mom is a preschool teacher and psychologist. He got to work with other reggaeton artists like J Balvin, which helped him get bigger. He is also apparently a partner to Karol G, who was here previously.
I winded about this last year when Carin Leon took this exact same spot on the poster. Annoying to have an artist I can't understand at all take over a top tier spot in the lineup. Yes, I know he is insanely popular. But also, for me personally, this is just something I won't go watch.
His first singles popped out in 2014, but he didn't start getting serious streams until 2016 singles, about the time he partnered with J Balvin. 9 albums - 2017's Asi Como Suena, 2019's 19, 2020's FERXXO (VOL 1:M.O.R.), 2020's BAHIA DUCATI, 2021's INTER SHIBUYA - LA MAFIA, 2022's FELIZ CUMPLEANOS FERXXO TE PIRATEAMOS EL ALBUM (wtf is up with these album titles?), 2023's MOR, No Le Temas a La Obscuridad, 2023's FERXXOCALIPSIS, 2024's LOS 9 DE FERXXO Y SKY ROMPIENDO. Typing all of that out truly sucked ass. He has a million singles as well.
Top track is from FERXXOCALIPSIS, called "LUNA" and with 1.25 billion streams. Also features something called ATL Jacob.
Sure. No clue what he is saying, and the beat really gets me nothing. I know that a lot of people disagree with me on that, which is fine, but I just don't get the appeal. We'll do one more just to give you the flavor. Second biggest is "Feliz Cumpleanos Ferxxo" with 1.20 billion streams. I never want to come off as dismissing of these sorts of artists, and I'm sure someone from Columbia thinks that every Pearl Jam song sounds just the same, but ... I think that maybe because I don't know the words, those just sound like another noise in the song, so that it just feels like the same beat with the same vocal noise over and over again. I'll find something else to check out during this hour and leave it to the fun people to go dance their asses off.
One Liner: Funky Khruangbin Vibe with Middle Eastern flourish
Wikipedia Genre: Psychedelic rock, synth, funk, instrumental rock, rock
Home: Melbourne
Poster Position: 15 Both Weekends. Sunday at 3.
Tito's Tent.
Thoughts: Thank God this wasn't Glass Animals. They've been here before and that freaking "Gooey" song makes me want to die. Instead, this is sort of another band in the "Khruangbin vibe" neighborhood, except with more middle eastern feels going on in the groove. I kind of dig it.
Unfortunately, very limited music available right now. Two EPs totaling 8 songs, with three released in 2021 and five released in 2024. The top track is a new one - "Mahal" - with 7.9 million streams.
That is a sweet groove. I don't know where to really place it geographically, so I have to just go with Middle East, but there is probably someone who would make fun of me and say this is totally from Egypt or whatever. I just know it grooves. Also, from looking at a live video they did for this, the band appears to wear little bejeweled doilies over their faces when they play, so for all we know this could actually be R.E.M. or Metallica or Khruangbin (more likely).
The band was founded by Rajan Silva, and his inspiration was traditional Indian popular music and western rock. He apparently remembered watching the Concert for George, a tribute to George Harrison featuring Ravi Shankar along with western rock musicians, and decided something like that was ripe for action. Wikipedia, by the way, says that those masks are Russian designed.
Here is an interesting section of a Rolling Stone interview with the founder:
I think it may sound glib, but I did want to ask about the masks that you all don and what it represents. What kind of things have you heard/read about fan interpretations, if any?
Like a singer explaining the lyrics to a song, we’re hesitant to give the definite answer of what they mean to us, for fear of destroying the beautiful fan interpretations.
Here are two favorites:
Indra’s Net in mythology is an intricate web which extends infinitely across the universe. The net is bejeweled, it’s glistening, as at each node of the net where threads cross there is a perfectly clear gem that reflects all the other gems in the net.
Ego Death is a “complete loss of subjective self-identity”. Complete transcendence − beyond yourself, beyond words, beyond spacetime. No self. Just pure awareness and ecstatic freedom.
In a very strange method, their second-most streamed song just ends mid-groove. I thought it was a glitch and Spotify couldn't finish the song, but no, when it gets to 2:14 and ends it is just right in the middle of the action. Strange choice. But the third most streamed track is from that first EP - "Mirage" - has 5.7 million streams.
That version is live from the studio, so that you can see the freaky mask action that they wear while they jam their jams. Weird that he is making that one sound just using the knob on that synth. Cool. Wikipedia does not identify the rest of the band, so I am just going to continue to assume that is Tame Impala guy and one of the Khruangbins.
Poster Position: 8 Both Weekends. Saturday at 5:20.
T-Mobile Stage.
Thoughts: Freaking awesome. Not sure what you call this style of instrumental music, I'll have to look that up, but I've been letting this flow for two days and it is wonderful.
Alejandro and Estevan are two of four siblings raised in Zurich by an Ecuadorian mother and a Swiss father. Estevan was trained in classic guitar styles like milonga and salsa, but younger brother Alejandro just taught himself via YouTube tutorials. Their first four albums were released independently, but for their fifth disc, they have hooked up with band whisperer Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. That new album - El Bueno y El Malo, was inspired by Ennio Morricone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly soundtrack and has that spaghetti western vibe for sure. Their newest album is 2024's Sonido Cosmico, which doesn't stick to that same western thing, but still sounds phenomenal. Super cool vibe.
Their biggest streamer comes from the 2019 album Hoy Como Ayer (Today Like Yesterday), and is called "Cerca De Ti." 52.8 million streams. Close to you.
Nothing particularly revelatory there, just two dudes making a wonderful set of guitar harmonics together. Oooh, a Tiny Desk. That is going to be good.
Dig it. Love when the tattoo'ed one starts looping in other bits, that is supremely cool. As I have mentioned on some of the other bands coming this year, the one drawback here is that this is going to be a sort of weird show for the Festival. Just two dudes going to town on their guitars while a crowd swelters in the dead grass just doesn't quite compute. This should be like a Bass Concert Hall show or something. Let's do one more, from the new album. This is "Low Sun," with 5.8 million streams.
Listening to this one now, it dawns on me that this is sort of in line with the Khruangbin and Balthvs people who will also be here on Saturday. So, I guess this will allow you to just mellow out and jam to a bunch of folks who like to craft sick jams. I would 100% go check these guys out.
One Liner: Arabic pop that is otherwise pretty generic
Wikipedia Genre: alternative pop, Arabic pop, Arabic traditional music, urban
Home: L.A. (via Palestine)
Poster Position: 12 Both Weekends. Saturday at 4:20.
Tito's Tent.
Thoughts: Elian Marjieh is a Palestinian-Chilean singer originally from Nazareth. Her music sort of sounds like a Shakira/Rihanna sort of Carribean pop thing smashed up with Arabic pop that I only really have experience with because of the Bend it Like Beckham soundtrack, but then the lyrics are in Arabic? A little English here and there. Wikipedia says she was the first artist to sing in Arabic on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, so I guess that is right! Her brother is her pianist, producer, and creative director, while her sister is her stylist. Keep it in the family! She and her crew moved to San Diego and then L.A. when she was fifteen, to pursue her musical dreams, which seems to be working out.
Two EPs, 2020's Elyanna and 2022's Elyanna 2 (original ass names!) and then one album with 2024's WOLEDTO. Not just a ton of stream count, but she has one that has gotten up over ten million. "Ghareeb Alay" has 10.4 million streams.
Apparently translates to "strange to me," although I have no clue what the lyrics overall have to do with anything. She sure is purty though. That track was from her second EP. The top track from the new album is "Callin' U (Tamally Maak)" with 4.1 million streams.
Little English in there to mix it up! Super generic lyrics though! And then back to Arabic so that I don't know what is happening. I don't expect that I would go watch this thing at all. I just honestly hope that there isn't any sort of stupid protest or freakout over her being Palestinian and on the stage. That would be annoying.
One Liner: Local trio of sisters singing in English and Spanish
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but this is world music, indie rock, other genres I don't
know the names of. Home: Austin!
Poster Position: 25 Weekend Two Only. Saturday at 12:05.
Tito's Tent
Thoughts: Before the first notes even play, I am guessing these are sisters. YES! I know things! Tori, Sophia, and Tiffany Baltierra are sisters "pursuing sound without restrictions." The Tiaras were a Canadian soul group from Toronto, but this band threw an extra "r" in there to become their own thing. Actually, they used to be The Tiarra Girls, but recently switched because they are becoming women.
One of those discographies where I have been listening for a few hours but have for sure heard the same songs multiple times. 10 total songs on Spotify, and some are fully in Spanish. Apparently, Tori is the singer/guitarist, and she decided to pursue music in third grade when she saw a teacher playing the guitar. Born and raised in Austin, and their dad was apparently a DJ who listened to any and all types of music.
No real album, just a handful of singles. "They Don't See Us" is the top streamer by far. 506k streams.
Even when the music is not in Spanish or sounding like Mexican traditional music, as it sometimes does, you still get a little edge of Latin flair in there. This one is kinda funky and I like it. They definitely can get more explicitly Hispanic, like in their second-most streamed tune, "Soy Chingona," with 100k streams.
Handy that they start the video with a definition, as I was just about to go find a definition and give it to you. A Chingona is an empowered mujer. She a bad bitch, yo. Weird though, because google translate says that this means "I'm cool." Quora says it means I am awesome. Weird. Also weird, they tell the important guy on the courthouse steps that they aren't leaving, and then they immediately run back to their car and drive away. You are sending mixed messages, ladies.
I have honestly enjoyed listening to these tunes, despite the portion that is not in English. Pretty good on the instruments, good voices and harmonies, I dig it. I doubt I will be there at the noon hour on Saturday, but this is kind fun.
One Liner: Nigerian DJ funking it up with his Afrobeats
Wikipedia Genre: Afro-pop, hip hop, R&B, EDM
Home: Lagos State, Nigeria
Poster Position: 12 Both Weekends. Saturday at 3:20.
IHG Stage.
Thoughts: DEEEEJAAAAAY SPINNNAAAAAAAAWWWWW!! According to his Spotify bio, he is one of Africa's most recognizable and successful DJs. It also says this, which I had to read a few times to comprehend: "Spinall's signature style moniker, a traditional Yoruba cap, fostered the AKA "TheCAP" which also doubles as an acronym for "The Crazy Ass Party," a common reference used by fans after their experiences at Spinall's events." This is one of those things that would likely be fun in person, but gets repetitive and exhausting in your office.
Oluseye Desmond Sodamola is from Nigeria and claims to be the first Nigerian DJ to have played Coachella and Glastonbury. He has a BSc degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Olabisi Onabanjo University, but he worked as a DJ at Raypower 100.5 FM and started working on his DJ skillz. In addition to Spinall, he also goes by Top Boy, which is repeated in just about every song in his catalog. His first single was released in 2014, in collaboration with Burna Boy, and many of his hits since then are collaborations with other people I have also never heard of like Kizz Daniel and Mr Eazi.
Prolific album releaser - 2015's My Story: The Album, 2016's TEN, 2017's DREAMS, 2018's Iyanu, 2020's Grace, 2023's TOP BOY, and many singles in between. The most popular track is from that 2020 disc - "Sere" features Fireboy DML and boasts 58.2 million streams.
Fun stuff. Got that African flair and a groovy beat to it - can't you just imagine getting your groove on in the park to that one? Third biggest streamer is a remix of that song, which is on the newest album, but the second biggest is a track from the new album called "Palazzo," with 26.8 million streams. This has someone named Asake helping him.No clue what the hell he is saying, and honestly not nearly as fun as that other track as far as the danceability goes, but I get the groove. it is really weird how some words are English, like how randomly it says "she say she like cucumber" in the midst of that other language. Is that a dick joke, TOP BOY!?!? Then this: "2 girls for my middle, which one I go lock, and as a badboy I'm single, 20 girls I go lock." it's like the old school Nintendo games where the Japanese to English translation was totally whack.
Whatever. I bet this will be a fun show, even though I sort of doubt I would go to it. I say that, and then remember that this is Saturday, where just about nothing interests me, so who knows. You may see me up front screaming about how she say she like cucumber. CUCUMBER YALL!!!
Just got an e-mail saying she is no longer playing the Fest. Sorry.
One Liner: South African pop queen on the rise (sorry if my jokes are gross)
Wikipedia Genre: amapiano, R&B, pop
Home: Johannesburg
Poster Position: 7 Weekend Two Only. Friday at 5:30.
IHG Stage.
Thoughts: Her major hit makes me think of Drake. I don't know if Drake actually has a song that sounds like this, but it makes me think of a sound that he would try to bastardize for himself and then say some generally depressing things over the top of while trying to sound vulnerable but more coming off as creepy. This is "Water," which crushes her other songs with 643.6 million streams.
When she says "make me water," it feels like she is talking about peeing her pants to me. I'm sure that is not the case, but she already said to make her sweat, so its either pee or cry or drool or get her unmentionables overly excited. Ew. That is probably what the song is about. Also, one of the top comments to that video says: "What a lovely young lady with a brilliant career ahead of her. Hopefully she stays away from drugs etc." WTF man. Why do you have to even act like that is a problem? You still worried about Winehouse and Joplin or something? Dork. There are so many successful, lovely young ladies with amazing careers and no evidence of drug problems. Another lesson - never read the comments. Also, in the nerdiest google I think I've ever done, the Internet agrees with my theory about the meaning here.
In addition to making a song about squirting become popular, she also managed to snag the first ever Grammy award for Best African Music Performance in 2024.
This is not Tyla, the English musician, or Tyla Yaweh, who was here a few years ago for ACL, or obviously the Bratz doll. Instead, this is Tyla Laura Seethal, a South African 22 year old who has been dubbed the Queen of Popiano, which is apparently a fusion of pop and amapiano. Amapaino is a Zulu world loosely translated as "the pianos" and is a hybrid of deep house, jazz, and lounge music heavy with synths and wide, percussive basslines. She got started in high school, making songs and posting them to her Instagram account. She got a manager and worked on filming more clips through the pandemic. After some tears, her parents let her take a year off from University and she was signed to a label. Seems like that was a good idea in the end. Her first releases did fine without a ton of traction, but "Water" spawned a viral TikTok challenge that made her a top ten hit in the U.S., U.K., and several other counties that dig squirting. Jimmy Fallon, known squirtation lover, even had her on to perform the track.
Just the one album, 2024's TYLA, which features both "Water" and a "Water" remix with Travis Scott. He does not lean into the squirtoramathon possibilities of the song by dropping any raps about how Astroworld doesn't need Astroglide when Tyla's on the slide. Bummer. He just drops generic autotuned crap. Oh no, wait, he says her "ass gotta pour out a gallon." Oh no! Is this about diarrhea? That is definitely worse. Does she want someone to serve her really spicy food that makes her immediately crap herself? "make me sweat, make me hotter, make me lose my breath, make me water, WITH YOUR EXTRA HOT WEEK-OLD GUMBOOOOO!"
The other top song from the album is "Jump," which features Gunna and Skillibeng. 76.6 million streams.
That opening piano made me think of "When I Think Of You," but then her flow sounds just like Rihanna to me. And then she has that shrill quality that Ariana Grande has in a lot of her songs, just getting more and more grating as she works through the chorus.
Here is what I think about this music - I don't want to listen to it at all - but I bet a live show of this music would be freaking amazing. Like, I'm never going to just sit at my desk all day listening to her shrilly warble about how hot her body is and that she really needs to spray a gallon of poop water, but I can guarantee that a massive crowd of people there to party would make this a supremely fun live show.
One Liner: Combining of disco-fied electronica and flamenco for a fun flash of enjoyment
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, butelectronic and flamenco
Home: L.A.
Poster Position: 19 Weekend One Only. Friday at 2:45.
Tito's Tent.
Thoughts: I saw the name and at first was like, "okay, another Spanish language thing," but then thought more about the last name. Which was correct, because the name pays homage to two things - the flamenco guitarist Paco De Lucia, and the opulent French Versailles. BOth Daft Punk and Air hailed from Versailles. So, in point of fact, you get some party/disco/EDM stuff, but also some flamenco-style guitar action. Sounds like a weird combo, but it actually kinda works. They call it Dancemenco.
Singer Ryan Merchant and guitarist Vahagni met while Merchant was touring with his other band Capital Cities (they came through ACL previously, so he is probably managed by the Live Nation folks). He joined them for part of the 2016 tour and then the two of them decided to try out a few songs live out in L.A. Merchant was DJing at a place called the Peppermint Club in 2019, and threw on one of those tunes, and it got a great reaction from the audience. That first song, "Unwind," is still their top streamer at 8.1 million.
Those handclaps under the Flamenco guitar - dig it. Fun combination. To me, this is one of the most explicit songs in the catalog about combining these two sounds. I feel like the rest do not go quite so hard with the Flamenco-ness action. They are more straight disco/EDM tracks. But this is fun. They brought that initial single along when they released their 2021 album Dancemenco
The second most-streamed is also from that album - "Something New" - with 5.6 million streams.
See, less outright flamenco action there (it sort of pops up in places) but more of a late Daft Punk/Chic disco party vibe. Their cover of "Ventura Highway" is a groovy little biscuit. After that, more singles until 2023's Young In California, which doesn't appear to have gotten much traction on the streams. We'll do "Entangle" anyway, with 1.4 million streams
A nightmare to be inside of a t-shirt with another human being. I do not enjoy seeing that happen at all. Meh song. No cool flamenco-ness, nothing special about that beat/track otherwise. Too bad, really.
It would appear that Capital Cities is still a thing. That "Safe and Sound" song was everywhere for a while, but their last release was a cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U" in 2024.
Feels like I like the early stuff a lot more than the more recent stuff. "Soy Gitano" from the newer album fires up more of the flamenco vibe, but I think does a less interesting job of the disco/party half of the action. "Our Way" is more fun, as is "Young in California." I will say though, these tunes feel more fun in isolation. Like, I could see them spicing up a playlist with a little pop of this style, but listening to this for four hours straight is definitely reducing the pleasure of hearing it the first time.
One Liner: Like I'm in Taco Cabana waiting for my fajita taco plate
Wikipedia Genre: Banda, mariachi, norteƱo, sierreƱo, technobanda, grupero, country, flamenco
Home:Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Poster Position: 2 Both Weekends. Friday at 4:30. (which, why is a top 9 guy this early?)
AmEx Stage
Thoughts: Bummer. I know nothing about this style of Spanish-language music, and don't really care about it, so this is one of the sub-headliners just wasting an entire spot on the poster for me. I mean, he is seriously the top artists that is not a headliner. Lame.
Ćscar Armando DĆaz de LeĆ³n Huez, known professionally as CarĆn LeĆ³n, is from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, and to me he sounds like the music you hear in a Taco Cabana. I don't mean that to be rude, but it's just the best comparison I have. Picked guitars, tubas, horns here and there, and his tenor/falsetto voice singing things that sound like they might be sad or hard for him to talk about.
He won a Latin Grammy in 2022, and was also the most streamed Mexican artist on Spotify that same year. Another Latin Grammy in 2023. He's played the Grand Ole Opry and Coachella since then. Many of his songs appear to be him with someone else. Like, his top song on Spotify right now is a Grupo Frontera song that he appears on, and then his third most streamed is just a Maluma song that he joined. His top personal tune is "Primera Cita," from his 2023 album Colmillo De Leche, and has 569 million streams.
Primera Cita might mean first date. And yes, this song is less something from Taco Cabana and more like an Ed Sheeran tune sung in Spanish. Here is that one with the Grupo, 669.4 million streams.
I cannot deny that he has all of the streams - he is definitely massively popular among the people who want to listen to traditional music in Spanish. But I don't it.
One Liner: Apparently confessional singer/songwriter all in Spanish
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, chilled Spanish singer/songwriter
Home: Chihuahua, Mexico Poster Position: 3 (13) Both Weekends.
Sunday at 2:15.
Thoughts: I hate that I have this reaction, but the second that this started playing I was like - DAMMIT - the music in the background is nice, kind of like a simple singer/songwriter type guy - but Spanish. So, I have no clue what they're going on about. So, now I just want to get this review over with so that I can get to something that I understand.
According to a Rolling Stone headline, he is "the Reluctant Rising Star Making Introspective Songs About the Pains of Growing Up" and he "mixes folk traditions, rock sounds, and lush dream-pop on his impressive album 'Paris Texas'." Another article says that he blends folk sensibilities and modern pop elements. Nothing about this sounds like pop at all. Mostly just a dude strumming his guitar and bopping along. His songs apparently discuss his battles with anxiety and depression. I wouldn't know. He does have a buttload of streams tho!
Here is "Vamonos a Marte," with 310.7 million streams.
Yep! There it is! Perfectly acceptable, very low key tune in the background, and some lyrics over the top! I hope everyone who speaks Spanish loves every second of it!
Her original releases were on her own, but since 2017 she has been working with Bolis Pupul, a human being whose name I apparently cannot spell on the first try. He is the producer, and is apparently also from Belgium. He apparently draws very realistic penises, and invited folks to DM him for an example. Nope. In one interview, he speaks out against racist atrocities that Leopold II did in the Congo during colonialization. I guess old Leo was a Belgian bad guy, I've never heard of him. Pupul is also the child of someone else I have never heard of, a "well-known Belgian musician, comedian and cartoonist known as Kamagurka."
"HAHA" is freaking awesome. So weird, and yet I can't help but grin as I listen to it. Some of the lyrics are confusing, in that they are in French (or apparently also Creole?) and so I don't know what is happening. "Blenda" is clever - "go back to your country where you belong, Siri can you tell me where I belong?" Like, an imminently danceable song, and yet it is about being xenophobic. Not a normal thing, but entertaining. The top track is from their 2022 album Topical Dancer, called "Ceci n'est pas un cliche," with 3.4 million streams.
Translated, the title means this is not a cliche, and then the lyrics of the song recount every cliche in pop music - "you're cold as ice" or "hey Mr. DJ" or "You're my baby tonight, I wanna hold you real tight." These dudes are clever for sure. The music itself is a generic EDM beat that could have been an LCD Soundsystem jab, which maybe is the point, the same way that the lyrics are. In fact, I hear LCD on several of these songs. I'mma give you "HAHA" as well, just because I like it so much. 2.4 million streams.
Freaking weird, man! But also, catchy despite being a really basic-seeming beat! Probabloy not going to go see this, but I could see it being a jam in the Tito's Tent!
