The 2022 rendition of Austin City Limits seemed to have one of the most diverse lineups in the festivals history. We saw legends like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, to emo pioneers Paramore. In between new acts like Wet Leg and Larry June proved they belonged on the big festival stage. Along with great music ACL also provides some of the best festival experiences unlike others. ACL Eats gives festival foodies a chance to try some of Austin’s best local food. Barton Springs Beer Hall gives beer aficionados a chance to indulge in some of the finest craft beers around. A local market also showcases some of the city’s best artisanal goods. Activations from Wrangler, Honda, Coca Cola, Hulu provided for some amazing exponential and immersive experiences.
Friday:
Wet Leg
Buzz band Wet Leg made their ACL debut on the first day of the festival. Stemming from an amazing SXSW last year the duo of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers brought their indie rock sounds to an early Friday crowd. The band looked as if they were just enjoying the big stage often in awe of each other and the crowd. One of the highlights of the weekend.
Teezo Touchdown
We had a chance to see Teezo Touchdown for the first time at Red Rocks earlier this year and we were very intrigued. Draped with a wig of nails, he definitely got our attention. Seeing him on the lineup we were not going to miss a chance to see him again. In one of the best performances of the festival, he managed to win over some new fans as well as establish himself as a artist to keep an eye on.
Jazmine Sullivan
This was our first time seeing Jazmine Sullivan, her sultry vocals and unique take on r&b made us new fans. The Philly native has won many accolades in her short time putting her in some exclusive company. Her set was vibrant and she often chatted with the crowd giving fans an intimate experience on day one. Look for bigger and better things in 2023.
Arlo Parks
Hailing from London, England, Parks recently won us over with her debut album “Collapsed in Sunbeams”. The indie-pop songstress played down a perfect set as the crowd caught a glimpse of one of music newest and brightest stars. She definitely made for one of our favorite sets of the festival.
Phoenix
A trip down memory lane would be the only way to describe Phoenix’s set on day one of the festival. The Parisian indie rockers had a late afternoon dancing to all the familiar hits that have established the bands prominence over the years. Led by frontman Thomas Mars, one of the more animated lead singers of any band, the set itself made for one of the best. Mars has been know to take the performance into the crowd and he did not disappoint as festival goers got the intimate experience.
Omar Apollo
Named one of Apple Music’s “Up Next” artist Omar Apollo continues to grow his star power with his take on Indie music. With latin roots heavily influenced in his music, Apollo interwinds language and genres wit a conniving appeal. His set was a perfect example, settling in for a amazing performance that will make festival attendees reminisce about the time they same him perform on one of the smaller stages at ACL.
SZA
Friday night headliner SZA had Zilker buzzing all day as the much anticipated performance closed out the first night of ACL. Adorned with a seaport backdrop and commencing down a lighthouse tower SZA played a near flawless set as she entertained the masses for almost two hours. Hits such as “Broken Clocks” and “Love Galore” along with Black Panther soundtrack standout “All The Stars” stood out the most. With a new album on the way the momentum is only beginning for what SZA has in store for 2023.
Saturday:
Lido Pimienta
Day two of the festival started with the Colombian sound from Lido Pimienta. We had done our research beforehand and was looking very forward to their set, that did not disappoint. Meshing latin infused sounds with a flair, the band won over a handful of new fans during their early set on Saturday. We expect this group to continue to grow and add to the folklore of ACL bands who played smaller stages early in their career.
Tai Verdes
This was our first time seeing Tai Verdes, hailing from California, Verdes brings a fresh approach to R&B and Pop. With hit single “Stuck In The Middle” on a majority of Best of playlists in 2021. No stranger to the big stage, Verdes played for a rather decent crowd with many die-hard fans making their way to the very from to catch a glimpse of the up-and-coming star. We expect nothing but big things in the future from one of our favorites of Saturday.
Princess Nokia
As the sun was beginning to hit mid-day stride, it was only fitting Princess Nokia came out on stage with a water gun to cool the crowd. Destiny Nicole Frasqueri, known professionally as Princess Nokia can be described as emo rap meshing all elements of hip hop to create a sound that makes you want to dance. Fans who caught her set vibed to the duration of her set as she played crowd favorites from her catalog. Often interacting with the crowd, Nokia fed off the crowd and delivered a knockout.
Boy George and Culture Club
Known for such hits as “Karma Chameleon”, “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”, and “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya”, the legendary singer and his band Culture Club have earned legendary status among the music industry for decades now. With a style fitting for the decade of the late 70’s and early 80’s, the songs brought about a certain nostalgia that has always been part of our music listening pleasure. Known for his flamboyant nature, Boy George reminded us all of the fun one can have with music. Easily one of out top three performances of the weekend.
Sofi Tukker
Sofi Tukker is a musical duo based in Florida consisting of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern. The duo managed to give their all hype-influenced performance during their Golden Hour set. The band is known for their customary hype-induced sets that get the crowd going. Alternating between a plethora of instruments on stage, the duo knows how to hit all the right chords and their live shows are always entertaining. Adorned in a orange to pink gradient pant and matching shirt ensemble, the band was hitting on all cylinders ahead of their set. A perfect wind-down set yet enough energy to take us into the evenings headliners.
Lil Nas X
For us the most anticipated set we had been looking to all weekend. Lil Nas X exploded onto the scene just a couple years ago and aside from a few live appearances here and there has been hard to capture his live show. As the saying goes “good things come to those who wait” couldn’t have been more true. Flanked by a production that could easily make for a stadium tour, Lil Nas X ripped through his small but amazing catalog with sing-alongs and dynamic wardrobe changes. You can tell many of those in the crowd had been waiting all day for this and he did not dissapoint.
Diplo
We have been following Diplo’s career for a,ost a decade now, since our early days covering SXSW. Throughout the years he has blessed us with some of the most amazing heat seeking dance numbers that have ever existed. From production credits on some of the biggest artist in the world, he has always pushed the envelope to pioneering the “new” sound we all have come to love. His set was simple, to the point, and flawless, just as we would have expected.
Flume
Hailing from Australia, Harley Streten known to the world as Flume has made leaps and bounds to get to where he is today. Headlining a major festival does not come easy, especially in the EDM world. Flume has grown and matured with each album he had released to become a household name. Flanked by an array of mood setting lighting, Flume came out the gates with no hesitation exploding into an all out dance party for the masses who took position on the Honda Stage.
Sunday:
Larry June
We got off to an early start on Sunday to check out Larry June, hailing from the Bay Area. June has made a name for himself within the last year creating a buzz amongst the hip hop world.Although June has been honing his craft for a few years his recent work has been well received and is truly one to keep an eye out for in the coming years. June even had a famous celebrity in attendance during his set as Craig Robinson from The Office was seen vibing out to the rappers West Coast sound.
Urban Heat
The term buzz band is always thrown around the festival circuit from time to time, sometimes the act pans out, sometimes they fizzle. In the case of Austin locals Urban Heat, we feel like they will definitely hang around for the long term. They're set at the BMI stage set-off a trajectory path that will see the band continue to shine and introduce themselves to the music world. With a retro sound reminiscent of bands such as Depeche Mode and The Cure, the band rides the New Wave sound with absolute perfection and style.
BIA
Puerto Rican rapper BIA has been enjoying the success of her breakout hit “Whole Lotta Money” in 2021. Garnering several hip hop song of the year awards, BIA reminds us of the 80-90’s era of hip hop, raw, catchy and a penchant for style. Now living in Los Angeles BIA has a future on which to shine as she continues to impress. The future is bright and we can’t wait to see what’s next.
Paramore
When the ACL lineup was announced, nobody created a bigger buzz than Paramore. Having played together as a band since 2018 the band sent shockwaves across the industry by not only announcing a new album but also a tour with a few prominent music festivals along the way. Led by emo-queen Hayley Williams, the band has earned noteworthy success by being one of the first successful emo, pop-punk bands of its generation. With sing-along anthems at their disposal, the ACL crowd (some who had waited hours to get a from row seat) ate it all up. Probably our favorite set of the festival as we had imagined.
Kacey Musgraves
The best way to end our festival was from Texas’s own Kacey Musgrave. The country pop singer took us through a career spanning set that included all her number one hits and some other well known gems. At one point the singer was joined on stage by Beto O’Rourke who is currently running for state governor. The crowd seemed to eat it up as he brought her out a beer as she stated she was thirsty. We had a chance to see Musgraves a couple years ago at this same festival and she only continues to climb the ranks of some of. the best to ever do it.
This brought our festival to an end and once again we cannot stress the importance of why this has been our favorite festival to cover. From the amazing food and beer options, to ease of coming into the park, the amazing hospitality and most important the well curated lineups that bring us back year after year. Until next year ACL.
