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A short day for me, only catching 3.5 sets, but maybe one of the most enthralling days at ACL in my many many years attending. After our 10+ hour day yesterday, and the awful heat, we strolled in at 4pm. A quality over quantity day if you will.
Started off getting a great spot for Orville. Someone tell Fox that this man is the ultimate masked singer! Really didn’t know much of his discography but nevertheless had a blast. Dude is immensely talented and sounded the best of any act I saw all weekend. And bringing out Willie…I legit shed a tear, which was impressive considering how dry my eyes were this weekend lol. My heart was filled with how excited & appreciative the crowd was to see just a glimpse of this living legend. As someone who grew up on Willie & who honestly didn’t know if I’d ever see him perform again, I was elated. Not that one guest spot makes or breaks a set, but Orville’s tremendous performance was taken to top-tier level with that surprise.
Then…Chappell. Yeah, that was a lot. Our group was savvy and got pretty far up on the left side, about 50 feet towards the stage in front of the platinum viewing lounge. Surprisingly the crowd crush wasn’t that bad. As for the set itself, whoa boy that was quite the experience. I know her voice was kinda shot, but this must be the first performance ever where the crowd screaming ever lyric was all I heard over the actual artist. The set was exactly what you’d think for a massive pop star—plenty of fireworks, lyrics on screen, etc. I enjoyed it for sure, but did feel a little underwhelming considering the 6+ months of unbearable hype leading up to it. And ending 10 minutes early? Come on…again, I know she was battling a hoarse voice and cut at Barracuda cover, but you couldn’t extend a few songs with an extra round of a chorus or something?? Ehhh idk just felt like she was entirely drained from this year (understandable!) and wanted to get her last performance of the tour over and done. We did see her police escort on our walk out of the park—that was intense.
Also, an incredible amount of medical attention needed for this crowd. We counted TWELVE times a medical crew had to help folks out directly in front of us, including five people who were flat-out unconscious. I love me a good pop performance but I do worry these bookings attract folks who’ve never experienced a major fest—in the awful heat—like ACL and inevitably folks find themselves in danger. I hope all are OK but it’s tough to see some many people in such crisis. Idk the solution here, but it does disturb me.
It took us over 40 minutes to get out of the crowd and get to Red Clay Stays, who were lovely from afar. No real notes here, but it did help us readjust our vibes as we had to do the extreme pivot from Chappell to Sturgill.
Ok, let’s talk Sturgill. WHAT A SHOW! The fucker just came out to rock. It was more of a jam session than a country set, which was a pleasant surprise. The sound on Honda was booming and the band took advantage, blessing us with nothing but sweet sweet musical joy. And come on, covers of both PURPLE FUCKIN RAIN & MIDNIGHT FUCKING RIDER?? Although my highlight was when Sturgill told Tyler to “turn that shit down”…love me some headliner-on-headliner shade haha. But seriously, that set reminded me of ACL of old, just a chill but bangin’ rock set from a group that just wants to jam. Been a while since I’ve seen that in Zilker.
I’ll share some overarching thoughts on the weekend in the next day or so for the 0.5 of yall that care, but man, I ended my ACL on such a high note. I love this fest. Thank you Austin, thank you C3.
Final day was an absolute struggle. 100 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Misterwives are good. Watched from the blanket under the tree. Felt bad for the people in that blazing sun. Bakar has some legit hits but was on stage all alone. Needs a band and some production. Still love some of his jams. Glass beams is a groove! Would be a great Roo late night set. Very impressed. Cannons are good but the lead singer seems awkward up there. Kinda like dua was when she started. But they certainly have some potential. San Holo played a guitar standing on his dj table and made a sweltering tent enjoyable. That Titos tent should replace the disco balls with massive fans!!! The Roan hype was real. Pink everywhere. Kids, teens, grown men and women all in pink cowboy hats. Was fun as hell. Crowd was into it and not too cramped. Had fun. Hot to go was everything I had hoped for.
Dom Dolla slayed. The few EDM shows at ACL always hit. He was perfect. Especially with the sun down and cooler temps (84ish?)
Tyler was decent. Underwhelming imo. Love his stage and his energy. But dont know his old stuff and he played alot. Moved on to Sturgill.
Simpson is a Roo headliner all day. Could play for 3 hours and melt faces. Was surprised how close we got to see his final 4 songs. Went over the 10pm curfew too by 5 mins with one last masterpiece.
Was a fantastic weekend and would consider bringing my kids the next time. A great environment for all.
But one last rant. Chairs in the titos tent? Come on man. Fuck off
Dua Lipa.
