I have been excited about this year”s Austin City Limits Festival for a while, but the giddiness just hit me on Sunday. It is indeed that time of year where Zilker Park closes to lazy weekends with your dog to make way for tall white tents, towering stages and tons and tons of your favorite bands. My all-time top two will both be performing this weekend, so I”m more than ready for it all. Mostly, I”m excited to stumble upon some new bands I”ve never heard before – there are quite a few that could fill some empty spaces in my schedule. For now, I will recommend the bands I feel secure in signing off on. Below, you”ll get a song and a snippet about who I think you should see. Drink tons of water, reapply that sunscreen, and rock out with abandon.
FRIDAY
Miniature Tigers
11:20AM – Austin Ventures
I saw these kids open for the Freelance Whales, and ended up enjoying their set even more than their electronic-pop brethren. Gorgeous voices set to fun, witty, dancey music – the perfect way to kick off your festival.
Wild Beasts
1:10PM – Honda
I first saw the Wild Beasts perform in the Apple store in downtown Chicago with my best concert mate Melissa. It was the night before Lollapalooza, and we were indulging in an exploration of the city and all the music we could take in. The Wild Beasts blew us away, with spine-tingling falsetto and gorgeous, layered guitars – it”s kind of like what might happen if the Local Natives got a little more operatic and a lot more experimental.
Brandi Carlile
2:10PM – AMD
Brandi Carlile has the kind of voice that makes your heart stop. Her songs are beautiful folk-rock tales that are personal and relatable, and the words rip from her guts and soar through her mouth on her beautiful voice. She”ll be a show-stopper, and even though she”s from Seattle, she has enough twang in her tunes to make you feel right at home.
James Blake
3:10PM – Honda
It”s taken me a while to come around on James Blake, but the more I hear his songs, the more they dig their way deep into my heart. They”re laced with synth and employ lots of interesting vocal effects, but I think my favorite way to hear them is live — stripped down to Blake”s gorgeous, tearful voice and echoing chords. You”ll need to cool off at this point in the day — there”s no better set for that then Blake”s.
Ray LaMontagne
4:10PM – AMD
I”ve loved the music of Ray LaMontagne for a number of years now. I first fell for the shadowy-voiced singer in the beginning of my college years, entranced by his sad folk songs, wrapping them around myself like a security blanket. To this day, his voice makes me feel at home. My song selection below is still my favorite — a sad admission to a love that just isn”t meant to be. Bring your tissues.
Bright Eyes
6:10PM – AMD
My adoration of Bright Eyes is well-documented all over the place. Suffice it to say, I will be as close to front-row for this performance as I can manage. There will be howls, there will be hugging, there will be epic rock tunes to pump your fist to. If you have never seen Bright Eyes, and you appreciate brilliant, biting lyrics, genres from electronic rock to folk to alternative-country, and a fearless frontman ready to tell you exactly what he”s thinking, there”s nowhere else you should be.
Kanye West
8:30PM – Bud Light
I have never seen Kanye West at a live performance. I have watched him grow as an artist and person in myriad media outlets. I have listened to his music grow and expand and go down more daring avenues. I have heard that his performances can be life-altering, or that they can be less-than, depending on what version of Kanye you get. I wholeheartedly believe it”s worth it to take the risk. I”m hoping for unbelievable guests (Beyonce is from Houston, after all) and an excited, energetic West to bring us a spectacle and blow our minds.
SATURDAY
The Antlers
12:30PM – AMD
My younger brother was the first to preach the gospel of the Antlers to me. They played in the heat of the day at Fun Fun Fun Fest last year, and they have that time slot again for Austin City Limits. It”s hard to fully enjoy the subtlety of angelic vocals, rolling waves of guitar chords and songs about love and death in the sweltering sun, but the Antlers are worth it. Start your day off easy – just sit back with people you love, relax, and enjoy.
Young the Giant
2:00PM – AMD
I”m totally in love with this band. Their debut self-titled album has been in my car in constant rotation since I saw the dudes at South by Southwest, and their performance at Lollapalooza cemented for me that these guys are going to be big. They”ve got a big alt-rock sound, and lead singer Sameer Gadhia has a smooth, honeyed voice that will wrap around you and draw you in. Young the Giant are a cheering, dancing, sing-along kind of live performance — made for festivals and ready to rock you.
Iron & Wine
4:00PM – AMD
A Texas son, Iron & Wine”s Samuel Beam has a comforting, gentle voice that floats above a bed of twinkling guitar picking. His folk songs are wonderful for cuddling, so his set will be an excellent excuse to cozy up to the apple of your eye. He”ll ease us through the hottest part of the day, so stretch out and relax to his gorgeous melodies.
Wanda Jackson
5:45PM – Austin Ventures
Wanda Jackson is a veteran of southern rock — she”s an icon who broke through barriers and became one of the first big female stars of the genre. She”s enjoyed a resurgence in popularity thanks to her work with America”s son and rock”s king, Jack White. She”s a strong, witty, feisty and fearless performer who will gives us all an education in Rock 101.
Cut Copy
6:00PM – AMD
I finally got to see Cut Copy in Houston at Free Press Summer Fest a few months ago, and they blackjack were unquestionably one of my favorite sets from the entire weekend. Their music is fun, poppy dance-rock with an 80s attitude, and as performers, the band is able to pump crowds up and get every last person dancing. The group performs with youthful joy, which translates into a cheery audience. Put a smile on your face and dance with abandon while the sun goes down.
Chromeo
7:00PM – Honda
The dancey duo of Chromeo have been making my hips shake since a friend of mine played them for me in my college radio days. I laughed out loud at their Fancy Footwork album cover, featuring synths held up by Robert Palmer-worthy female legs, and knew immediately my mom would fall for their throwback sound. I have never been to a Chromeo show that wasn”t a total blast – you will dance, you will cheer, you will have so much fun.
Stevie Wonder
8:00PM – Bud Light
As much as I love Jim James, and although My Morning Jacket put on my favorite show of Lollapalooza this year, the only reason I would pass up Stevie Wonder is to see Arcade Fire at their Austin City Limits show taping. Stevie is the epitome of legendary – he has so many hits it will make your head spin, and he is still one of the greatest living performers. His set will be a guaranteed jam, and it really appeals to all ages – who wouldn”t get down to “My Cherie Amor,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” or “Superstition?” And we”re just scratching the surface.
SUNDAY
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
1:30PM – Honda
I caught this band at Lollapalooza this year, and was pleasantly surprised. They have a ton of energy, and really work hard to get the crowd involved in their performance. They won”t stand for apathy – they”re all about dancing and forgetting about anyone watching you. “Life”s too short to play it safe,” they proclaim in “Vocal Chords.” They”re worth taking a chance on.
The Airborne Toxic Event
2:30PM – Bud Light
I rarely consider a band a “guilty pleasure” – for instance, I feel no guilt whatsoever for still loving Hanson. However, the Airborne Toxic Event makes me feel a l”il guilty. They”re an indie-wannabe band, super radio-friendly, and mostly treading territory that has been tread before. But they were my jam when I was a junior in college, speaking to my angsty directionlessness. If you wanna indulge, I”ll see you there.
Broken Social Scene
4:30PM – Bud Light
I”ve never invested the time in Broken Social Scene that I felt I should. In theory, they seem like a band I should adore – an indie rock band with a rotating cast of musical characters, including one of my heroines, Emily Haines of Metric. I”m excited to finally see them perform live, and predict they could be a new obsession after their ACL performance. They have about 10 people on stage at any given time, playing a chorus of guitars, clapping, singing, and generally trading off roles wherever they see fit.
Gomez
6:15PM – Austin Ventures
Gomez is a gentle rock band from across the pond. They sometimes trickle into Radiohead territory, and sometimes lean a little more folk. You may have heard their hit “Airstream Driver” on a college or alternative radio station – it seemed inescapable for a while, and rightfully so. They write catchy, cool songs that are relaxing and sweet, with vocals trading between two vastly different frontmen. If you can pull yourself away from Arcade Fire”s stage, Gomez is worth the trek.
Fleet Foxes
6:30PM – Bud Light
I”ve heard nothing but wonderful things about Fleet Foxes” live show. I initially wrote them off because they seemed to grow from the ground at the same time as the Dodos, Local Natives, and Iron & Wine, all of who I liked more. However, they have absolutely grown into their own, crafting gorgeous, intricate songs that will be the perfect soundtrack for sunset.
Arcade Fire
8:30PM – Bud Light
Arcade Fire are one of my favorite bands of all time. They have only released three full albums, but all three are perfect. I know that music journalists are generally supposed to avoid absolutes, but I can truthfully say that, after giving each album the time to grow in my heart and mind, I would not change a thing about any of them. Arcade Fire”s live show is legendary – at my very first Austin City Limits festival in 2005, Chris Martin of Coldplay proclaimed that if we”d missed the band, we missed the best show of the weekend (I missed them. I will probably never really forgive myself.) The crew, led by Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, put so much heartfelt emotion and energy into their performances, they have said in interviews that they physically cannot tour as often as other bands because they drain themselves of everything they have. They are inspiring and inspired, writing music that seems to perfectly summarize the modern experience of being young in America. There is nobody else playing during this time slot, because there is nobody else you should see. If you didn”t know who “The Suburbs” were – find out immediately.