by Max Cunningham
This past weekend marked the second post-pandemic iteration of Austin City Limits. This year’s festival spanned a wide variety of genres, with the headliners coming from country, R&B, rock, pop, and EDM. Without further ado, here is my EDM-free list of highlights from each day of the festival.
Friday:
James Blake showcased his limitless vocal range, instrumental prowess, and attention to detail with a light show that perfectly complemented his music. He mostly spent time playing his most recent album, Friends That Break Your Heart, which celebrated a one year anniversary the day after his performance. However, that didn’t stop him from playing crowd favorites like Mile High, which features notable rapper Travis Scott.
Most concertgoers immediately moved over to Omar Apollo’s set. The major highlight of his set was the live band he brought to accompany him, which featured an excellent guitar player who had plenty of time to do solos during the set.
SZA had one of the most enjoyable sets of the weekend. She was clearly taking in the moment of headlining a music festival for the first; she mentioned it at one point and had tears in her eyes, which made for an especially poignant moment. One notable moment during her set occurred during Doves in the Wind, where the visuals behind her were showing a storm and the dancers acted like they were about to be blown away. The clear attention to detail in the choreography, visuals, and stage design made for a particularly enjoyable performance. This was the highlight of Friday.
The Chicks, who were performing on the other side of Zilker Park, also enjoyed a large, very engaged crowd.
Saturday: This day started with a set by rising artist Samia. Her self proclaimed “depressing music” combined with fun dancing and a great live band was a sight to see. On the other side of the park was rapper Tyla Yaweh, who got the crowd going through various tactics such as crowd surfing and running off stage and around the crowd at one moment.
The major highlights of Saturday occurred later in the day. Lil Nas X electrified the crowd with an elaborate display of costumes, highly skilled choreography, and visuals that perfectly augmented his music. It didn’t hurt that he has also released some of the biggest songs of the last few years, including Old Town Road.
Big Boi held his own during the same time slot, performing a fun mix of new songs from Big Sleepover as well as classics like International Players’ Anthem and Ms. Jackson.
My favorite set of the weekend belongs to Houston native, Tobe Nwigwe. He said it was going to be the best, most elaborate performance he has ever done; he did not disappoint. His stage design largely mirrored the cover of his recent EP, moMINTS. It contained a large piano structure, three singers standing on top of it, elaborate floral garments, a choir, and plenty of green foliage that stoked religious imagery akin to the Garden of Eden. Not only did Nwigwe impeccably rap all of the songs he performed (which went for an extra 15 minutes), but he did so alongside his wife, Fat Nwigwe, and their two children. For lack of a better phrase, this performance was truly special. It is a shame there were not more people in the crowd to enjoy the full-scale production he put on. This was the gold standard of festival performances.
Sunday: The Marías had one of the best performances of the day. Their set consisted of excellent vocal performances by María Zardoya and a great trumpet player who had strong solos when called upon. The visuals were mostly slow shots with a similar theme to the CINEMA album cover.
Following them was 6lack, whose set had some strange dichotomies. He had a DJ come out and hype up the crowd and then proceeded to play deeper cuts to a fairly unengaged crowd. It was strange watching people create mosh pits to his sadder songs, but that is becoming more common at rap/R&B performances.
Marcus Mumford was a welcome surprise right before the headlining sets. His voice is truly exceptional live. His inclusion of Danielle Ponder, who performed earlier in the day, was a great addition as well.
The headliners were both excellent on Sunday. Kacey Musgraves commanded the stage through her laundry list of hits; her set also included a cover of Dreams by Fleetwood Mac that was very well received. On the other hand, Red Hot Chili Peppers gained attention through their excellently refined instrumental skills and trippy, psychedelic visuals. It is hard to make a particular critique on either set; both acts are seasoned veterans of touring and have deep catalogs of music that people love.