Bands Through Town
Epic Performances,
Electric Vibes:
ACL Delivers again
Story & Photos: Cory Weaver
2024’s Austin City Limits Music Festival was Bands Through Town’s fifth year covering the largest music festival in the U.S. We can easily say that this was the hottest and dustiest of the weekends we have covered—the last day of the festival reached 102—the hottest day recorded in Austin in October. Even though we were coughing and sneezing up Zilker Park dust a few days after ACL ended, the sets we caught left a longer lasting impression.
We’ll start with highlights on Day 1, which included Dasha, St. Lucia, Foster the People, Santigold, The Marias and Chris Stapleton.
First in our coverage was country-pop singer Dasha on the American Express stage. The 24-year-old Californian had a fairly large crowd for her sun-drenched 2:45 p.m. timeslot. It was an energetic set, and she played three unreleased songs: “Heartbreaker from Tennessee,” “Run Like Hell” and “Not at This Party,” before ending the set with her biggest hit, “Austin.”
Heading over to the IHG stage, we caught up with St. Lucia—and spoiler alert—the dynamic, indie-pop, synth-shredding duo had one of the best sets at ACL (Click for our interview). Spanning over 10 years as a group, St. Lucia certainly has put out some bangers, and they unleashed them in a rapid-fire 13-song set. “Home,” “Dancing on Glass” and “All Eyes on You” are all hits—as is the finale they played, and likely their most recognized song, “Elevate.” An added bonus was the live premiere of “Fear of Falling,” the group’s newest song that was released earlier in the day.
Running, literally, to the Honda stage, we were blown away by Foster the People. It’s been nearly 15 years since Foster the People took the indie-rock-pop world by storm with Torches and the single, “Pumped Up Kicks” from that album. After seeing Mark Foster own the stage and hearing his falsetto transition seamlessly from studio to the stage: Respect. Starting the set off with two brand new songs, “Feed Me” and “Lost in Space,” tells you that they know their audience and they know they can do whatever the hell they want when on stage. Rounding out the set were hits “Helena Beat,” “Don’t Stop,” “Sit Next to Me” and “Pumped Up Kicks.”
The Marías, Foster the People and Dasha
We would’ve loved to catch all of Santigold’s set at the Tito’s tent, but overlapping timeslots mean you win some, you lose some—catching half of Foster the People and half of Santigold definitely means we won. She had the tent packed for her 16-song set—we entered at “Chasing Shadows” and immediately wondered why she was one of the smallest stage at ACL. Her most recent single, “High Priestess,” hits harder live. She finished off her set with a deep cut, “Creator,” and brought as many fans on stage as was allowed to rock out with her.
No matter how many times we’ve seen The Marías, we’re always mesmerized by them. Having first caught them in February 2022 at a sold-out Old Rock House in STL and then, twice more since then, it’s been awesome to see María Zardoya’s stage presence go from an innocent, persona-searching songstress to a dominating, sultry, dramatic stage commander. She still bares glimpses of innocence, but then she hits you with “Run Your Mouth” and “Ruthless,” and you can feel the heat. The group’s T-Mobile set closed the stage down for the day as they bookended their biggest hit, “Hush” with a cover of the Cardigans’ “Lovefool” and the Bad Bunny song on which they’re featured, “Otro Atardecer.”
While blink-182 was running around the Honda stage doing what they do, ever in search of their age, Chris Stapleton was taking over the AMEX stage and man, are we glad we chose him. Stapleton, usually crooning with his signature raspy howl, his gaze hidden by a Jeremiah Johnson-esque straw cowboy hat, brought out a true legend—Willie Nelson. After the crowd’s shock and awe subsided, the two sat next to each other and had what can best be described as a fly-on-the-wall moment for the crowd during their two-song jam session of “Whiskey River” and “Bloody Mary Morning.” After that treat, it was all Stapleton for the next 75 minutes.
Highlights, Day 2
On Day 2, we crammed in time with three bands in one hour: Nico Vega, Jon Muq and Geese.
L.A.-based Nico Vega, (whose interview you can find here) was just the thing we needed to get the day started when we caught them at the Miller Lite stage. The return of Michael Peńa to the group has sparked a new album, Make it Out Alive.
Moving south across the festival grounds we snagged some time with Brooklyn’s Geese. Back-to-back rock shows are what we’re here for. The heat, the dust and some New York grit were a perfect combo to jolt the IHG stage crowd—a sort of wake-up call to get Day 2 properly started.
Making our way to our first stop at the BMI stage, we caught Austin-based-via-Uganda singer/songwriter Jon Muq. At the complete opposite end of the spectrum of the first two bands that we saw, Muq provided a reprieve—his life’s journey wrapped up in an hour set. Check out the interview here for more and find out why Dan Auerbach sought him out and signed him to his label.
Chris Stapleton with Willie Nelson, Misterwives, Jungle and Balthvs
We filled the rest of our afternoon with BALTHVS, The Beaches and Teddy Swims. BALTHVS, a psychedelic Colombian trio cut from the cloth of Khruangbin—who coincidentally, would play three hours later (and whom we’ve covered before)—provided a chill moment, while baking in the Tito’s tent.
The Beaches attracted a large crowd at the T-Mobile stage. Riding the success of their “Blame Brett” single, they put together a festival-worthy set, but there were moments when they seemed tired and a bit rehearsed. In all fairness, they’ve had quite the year playing multiple festivals, an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and playing Canada’s Juno Awards.
By now, Jaten Collin Dimsdale, a.k.a. Teddy Swims can hardly be called an “up and comer,” especially when he’s playing the Honda stage at ACL and providing one of the best sets of the day. But, new to the big time, I’m sure he’s still pinned with the title. His passionate music blends genres, including R&B, soul, country and pop, and he had the crowd clamoring for his hit, “Lose Control.”
Rounding out our coverage of Day 2 was Benson Boone and Jungle. We didn’t have to venture far to catch the back-flipping, American Idol appearing, pop star Boone. Pop music is such a double-edged sword—on the radio, it can sound thin, over-produced and, at times, musically disinterested. But, sometimes you unleash a pop artist live and they lose that moniker, and that’s exactly what Boone did the evening of Day 2—put on an endearing, soulful set that even rocked out at times. While his backflips and handsprings during his set were impressive, his renditions of “Drunk In My Mind,” “Cry” and “Beautiful Things” left a lasting impression.
First playing in Austin at SXSW in 2014, the U.K. trio of Josh Lloyd-Watson, Tim McFarland and Lydia Kitto known as Jungle came full circle on the Miller Lite stage as the sun set. This may have been the best set at ACL—yeah, we know Chappell Roan was playing the next day—but, the funky, neo-soul danceability of Jungle is undeniably one of the best things going—flailing your arms about spelling H-O-T-T-O-G-O doesn’t count as dancing. Personally, we’d love to see musical tastes mature and be able to see a longer set by Jungle as a headliner at ACL in a few years.
Highlights, Day 3
The final day of ACL, one was quickly reminded that you were deep in the heart of Texas as temps reached 102, officially, with an even hotter heat index. Hydration abounded. For Day 3, we chose to catch Kalu and the Electric Joint, Petey, MisterWives, Cannons, Chappell Roan and Sturgill Simpson.
The Austin-based group, Kalu and the Electric Joint has been on our radar since we heard 2017’s “Too Low to Get High.” One take with this electric bluesy tune and you’ll be hooked. Their set at the Tito’s tent was everything we’ve heard in a recording visualized live on stage.
Petey is one of those TikTok musical personalities who struck gold during the pandemic. That doesn’t mean he didn’t earn his spot on the IHG stage at ACL, but it certainly didn’t hurt. The Michigan native’s approach to indie rock has more of an entertainer’s spin, as he had a recording of the Chicago Bears/Jacksonville Jaguars game that took place earlier that day in London playing on the video board behind him.
The Beaches, Geese, Teddy Swims, Nico Vega and Orville Peck
Another “one of the best sets of ACL” was MisterWives, squeezing in a spot at the festival while on their “Just For One Night” tour. There’s no denying that lead vocalist Mandy Lee is a top-notch frontwoman. She delivers every time, whether it’s her fashion, her endless energy on stage or wondering if she’s going to need vocal rest after her set—she leaves it all on stage. We still hold a special place for “Our House” but, they rocked out with “Vultures” and a cover of Robyn’s hit, “Dancing on My Own.”
Venturing down to the AMEX stage from the Honda stage isn’t for the faint of heart—it’s a trek—but, the effort it took to see the electrifying Michelle Joy of Cannons is worth it. The genre-bending, indie-pop trio sounds have transitioned into a more indie-rock vibe live. Just because you can dance to it, doesn’t make it any less rockin’. They undoubtedly inherited the Pink Pony orphans, waiting to be adopted a couple hours later on this very stage—if they weren’t aware of who Cannons were then, they know now.
Navigating our way through a Chappell Roan crowd felt like being in an overcrowded submarine. Entrenched since the gates opened, tens of thousands of people surrounded the AMEX stage for the southwest Missouri born artist. Her last concert of 2024, Roan played 10 songs off of The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and a new song, “The Subway.” She ended her set 14 minutes early, which is pretty wild given the high temps, fans waiting six hours for her, and it being her last concert of the year.
Closing out ACL, we chose Sturgill Simpson over Tyler, the Creator—we covered him a few years ago, and Sturgill has been killing it on the same level as Tyler, just different genres. And killed it he did. Simpson opened with “If the Sun Never Rises Again,” “One for the Road” and “Mint Tea” from his alter ego, Johnny Blue Skies album, Passage du Desir. He went on to do a few covers, including an incredible rendition of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” He did not play “The Dead Don’t Die,” unfortunately.
Again and again, ACL proves to be the largest music festival in the States, but, while being the largest, it also feels less daunting and more accessible than Lollapalooza. Although, one thing the two festivals are competing for is best skyline view. Can’t wait to see what 2025 ACL has in store.
Cannons, Chappell Roan, Qveen Herby and Sturgill Simpson