Music | Austin City Limits Music Festivals | Day Three (Friday) | Review and Photos

October 20, 2015

ACL Music Festival (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Our final day of the festival had us excited for a few awesome bands. Our day got started with seeing the buzz worthy Halsey who has been burning up the airwaves as of late with a slew of hits. Riding the waves of her debut EP Room 93 and recently released first studio album Badlands, Halsey's indie-pop sound has resonated with us and we have been playing her record for awhile now. Her performance was simple and entertaining coming off with a saayness from somebody you would have figured to have been playing for years.

Sunday gave us a chance to walk around the festival and enjoy many of the amenities, which by the way are the best of any festival. Getting a chance to check Austin Eats and the amount of great food had us pretty full after shopping for a few items in the Festival Boutique area. A craft beer section had us feeling right at home as we sampled an array of some of the country's best beers.

Craft Beer, right up our alley. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Next up for us was one of favorite hip hop artist Chance The Rapper, the last time we Chance he was performing to packed crowd at this years Fader Fort during SXSW. With a live band at his disposal, Chance's sound has created a new dynamic that is easy to follow and even better to sing a long to. Reaching back to hits from Acid Rap as well as a few new numbers made for one of the best sets of the festival. Chance will be heading to Denver soon and we highly recommend seeing him.

Chance The Rapper (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

One set that we wish would have been a little later would have been alt-j's set. We had a chance to see them at Red Rocks earlier this year and were amazed by the visual lighting that elevated the performance to one of the best we have seen this year. As the sun was setting the killer lighting took awhile to kick in. After about 45 minutes or so we could see the amazing production from far away. Alt-J is a band who you either love or hate, for us luckily we have been big fans for awhile now. Their unique approach to music sets them apart from anything we have heard and while they may not be the best showman in the business being able to close your eyes and enjoy the music is enough for us to consider them worthy.

As night began to descent upon us we were ready to get our festival ended with a few bands we have grown to love. First up was Hozier, a band we first heard about during SXSW (funny how a few months after playing that festival elevates certain bands to big time festival status). We first saw them at The Fox Theater in Boulder a few months ago, he has since gone on to play bigger venues including a mesmerizing performance at Red Rocks late this Summer. One thing we enjoy as photographers is great lighting and the production team behind Hozier does it best. Sometimes simple is better and his performances have won us over each and every single time we have seen him perform.

The final act of the night had us torn between seeing Florence and the Machine and The Weeknd. It finally came down to the fact that we have never seen The Weeeknd and the fact that he is probably the hottest thing in music right now. With a slew of Billboard hits at his disposal and just aired SNL performance the timing couldn't be better. The Weeknd did not disappoint as he ripped through all his hits in true to form fashion as he had the whole crowd singing every word of every single song, something rarely seen. With a backdrop of elevated lED's and his band perched above it left him all alone at the bottom doing what he does and that is put on a show for the ages. Hands down a perfect way to end our festival. Until next year ACL!

The Weeknd (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Music | Austin City Limits Music Festival | Day One (Friday) | Review and Photos

October 15, 2015

Greetings from Austin, Texas home of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. By far our favorite festival of the year, this year was no exception. With a slew of bands, great food, and breathtaking views the 2015 edition of the festival had some amazing highlights for us. Let's start with a day by day recap of our musical adventures.

Austin City Limits 2015 (Photo: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

Friday:

The first day of the festival is always exciting, for us seasoned veterans it also means trying to pace ourselves for three long days. Looking at the weekend weather forecast we knew we were going to be battling scorching heat. Luckily Friday was a bit overcast for much of the day. The first band we got to see was no stranger to us, Royal Blood took the Samsung Stage with an early set. We recently got a chance to see them during their opening slot for the Foo Fighters in Denver not too long ago. The two man wrecking machine leaves you puzzled as to how such a great musical sound is coming from a drum kit and bass guitar.

Royal Blood (Photo Credit: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

Weekend one had us crying as to the fact that we didn't get a chance to see The Strokes on the second weekend, nonetheless we did manage to see The Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. (who btw will be playing at Lost Lake on Halloween Denver folks). We have always been a big fan of his solo work since the days of Yours To Keep in 2006. He just released his third studio album earlier this year and has been on rotation in our offices since. Clad in a red full bodied jumpsuit, Hammond gave his fans a great early set.

Albert Hammond Jr. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

The fun didn't stop there, one of the most difficult things and dilemmas of music festivals is scheduling conflicts. For us we usually base it on a few factors, one is off we have seen the band before, two is if they will be coming to our city soon. We love to discover new music and one artist we had the distinct honor of seeing was Leon Bridges this past year at SXSW. A true throwback to the old days, Bridges captures you with an amazing sound that is infectious and soothing. His performance at ACL this year will be one that people will be talking about for years to come. He has two upcoming dates in Denver, one in October and another one in May)

Leon Bridges (Photo Credit: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

As the sun began to set we noticed that Brand New was playing at one of our favorite stages the festival. The alternative rockers from Long Island have long been favorites of ours and we have had the chance to see them a few occasions, The band goes all out from beginning to end and never lets up making for one amazing show, no matter the setting. Lead singer Jesse Lacey commands the stage in true frontman precision belting out lyrics and at times making the audience emotional. They were one of our favorite performances of day one.

Brand New (Photo Credit: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

Next on our must see list was homegrown Austenite Mr. Gary Clark Jr. You get a sense that musicians play their best shows in front of a hometown crowd. With a packed stage that seemed never ending Gary Clark Jr. unleashed his guitar playing skills for the masses. Comparisons to a modern day Jimmy Hendrix can be thrown out left and right, but I feel Clark has established his own persona and style that will leave future generations of musicians trying to replicate his style in the future.

Gary Clark Jr. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

The nights headliners included Foo Fighters and Disclosure. We jumped over to see Disclosure and by the looks of their setup, we were in line for a great visual performance. Off the heels of a brand new record, which by the way is an early favorite for our record of the year, the duo blasted through their short catalog of hits and laid the foundation for an array of lighted led panels and glowing platforms that enhanced the performance. Not a bad way to end the first night. On the other end of the park, Dave Growl and company provided a from row seat to the Foo Fighters greatest hits set including a couple covers thrown in for nostalgic sake. They also informed the audience they had just finished recording five new songs while in Austin and were joined by Ben Kweller.

Top 15 Best Images of ACL

October 16, 2014

All images are copyrighted. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Austin City Limits Music Festival | Saturday | Zilker Park

October 15, 2014

Day Two | Austin City Limits

Day two brought rainy showers and muddy conditions to the grounds of Zilker. Nothing that was going to stop us from a days worth of great music. With the conditions as described many revelers stayed at one spot for the duration of the day instead of trekking across muddy terrain like us. The day's highlights spanned beyond multiple stages including performances from Iggy Azalea above. She had the Retail Me Not Stage blasting wither own brand of hip hop that has been blazing radio airwaves the last few months. With backup dancers at hand Azalea gave the crowd what they came to see and more.

The New Classic (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

As we made our way to the Honda Stage we managed to take time to check out some of the finer things the festival has to offer besides music. A village art shop, a craft beer tent, several festival sponsors promoting their latest products, a merchandise booth the size of Rhode Island, and food that would make anybody hungry for seconds. A few weeks ago we had a chance to see Interpol play at The Ogden Theatre to a sold out crowd. With new material at hand it was nice to get a chance to take in their latest album on a live scale. Their performance at ACL brought out a different setlist, they managed to dig deep into the classics and give us a treat worth of nostalgic material that had huge smiles on our face. Throw in a few newer hits in the mix and you had one of the best sets of the day. Early sets from Polica, The Head and The Heart, Empires, tUnE-yArDs, and Lucius made for a great start.

Paul Banks of Interpol (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

As night began to take over we were bustling around to see where our musical thirst would take us. At one end of the park we could hear the angelic voice of Lana Del Rey, on the other we prepared for another weekend highlighting set from Broken Bells. The masterminds behind Broken Bells consist of producer Danger Mouse and The Shins frontman James Mercer. With a new album just being released it was a chance to see how the sound would translate into a live setting. Not only did they surpass our expectations, but their new production live show blew us away. With two podiums set up from Mercer and Danger Mouse both commanded the set like captains of the starship Enterprise. Throw in a killer light show and you had quite possibly one of the most visual acts on the bill.

Danger Mouse of Broken Bells (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

James Mercer of Broken Bells (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Next up was the nights headliners, on one end we had reigning EDM pioneer Skrillex and on the other hip hop royalty Eminem. To say this was one of our biggest scheduling conflicts speaks to the amount of people that packed both stages. We weren't granted photo access for Eminem so we made our way to the mothership to catch Skrillex (reports of him and Diplo crashing a house party comes to us at no surprise). Having the same stage setup as he did at Red Rocks earlier this Summer, we were interested to see how the Austin crowd would react to the grand production of laser lights and smoke. A huge curtain baring the alien symbol from his last album hid the spaceship as crews began putting the finishing touches on his stage. As soon as the tarp dropped all hell broke loose with the signature dubstep sound Skrillex revolutionized. Song after song those in attendance danced and danced, from young old, the headliner proved once agin why he has established himself as headlining material. We managed to catch some of Eminem's set from afar and forgot how many hits he had in his arsenal. Day two left us deaf and ready to finish the final chapter on Sunday.

Skrillex rocking the ACL crowd. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

CHECK OUT OUR DAY TWO SLIDESHOW

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Austin City Limits | Zilker Park | October 4-5

October 10, 2013

Austin City Limits

Austin, Texas

Zilker Park

October 4-6

Our annual pilgrimage to Austin, Texas brought us to our 2nd Annual Austin City Limits Festival this past weekend. Leaving Denver on Friday morning with snow at my doorstep, I couldn't be more excited to make it to the warmer climate down south in Austin. The forecast for the weekend was perfect. This year the lineup included some of my favorite bands that shaped the way I listened to music. It was bands during my high school days such as The Cure and Depeche Mode that would often find their way to my abundance of mix tapes I would often play. While the musical landscape has gone through many phases since, Austin City Limits thrives on the diversity of their lineups each and every year. From indie to hip hop to country and folk, ACL caters to all lovers of music. The festival itself was beautifully organized with accessible restrooms, free water filling stations, wi-fi access throughout the park and on time scheduled performances. With the Austin cityscape as its background, the setting couldn't be more perfect!

Day One | Friday | October 4th

I arrived just in time to catch the tail end of Jimmy Eat World, we covered them last time they were in a Denver and got to the festival just in time for the tail end of their set. The day also played host for awesome performances from Local Natives, Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys and fun. One of the highlights of the day was the performance from Wild Belle who captivated the late afternoon audience. With the sun setting on a warm first day the evening gave way to the electronic sounds of Kaskade who had the Honda stage raging, one of the few EDM artist on the bill, he managed to create an all out dance party as the evening gave way to some heavy hitters. Josh Homme and Queens of The Stone Age pulled of a raucous performance as the evening set in, fresh off a ACL Live taping the night before, QOTSA impressed just as they did here at Red Rocks a few months ago.

One of the big disadvantages of any music festivals is the conflicting time slots of certain artist you want to see Such was the case for Friday headliners Muse and Depeche Mode. I had never seen DM and while they played an integral part of my musical upbringing, I marked them down on my schedule once it was first released. Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher have been giving us a dose of electro-synth pop since the early eighties, easily establishing themselves as true pioneers of a music generation that has become a huge influence on many artist today. They cranked out hits such as “Personal Jesus”, Enjoy The Silence”, and “Policy of Truth” along with newer hits like “Welcome To My World”.

Wild Belle (Photo Credit: Nick Simonite)

Local Natives (Photo Credit: Cambria Harkey)

Best performances:

Purity Ring, Wild Belle, Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, QOTSA and Kaskade.

Fad of the Day:

Flags on Flags on Flags, American festivals are starting to rival those European festivals with the amount of flags we see nowadays.

Day Two | Saturday | October 5th

Our second day found us taking our spot at the AMD stage for Portugal. The Man, who wasted no time in kicking things off with their hit “Purple, Yellow, Red and Blue”, off of the album Evil Friends. The remainder of their set included hits such as “Modern Jesus”, “So American”, and “The Sun”. They will be stopping in our fair city next week on October 18th, we highly suggest you attend. As the weather continued to become sweltering we managed to trek our way across to catch Passion Pit and The Joy Formidable, who put on some amazing mid-day sets. As the temperature began to drop it was time to setup shop for hip-hop reigning heavyweight and premier trash talker Mr. Kendrick Lamar. We had a chance to see Kendrick at SXSW and he has continued to become one of the genres most controversial and talked about emcees. With an album that made many “best of” including mine, its no wonder that the majority of the 75,000 in attendance made their way to catch a glimpse of one of the games best. The night gave way to what we call in Colorado hoodie weather and in Austin “frigid” conditions. Not that it mattered for long as The Cure took the stage and took me back to the days of broken hearts and a time were Robert Smith was all that mattered. As important as Depeche Mode was to me, The Cure played an equal part of my musical journey. Considered as early pioneers of the goth-post punk wave of the early eighties, it was albums like Disintegration and Wish that often made their way to my tape player. While age had definitely taken its toll on the band, they sound just as they did back in the day. Listening to songs such as “Pictures of You”, and “Friday I’m In Love” created the ultimate nostalgic euphoria I had imagined perfectly.

Kendrick Lamar (Photo Credit: Ashley Garmon)

Best performances:

Portugal. The Man, Silversun Pickups, Grimes, Passion Pit, Kendrick Lamar and The Cure.

Fad of the Day:

Craft Beers. With the inclusion of the new craft tent, it was easy for patrons to enjoy their favorite beers from across the country. Special shout-out to our own Breckenridge Brewery who managed to quench our thirst on a couple occasions.

Day Three | Sunday | October 6th

The last day of any festival is truly a battle for the strong minded. With a few festivals under our belt, we are used to the grueling conditions. We arrived just in time to catch Franz Ferdinand (who coincidentally we saw at our first ACL in 2005). One of our favorite groups that managed to make our “must-see” were Divine Fits, who played to a rather sparse crowd. As they finished wrapping up their set Toro y Moi was entertaining the smaller Bud Light stage with a rather strong performance. The evenings bands were probably the best of the three day weekend, with The National, Tame Impala, and Phoenix each holding their own with captivating sets. I must go on the record on saying that I am probably one of the biggest Radiohead fans in the world. When it was announced that the Thom Yorke led side-project of Atoms For Peace was headlining, i booked my trip to Austin within seconds. The supergroup led by Yorke and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Goodrich on keys and synths, Joey Waronker of R.E.M on drums and Mauro Refosco on percussion. The supergroup started in LA and has released a studio album titled Amok. The band managed to play almost two hours of afro-beat inspired music and having the opportunity to witness Yorke and Flea on the same stage jamming together was something I will never forget. In fact it was probably the highlight of our weekend.

Chaz Bundick of Toro Y Moi (Photo Credit: Jack Edinger)

Atoms For Peace (Photo Credit: Cambria Harkey)

Best Performances:

Foxygen, MS MR, Divine Fits, White Denim, The National, Toro y Moi, Tame Impala, and Atoms For Peace.

Fad of The Day:

Texas A&M apparel, looks like Johnny Football has made a splash amongst college football fans in the city of Austin, which is a victory itself considering the whole town bleeds burnt orange.

Austin City Limits by the numbers:

Miles walked: 18.7

Red Bulls consumed: 7

Kind Bars consumed: 6

Overpriced beers purchased: 3

Festival T-shirt: 1

Colorado flags seen: 2

Breakfast tacos destroyed: 4

Free cocktails in the media tent: 8

Pedicabs taken: 2

Sweet Tea Leaf bottles drank: 11

Deep Eddy Vodka drinks: 5 (in one hour)

Amount of times phone battery died: 3

Day 1 Video Highlights

Day 2 Video Highlights

Day 3 Video Highlights

Austin City Limits | Zilker Park | Austin, Texas

October 15, 2012

Austin City Limits Music Festival | Zilker Park | October 12-14 | Austin, Texas

The Black Keys from up above (Photo Credit: Ashley Garmon)

The 11th annual Austin City Limits Music Festival took place this past weekend on the beautiful grounds of Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. With a majestic backdrop of the Austin skyline, the festival played host to well over 130 bands and 75,000+ music loving fans each day of the event. Looking at the lineup this year there seemed to be something for everybody, whether it was the blues rocking Gary Clark Jr., or the bass pounding sounds of electronic artist Bassnectar, ACL had it all. Not to mention the abundance of different food and various works of art festival attendees had to choose from.

Day 1 Friday: We arrived on the festival grounds on Friday just in time to see the lovely duo of Tegan and Sara (will be here in Denver opening for The Killers next month). I always make an effort to get myself familiar with the festival grounds in anticipation of the running back and forth of trying to catch artist on different stages. We managed to drop by and say hi to one of our favorite DJ’s A-Trak, he had the Honda stage pretty packed for a late afternoon set playing his usual party anthems. Just across the lawn Weezer put on one of the festival’s best sets, with their all to familiar catalog of sing a long hits, the crowd belted out every word of their set. A band I continue to always be one step behind is Alabama Shakes, i made sure I arrived early enough to catch their set and was glad I did. Brittany Howard commands the stage with such respect exuding her soulful lyrics, a throwback to the glory retro-soul era of music. We also managed to grab a great spot to see one of the nights main attractions and most colorful performers the beautiful Florence Welsh and her band Florence and The Machine. Her elaborate stage setup complimented her performance to exact perfection in all aspects. Our night ended flip-flopping between Avicii and The Black Keys who closed out their respected stages in grand fashion.

Rivers Cuomo of Weezer (Photo Credit: David Mead)

Friday Highlights:

Best performance: Avicii: the electronic artist was only one of a few representing the rapid expanding genre of electronic music this weekend, but it is apparent that his headlining slot Friday night was well deserved. Already climbing the ranks of headlining status, the 23 year old Swedish DJ has had the dance floors buzzing with his blazing tracks and remixes all year long.

Wish I had waken up earlier to catch set: First Aid Kit: last time we saw them was when they opened up for Lykke Li in Denver a few months ago. One of the more buzzed early set performances, we wont hesitate to catch them next time in Denver.

Trends spotted: Boxed water, lace tops, TOMS shoes, flags of all shapes and sizes.

Day 2 Saturday: The weather took a turn with scattered showers hitting the festival. One of the more talked about performances would have to be the back to back sets from Colorado's own Big Gigantic and Bassnectar's set on the Honda Stage. A younger demographic packed the stage to listen to the hottest electronic acts in the business today. Combine the hard beats and loud bass with rain pouring, it was a wet and muddy dance party. On the opposite side off the festival a rather calmer crowd got to enjoy a more subdued set from Andrew Bird on The Bud Light Stage. The Shins and Roots played at the same time making for an all out sprint from one end of the park to the other. Both veteran bands seemed to attract huge crowds on their respective stages. The rain gods seemed to show mercy for the night's heavyweight headliners of Jack White and Neil Young and Crazy Horse, both putting on epic sets to close out night two.

Saturday Highlights:

Best performance: The Roots: the talented supergroup has come a long way, they manage to add a new component to their ever growing live sets year after year, anchored by Questlove on drums and Black Thought handling emcee duties their live element creates a sound infusing jazz, hip hop and soul unparalled by any other band.

Wish I had waken up earlier to catch set: Oberhofer: takes a penchant for showmanship to a new level, it is always awesome to see musicians come into the crowd and perform (moreso during a packed festival), such was the case for Oberhofer giving the spectator a unique chance to get up close and personal with the band.

Trends spotted: Corporate sponsored ponchos, galoshes and boat shoes, bikinis; I even saw a guy wearing pants made out of beanie babies, Texas Longhorn t-shirts (Red River Rivalry Weekend)

Rainy conditions didn't stop the crowds on day two (Photo Credit: Jack Edinger)

A packed side stage raging to Bassnectar (Photo Credit: Matt Ellis)

Jack White closing out the main stage on the second night of the fest (Photo Credit: Matt Ellis)

Day 3 Sunday: The final day of the festival turned out to be the nicest in terms of weather. Our day started with the man who has played every festival on earth it seems, Mr. Gary Clark Jr. With his honky tonk blues, it was a perfect marriage for those die-hard Texans who have adopted the genre as the official music for the state. His talented guitar play is becoming legendary every time he plays and is garnering quite the fan base. Sunday gave us a chance to take in some of the homegrown talent based out of Denver including the talented Tennis who played to a huge crowd spilling into the main stage area. Also playing was overnight sensations, The Lumineers. Riding the wave of a hit single and underrated album, they managed to further expand their fan base with a great performance. Other notable performances included Childish Gambino, Iggy and The Stooges, and Crystal Castles. A perfect day to setup for the night's headliners and festival favorites, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, ended the three day festival on a high note. Next year the festival will expand to a two-weekend format giving fans other viable options to check out some of their favorite bands.

The crowd for Red Hot Chili Peppers (Photo Credit: Ashley Gorman)

Alice Glass of Crystal Castles giving fans an intimate experience (Photo Credit: Dave Mead)

Iggy and The Stooges (Photo Credit: Matt Ellis)

Sunday Highlights:

Best performance: Gary Clark Jr., He continues to amaze with every performance and is establishing himself as a notable artist on the festival circuit; it wont be long before he is main stage material and giving hometown fans something to cheer about.

Wish I had waken up earlier to catch set: Kimbra: played a rather early set on Sunday. With an infectious smile and great crowd presence it's no wonder she has become a favorite amongst her loyal following.

Trends spotted: Red Hot Chili Peppers t-shirts, those weird toe shoes, festival programs turned into fans.

Castro