RTJ (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Day three of this years Austin City Limits paved way to probably the best of the three days. The weather was perfect as the high never really reached about 75 degrees or so. One of the best acts we caught all weekend was Swedish sister duo First Aid Kit, riding the wave of their recently released new album, the band took advantage and played a lot of newer material. With perfect harmonies and layered riffs the sisters fed off each other and played a near flawless set. Up next was one of our favorites Run The Jewels (do these guys ever take a day off?). It has gotten to the point were the duo of Killer Mike and EL-P have reached headliner status with their infectious politically charged lyrics and well though out beats. Always encouraging crowd participation which makes way for an amazing live set, the band feeds off the energy and vice versa. They played through many of their hits and left us hungry for another album.
As the sun set and crowds got comfortable we made our way to catch one of the hottest bands of 2017. Portugal. The Man, with heir recently released album Woodstock and fell good hit of the summer "Feel The Still", the band performed under the dark lights and motion projection layered upon the backdrop. A band who we have seen mature over the years and continue to get better and better with each take.
The nights dueling headliners had us choosing between Gorillaz and The Killers (photo restrictions for both). We managed to split our time between both sets as we sang and danced to the early material from Brandon Flowers and company and also managed to catch Damon Albarn and his supergroup lay into some of their newer material. As always The Austin City Limits Music Festival continues to earn top billing for us year in and year out. With a new layout and more ample space, the fest never felt overcrowded and still managed to include a few more stages and variety of music for all to enjoy. See ya next year Austin.
