By Jacob Pellegrino
The first weekend of ACL 2023 was filled with great music and energy that kept the festival exciting throughout without too many breaks between acts. Here we collect some of the highlights from the festival and overall impressions.
FRIDAY
The first act I saw at ACL 2023 was Lil Yachty, who combined his alternative/psychedelic rock experimentation from his most recent album, Let’s Start Here, with his pop rap sound. The inclusion of both sides of his career led to a diverse and interesting performance that kept the crowd energized. Yachty had a strong stage presence and his band was powerful throughout the rock oriented songs.
One of the highlights of the whole weekend for me was seeing Little Simz on the T-Mobile stage. For those of you who don’t know, Little Simz is a British rapper whose lyricism is complemented by well-produced beats. She showed up a bit late, but owned the stage with simple but effective visuals behind her and an unforgettable presence. When cameras panned to the crowd, both Dave Grohl (performing later in the weekend) and Venus Williams could be seen enjoying the music.
ACL also has a Bonus Tracks stage that features conversations in a podcast-esque format. I attended to see Dave Grohl speak about songs that stick with him. It was an interesting conversation with one of rock’s living legends, but was at times hard to see and hear over the crowd. The stage was small and the crowd Grohl drew was a bit too big for the area.
Especially for those who grew up listening to The Lumineers, their performance was one to remember. Opening with their hit song “Cleopatra” and continuing through their catalog, the group kept the audience moving. At one point, Wesley Schultz even went into the crowd during the song “BRIGHTSIDE” from their most recent album. Hearing their songs live had a large emotional impact both from the lyrics and band.
One snag in the regular programming came from “plane issues” for Kendrick Lamar. Lamar came on at 9:45pm, an hour after his scheduled start time. Knowing his shortened set length, he played the hits. However, in the middle of “Alright,” the mics were cut and Kendrick Lamar’s set ended after a brief thirty minutes.
SATURDAY
Having played a lot of festivals this year, it was a guarantee that Rina Sawayama’s set would be a performance to attend. With music that spans a wide range of genres and styles, Sawayama’s music was engaging live and kept the audience dancing throughout. The choreography was well done, as would be expected from someone with her stunt acting credentials from the most recent entry in the John Wick franchise.
Alanis Morissette began her set with a montage of clips ranging from SNL sketches referencing her to news clips and covers of her music before coming on stage. She quickly reminded the audience why her music has had such a long impact on audiences. She played “Hand in My Pocket” second, putting one of her biggest hits early in the set. Hearing “Ironic” and “You Oughta Know” live was a testament to the long-term relevance of her debut album Jagged Little Pill.
After Alanis Morissette, Noah Kahan performed on a smaller stage nearby. With his recent growth in popularity, he definitely should have been scheduled for a bigger stage as the crowd was large and dense. Kahan’s set consisted of the majority of his album Stick Season and an additional unreleased song called “Emily” performed with Mt. Joy. Throughout the show, Kahan shared the inspiration behind his songs with bits of humor and personal stories.
The final act of the day was Foo Fighters. There was a little bit of bleed between them and Noah Kahan as Kahan’s set went a little late and the stages were near each other. However, this didn’t detract much from either set. Dave Grohl and company put on a show to remember, mixing in bits of other artists’ hit songs with their own catalog. Shania Twain, the other headliner scheduled for the same time slot, came over and sang “Best of You” with the band. They ended the night with “Everlong” leaving the audience cheering for an act that proves the longevity of rock music.
SUNDAY
During his set, Niall Horan proved his skills beyond his time in One Direction to this concertgoer. His music was perfectly suited to the mid afternoon sunlight and really let his voice shine. Playing his own songs, Horan mixed in “Story of my Life” from his time with one of the most successful boy bands in recent memory, sarcastically introducing it as a song most people wouldn’t know. He ended with his own hit “Slow Hands.”
Hozier was another big act performing on Sunday. One of the standout live performances of the weekend was a solo acoustic rendition of “Cherry Wine” from his debut album. The ornate guitar part was beautiful unaccompanied except by Hozier’s tender vocals. Ending with his mega-hit “Take Me to Church,” Hozier had the audience forgetting themselves throughout his set.
The Sunday headliner that I attended was Mumford & Sons. The band returned to the festival for their third time as a headliner after a summer filled with festival appearances around the world. It can be easy to forget just how many great songs the group has. They kicked off the set with “Babel” and “Little Lion Man,” instantly engaging the audience and transporting the audience back to when those songs took over the radio. Their song “Dust Bowl Dance” is one that I was not super familiar with, but that really stuck with me after the show. Near the end of their set, the band moved to a second stage in the crowd and debuted a new song. Bringing out Noah Kahan, they played an unreleased collaboration titled “Maybe.” The surprise guest combined with their strong performing energy made it an unforgettable performance.
TAKEAWAYS
ACL again put together an engaging lineup that can appeal to a wide range of people. In my opinion, it was an especially good year for fans of folk rock music. The weather was good and crowds were respectful throughout my experience this year. Although the festival is slower than others to embrace genres newer to US audiences, such as K-pop, which has seen a presence at Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Governor’s Ball, it still created an exciting lineup that kept me moving from show to show to see all the artists I wanted to.
