Oct 22, 2023 | ktru
By Alexa Scott
There are few things that bring me as much joy than ACL Music Fest in the fall. The feeling of anticipation starts creeping up on you far before you walk through the lit arch. I would argue it even begins before the trek to Austin. It happens the moment the schedule drops - suddenly you have to be tactical, artists are pitted against each other in epic listening sessions, breaks are planned, and sacrifices are made. Whether all of that planning largely goes out the window once you arrive is another story entirely.
At least that’s how the trip to Austin started for us anyway.
For us, ACL kicked off with Kendrick Lamar’s performance on the American Express stage. Following Week One’s late start, Kendrick was much more punctual, starting only 4 minutes after his scheduled start with “N95” from his 2022 album “Mr. Morale and the High Steppers”. The audience was packed, elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder, if anything this delay only served to increase the already tangible anticipation throughout the crowd.
“Is anybody alive right now?” Lamar asked, the crowd roared in response. Lamar’s prolific and diverse songwriting career has garnered a huge following since his debut in 2011. His songs have become anthems, which was clear by the roars the start of every song garnered. As for his masked dancers, they were cool, but let's be honest – it was hard to focus on anything but Kendrick's hypnotizing bars.
On Saturday morning, we were ready for more action, but not without a crucial purchase – shoe inserts. With our feet prepped, we dove into the festival.
Ok, now we were ready.
Our first musical adventure of the day was with Sincere Engineer, a Chicago-based punk band. We only caught one song, but it rocked.
Up next was Declan McKenna, whom I’ve loved since he first released “Brazil” in 2017. Walking out with eclipse glasses and hair cut into a mullet, it was clear, this dude was cool. His first song “Why Do You Feel So Down?” was perfect to start. His energy was clear, belting the lyrics to every single song as the crowd sang along. His growth as an artist has been both metaphorical and literal. His identity as an artist began as a teenage sensation with his album “What Do You Think About the Car?”, and although some critics were quick to label him a “one hit wonder’ the release of his 2020 sophomore album, quickly proved them wrong. McKenna closed the set with “British Bombs,” the visuals behind him showing news clippings of British funding of various armed conflicts.
After the closing of McKenna’s set we wandered over to the covered Tito’s stage of Sudan Archives. We were initially confused by her being placed on the smaller covered Tito’s stage but it soon became extremely evident this was the perfect decision. Her tracks on Spotify make it sound like she’s an RnB artist - THAT IS NOT THE CASE. She’s like an electric violin goth R&B heavy bass vibe; she absolutely shreds the electric violin. Whoever is mixing her tracks is playing the biggest game of “Gotcha!,” I've witnessed. The audience was absolutely captivated by her presence, swaying with the heavy bass. At one point she stood on the railing and sang to the crowd. All in all it was entrancing, breathtaking, and a thing of fantasy.
After a quick falafel break (shoutout ACL media lounge) we were ready to make our return to Tito's stage for twin duo Tegan and Sara. Although we didn’t stay for long, their charisma was evident. Apparently they used to dream about opening for Alanís Morisette, so it was really cool for them to be playing at the same time, on different stages. But apparently also some sort of sick joke to pit the Canadians against each other (at this point I learned that Alanis Morissette was Canadian).
We wandered our way to T-Mobile an hour before the start, and it was already packed. Noah Kahan walked out on stage sporting dutch braids and a jean jacket that said “Young Blood” on the front, a reference to his “Busy Head” album from 2018. Playing songs exclusively from his most recent album “Stick Season”, he had the crowd singing along for the entire show. For “She Calls Me Back,” he brought out special guest Mumford and Sons, whose velvety voices had the crowd sobbing when combined with the already heart wrenching lyrics. By the time the set ended the sun had gone down and night had befallen Zilker Park.
It was time for Foo Fighters. By this point the festival was packed, but on the bright side it was easier than ever to reach the Foo Fighters crowd. For the record, I love Dave Grohl, always have always will, so I must admit my review may be swayed by this fact. First and foremost this was the definition of absolute rock and roll, a term I have only ever used to describe seeing Darkbird, an Austin based band last year. Foo Fighters would play the beginning of a song pause, Dave would talk to the crowd, some shredding would occur then then continue playing the song. This formula had the crowd roaring. At different times during the set he would pause the music and direct that the lights on stage be flipped around and shined onto the crowd. During the band introductions, the keyboardist for Santana came out and played a bit alongside the keyboardist for us - this dude played at the original Woodstock and yet wasn’t missing a beat.
By Sunday we were achy but begging for more. After all, ACL only comes once a year.
Dope Lemon kicked off Sunday’s set with some lemonhead and cat visuals and jams to make us all feel like cowboys in the Texas heat. With songs like “Rose Pink Cadillac” and “Stonecutters,” the sun felt hazy and the vibes were good.
Del Water Gap was next on the T-Mobile stage. The highlight of the show was when he started climbing the side railing of the stage. Getting pretty far up and waving his arm around, he takes the trophy for most altitude gained during a performance by far.
We aimed to catch all of M83 but by the time we pivoted to the Honda stage, the set was underway. It was fantastic. They obviously played “Midnight City” and the crowd went crazy. That’s the great thing about ACL, energy can be found deep from within when a good song comes on.
Then it was time, the final set of our time at ACL, it was time for Hozier. Similar to my disclaimer regarding Dave Grohl, one is appropriate here as well: I love Hozier. With that being said, his set was beautiful and everytime he said anything with his Irish accent the crowd swooned. Playing a bit of a mixed set, he sampled from his entire discography hitting everything from “Cherry Wine” to “Eat Your Young”. He even brought on a special guest for “Damage Gets Done”. Just as the sun was setting, the set ended with “Take Me to Church.” It was the perfect ending to a great weekend.
See ya next year ACL!
Oct 16, 2023 | ktru
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.
Oct 10, 2023 | ktru
By Jacob Pellegrino
Austin-based folk-rock duo Briscoe creates music inspired by nature and enlivened by their vocal harmonies and rich instrumentation. We recently had the opportunity to talk with the band on the heels of their debut album, “West Of It All,” which was released in September.
The members of Briscoe, Truett Heintzelman and Philip Lupton, met at a summer camp when they were still teenagers. They became fast friends and their artistic collaboration grew from a mutual love of music.
“We met almost 10 years ago now at a summer camp out in the Texas Hill Country and despite growing up in different cities, remained good friends through the years until we were finally together in Austin. We both went to UT…. We were friends long before we were bandmates,” Heintzelman shared. “And prior to that a lot of our friendship, a lot of what we bonded over, was music that we love and getting the plate together. And so I think we just kind of naturally started singing together and naturally found that two-part harmonies were kind of our bread and butter and so as we started to record music and write songs for Briscoe we wanted to put forth what we thought was our bread and butter, which is harmony based music.”
At a talent show later that week at summer camp, the two performed a cover of John Prine’s song “Paradise.”
“It was a song that we just both knew and loved and was just a very easy harmony to find… it was like the first time I'd ever really sang with somebody else. And so when you sing with somebody else for the first time and hear the harmony for the first time, pay attention to what it actually is, you're kind of mind blown. And we figured that out and we're like, oh my gosh, who's got to play this for people and went to the talent show to play and had a blast. And actually funny enough we played a headline show a few weeks ago in Austin, our biggest headline show ever, and we covered that song again there which is a blast,” Heintzelman recalled. “That whole kind of late 60s through the 1970s period of music has had a huge influence on us. Guys like John Prine, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson. You know, just spanning a couple of different genres, but people who just write such wonderful songs with very clever and awesome lyrics, a lot of harmony. I mean, that's just like the golden age of music. And hopefully our music reflects a lot of that, for sure taking a big influence from a ton of people like The Beatles and Grateful Dead, all those we’re big fans of.”
When asked about the one song from the album that they would like listener’s to check out, the group expanded on their first single and how it serves as a microcosm for the rest of the album.
“If we had to choose a theme song for the record, if you will, I think ‘The Wells’ is a great song that kind of captures a lot of different things about us from, you know, our instrumentation that we love with the upbeat folky feeling, lots of harmony oriented melodies, and thematically. It's the first song on the record and captures a lot of what we portray throughout the rest of the record, which is a lot of experiences in nature and experiences of people we love and a combination of those things,” Lupton explained. “So ‘The Well’ was our first single and we put it out there first hoping that it would kind of prime people for the rest of the record, which is now out.”
One of the things that is the most evident throughout the album, aside from clear vocals and lush instrumentation, is the duo’s love of nature. The natural world not only serves as a source of inspiration for the two, but something that is regularly mentioned in the lyrics.
“Whether it's hiking or fishing and just hanging out, it's just such a sweet thing to be able to go spend time in small towns like Medina or Kerrville or outside San Angelo, where Phillip’s from, with our friends and family,” Heintzelman shared. “So I feel like a lot of [our time in the outdoors] is out at ranches and lakes that are all within two to three hours of Austin which is incredible.”
The duo further elaborated on music they listen to that might not be as strongly reflected in their recorded output.
“I think we listen to a lot more country music than is reflected. I think we have hints of country influence in our record… But I think we listen to just as much country as we do anything else, not like Nashville pop country, but more like this Americana highwayman country kind of thing we're really into,” said Lupton. We listen to a ton of that and I don't think that's necessarily reflected in our music, a little bit, but not as heavy for the amount that we've listened to it.”
Having both studied at UT, Lupton expanded more on the influence of their time at the university on the duo’s songwriting.
“I studied hydrogeology in my time at the University of Texas, and it was a great major as a songwriter and a lover of nature because it would get me outside a bunch to do a bunch of different field work. And I think a lot of our work, if I had to put it in a nutshell, is themes of nature and how they relate to themes of life. The song ‘The Well’ is a great example of that. It was inspired by a project I did for a class in hydrogeology, about the Ogallala Aquifer and how it's being depleted and it's this massive well, if you will, that’s running dry,” recalled Lupton. “I did not study songwriting by any means, but we still apply different parts of our lives to songs that we're writing. Especially from school, I think that's a great example.”
The two also recommended a diner in Austin for people visiting when asked about any must visit places in the city.
“There's this little place north of campus that was close to where we lived called the Red River Cafe. They have the best food. They have such good food and it's just a small little kind of like Mom and Pop cafe. And you know if we can get their name out there then we want to do it. The River Cafe, we swear by it,” Heintzelman said.
When we spoke to the band, they were on the road to Pittsburgh for a stop on their first headlining tour. They shared their emotions as they embark on tour.
“We’re just having fun, it's been a blast. You know, every city looks a little different. We've gone through some of these cities before supporting other artists. So we've got a little bit of a fan base, but a lot of them are brand new cities for us,” Heintzelman shared. “It's everything from playing to 200 capacity rooms that are mostly full to some shows playing to less than 50 people, most of which haven't ever heard of us before. So it's a fun thing to kind of hit the road and build up some new fans around the country. Even just today, we spent most of the day driving through the state of Pennsylvania. It’s just incredibly gorgeous right now with all the leaves turning. So it's been a blast. Just to experience all these things on the road.”
When asked if there was anything else Briscoe wanted to say to listeners, they spoke about their upcoming Houston show.
“I think the only other thing that people should know is that we want them to come see us play live. We're coming to Houston in late October at White Oak Music Hall upstairs. And kind of a little slogan that we've sort of adopted is ‘live music and good times.’ If you come to a show, we think you'll be very happy and content. Come see us play and have a good time,” Heintzelman explained.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Briscoe’s album “West Of It All” is available wherever you stream music.
Oct 4, 2023 | ktru
By Rachel Bui
The night before the Sound on Sound festival, torrential rain poured flooded parts of the tri-state area, leading the organizers to delay the start of the festival the next day and cutting 4 acts from the lineup last minute. Hours leading up to gates opening, I entered festival grounds to witness staff worked diligently to make conditions bearable. This included adding gravel and plastic walkways to mitigate the mud and water from the storm. The efforts, though not perfect, did help. Other logistics included improved sound (an aspect that was heavily criticized by festival goers last year), though the use of subwoofers was at times excessive.
Standout performances (besides the headliners) were Lord Huron and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats on Day 1, and Snacktime and Hozier for Day 2. Both Lord Huron and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats were energetic performers that were enjoyable to listen to live, Snacktime couldn’t help but make me dance with their funky jazz set, and Hozier created an almost spiritual experience that was a treat to witness.
Day 1 headliner Red Hot Chili Peppers had an explosive entrance to their stage, opening with “Can’t Stop” (and they never did, with their liveliness). From there, they kept their energy high, and the chemistry on stage between members was incredible. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were quite a few people’s main reason for attending the festival, and they did not disappoint.
Day 2 headliner John Mayer in contrast had a more mellow set, playing solo on his acoustic guitar the whole time. The decision to have a stripped down setup made sense, when you consider that this festival was a sort of homecoming for him, as he grew up in the area where the festival took place. Sprinkling in some antidotes of his time growing up in Connecticut between sets, his return to the state of Connecticut charmed both fans and those unfamiliar with his music. It was a touching end to the weekend-long festival.
With Sound on Sound starting to top the learning curve, I believe this will be a fun Northeast festival to make time for.
Oct 4, 2023 | ktru
By Rachel Bui
Lil Yachty is currently embarking on his Field Trip tour around North America. With his latest album exploring new territories for him musically, it was evident that it would be an interesting experience to see how he would combine the tracks from his latest album with the rest of his discography for the set.
The set started off with his live band, The Silver Sisters (an all-black-and-female group of musicians), coming on stage before him. He introduced the band almost right off the bat before starting his first song. I couldn’t help but notice the amount of respect he expressed towards these women, and he conveyed a sense of reverence for those providing a foundation for his tour overall.
The way that Yachty structured his set was to bookend the second act (filled with his hits) with his most experimental tracks to date for the first and third act. The performance was a blend of effortlessly cool attitude and hyped energy, two qualities juxtaposed within his act. Overall the execution of his show was seamless, a great feat that most likely wasn’t easy to achieve. The young rapper has demonstrated that he is not limited to one particular genre, and it will be interesting to see what he comes up with next.
Sep 16, 2023 | ktru
By Rachel Bui
When I arrived to the venue for the show, the line had spanned the parking lot and was beginning to double on itself, and there was excited chatter in the air. The line ended up being so long that the show was pushed back 20 minutes, just so that everyone could enter the venue and not miss the show. The anticipation was infectious, and I knew it was going to be a good night.
The show opened with Jason Richardson, an impressive metal guitar soloist. His presence was so commanding, I honestly have forgotten if there was anyone else on stage with him, or if he was playing with a backtrack. Though there was no vocals as part of his set, I was still intrigued. Since the concert I’ve added him to my playlist, and I was glad that he was part of the show.
To those unfamiliar with the band, Dethklok started as a fictional band featured in the Adult Swim cartoon, Metalocalypse. Perhaps as a result of this, Dethklok’s performance had a peculiar setup. If you’ve ever been to a Cinefilm concert (the soundtrack is performed live while the film is playing in-sync in the background), then Dethklok’s performance was like the metal version of that. Cartoons played on the screen as the band performed, and the lighting on the band themselves was intentionally dark so that you only see the silouette of the band. As someone who is admittedly not a metalhead, I found myself still entertained by the concept.
Finishing out the night was BABYMETAL, described as a 3-piece “Japanese kawaii metal band.” I enjoyed their act the most, as their lyrics were upbeat and catchy, an interesting foil to the metal track. As they sang and danced across the stage, I was entranced by the production as a whole, from the well-practed choreography to the stabilized vocals to the ever changing light design. Standout hits include “Pa Pa Ya!!” and “Gimme Chocolate!!”
Sep 12, 2023 | ktru
By Rachel Bui
We started out the beginnings of September covering a show at the Beeracks, an unassuming brewery and small venue out in New Haven. Headlining the night was The Inside Out, comprised of James Howard, John Landino, Zach Stout, and Andi Wright. With performances by John DeMarco, Sounds & Scenarios, Valoria, and Fear the Masses, The Inside Out closed out the night at Beeracks with fun and much gusto, despite the pushed back set. With as much energy as they have when they perform, it’s hard not to have fun while dancing along to their music. A highlight of their set was their latest single, “Mr. Arrogant,” a fun, punchy indie track to help close out the end of summer.
Jun 25, 2023 | ktru
By Jacob Pellegrino
The Re:SET Concert Series is a new music festival format that works to address common complaints and issues with the typical format seen in large festivals. No more competing stages; attendees of Re:SET could easily see every artist performing. As the festival traveled around the country, stopping in Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, New York, and more places, the festival brought an unprecedented accessibility to a format that is normally localized to one place. With an exemplary lineup, Re:SET was a great experience that will hopefully come back for years to come.
We attended the Dallas stop of Re:SET, fighting a hot Texas summer to see the bands perform. While it cooled down at the end of each day as the sun set, finding shade was essential until then. Unfortunately, day three, headlined by LCD Soundsystem, was canceled due to storms and lightning that prevented the artists from playing for the crowd. Updates were handled in a timely manner via the festival’s Instagram account to keep potential attendees safe. Even with that unavoidable change, the first two days of the festival more than made up for it.
Day one was headlined by Boygenius and started with Bartees Strange, who began with a high energy set. Up next was Dijon, who had a video display showing a birds eye view of the group as they jammed for the crowd. A highlight of their set was “Talk Down” and their chemistry led to a great time for the audience. On site food options provided some tasty street tacos and water refill stations were available throughout the experience.
The crowd began to fill in more for Clairo, crowding the stage. While the stage setup was largely similar to other festivals, one point of annoyance was the VIP section, which was sparsely populated for its large size and made it harder for the average attendee to see the show and move through the crowd. Aside from her own songs, Clairo gave a great performance of “Bitter With the Sweet” by Carole King, whom she credited as an influence. Closing with “Bags,” Clairo restarted the song to get help for a concert goer fainting from the heat. The live instrumentation added another dimension to “Bags,” giving a strong close to a great set.
Finally, it was time for the headliner, Boygenius. Featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker, the supergroup gave a high energy and emotional performance, getting reactions from the crowd not just for their music, but also for a resounding condemnation of Texas governor Greg Abbott led by the band. Coming out onto the stage with Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town” blaring, the group’s comfortable humor and group dynamic captivated the crowd throughout the night, closing with a solo track from each of the members of the group. Their set again had interruptions to help keep crowd members safe, but kept up steam even with the delays.
There was a severe thunderstorm warning on day two that led to different stage setups than initially planned: Steve Lacy was unable to use his usual video screen. However, the storm that was warned of never materialized and the day went along smoothly with more attention given to making sure the crowd stayed hydrated. Learning from day one, none of the artists had to stop their sets for crowd members.
Fousheé began the day with a set that showcased her unique style. Toro y Moi came up next and brought a chill vibe to the venue with his atmospheric music. The crowd continued to fill in throughout the sets. There was a long delay after Toro y Moi as James Blake took the stage around a half hour late due to issues getting his instruments set up. Blake’s layered instrumentals and incredible vocal range were on full display throughout the night, hitting a wide range of notes when he asked the crowd to sing along. “Hummingbird” was a joy to hear live after seeing it in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Blake’s cover of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed” was beautiful and the closest most fans will ever get to seeing Frank perform.
Out of the weekend, the final act, Steve Lacy was perhaps the most engaging to see live. Lacy’s energy and inimitable stage presence kept the audience engaged and showed why he’s such a unique artist to follow. Lacy’s most recent tour sold out with a large margin added to the resale tickets online. The crowd at Re:SET hung onto every word from Lacy, singing along with most of the tracks, with an impressive knowledge of his words. Starting with “Helmet,” Lacy humorously talked to the audience throughout the show, guiding them through his catalog. Fousheé also came back out for a joint performance of “Sunshine.” Near the end of the show, Lacy asked the crowd to “watch this,” going right into playing his viral hit “Bad Habit.” Ending with “Dark Red,” Steve Lacy gave an unforgettable performance that was a fitting end to the festival.
Re:SET largely delivered on its promises to redefine the festival experience. I loved that I was able to see every artist playing, something that I am never able to do at traditional music festivals. Focusing on creating a quality, no-frills lineup, Re:SET also condenses the time commitment of a festival, something that is welcome with how exhausting a weekend-long music festival can be. Re:SET brings a more accessible festival experience around the country with quality acts who often sell out their own solo shows.
Jun 19, 2023 | ktru
By Rachel Bui
Photo by @HenryHwu
New York City’s Governors Ball (Gov Ball for short) returned this year with a new location – Flushing Meadows Corona Park. This change in venue turned out to be an ideal location: not only was the festival in a proper park (which offered often overlooked benefits like trees and grass to compliment the vibe), it was also located by public transportation, making it more accessible for festival attendees to get to and from the venue. By holding the festival at the park, this allowed some flexibility in the spacing between stages, which wasn’t terrible to trek when traveling between stages for different sets. And with a lineup so strong, there was a lot of traveling between stages rather than camping at certain stages.
Another thing to note besides the music was diverse food options for everyone. A particular vendor to highlight is Everything Legendary, a plant based food company founded by Duane Cheers. The company had previously been on Shark Tank and secured funding from Mark Cuban, and has partnered with Live Nation to serve as a vendor at many of its locations. Flavorful, I can hardly tell it’s vegan.
The weekend was opened by Awfbeat, a fresh-faced duo who are “hip-hop inspired” when it comes to their music. As two young men who don’t take themselves too seriously, it was entertaining and fun to watch them perform their set.
Rina Sawayama was one of my favorite performers of the weekend. A triple threat (can act, sing, and dance), she utilized all of her talents during her set, creating a theatrical performance. It was mesmerizing to watch her switch between flirty, vulnerable, awkward, and confident within her set while belting out her lyrics.
Other highlights of the festival aside from the headliners (Lizzo, Odesza, and Kendrick Lamar) (in no particular order) include KayCyy, Saba, Giveon, Ari Lennox, Remi Wolf, aespa, and Lil Nas X.
all photos by Rachel Bui except where noted
May 30, 2023 | ktru
By Jacob Pellegrino
R&B singer-songwriter hyejin creates music that combines personal lyricism with dreamy vocals and production that envelop listeners in her world. We recently had the opportunity to talk with hyejin after the release of her most recent single, “DAVID LEE.”
Born in South Korea, hyejin currently lives in SoCal and discussed how the differing cultures have influenced her sound.
“When I was in Korea, I definitely grew up listening to a lot of American records. And then once I left Korea, I fell in love with Korean music… There's a really huge city pop and fusion jazz scene in Korea and those artists really influenced my sound right now,” hyejin explained.
hyejin went on to discuss some more specific influences and how she listened to American music in her youth.
“In Korea, my dad would take me to like those bootleg CD stores. Foreign exports were really expensive back in the day, so a CD would cost like $60. So you would go to a record store and get the fake ones. I bought a bunch of records and I grew up listening to a lot of James Taylor, Keyshia Cole,” hyejin recalled. “But I think that really, the influences are there with my song ‘I’VE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE.’ And that song, people view it as just like an R&B ballad, but it’s an homage to the Korean ballad scene. So I kind of like to sprinkle in the influences, like Eastern influences.”
Currently a student at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, hyejin released her newest single during finals week and move out. She discussed how production and songwriting classes complement her music career while other general education classes “take up a lot of [her] energy.”
“It's kind of weird. A lot of us are professionals in the music industry and we do so much stuff outside of school that school kind of feels like a side hustle at times,” hyejin said.
hyejin’s single, “DAVID LEE,” came out on May 19th and begins with a bouncy production style and smooth vocals before moving into a melodic and ethereal chorus. The track is a “straight to the point trap, R&B, pop song” that sees hyejin described as an “outlier” sonically and something she had never done before with more rap influenced vocals.
“There's a huge community of Korean boys that like church is a huge thing. Like religion is like everything, you know, over here and so like, they go to church and they go to praise band… but when they're not in church, they like to screw girls over and there's a huge like cultural awareness surrounding that and we just wanted to kind of tap in and make fun of that,” hyejin explained. “But David Lee is not like a specific person.”
hyejin’s lyricism is very open and bold, addressing a variety of situations that can arise in romantic relationships and embracing an empowering pessimism. She spoke some about the differences between her personal life and the view listeners get from her songs.
“My daily life is more low key… I would say I grew up as a super introverted, like shy girl. And then once I got to college, I think I realized that not a lot of people care. So I became more extroverted. So I kind of did a 180 with my personality,” hyejin said. “I think a lot of people who used to know me, they view my music as an, ‘oh, what the hell happened to her’ kind of thing. But the music that I'm making right now, especially the things that I talk about, have been thoughts that I've had for my whole life… it's how I express it. Like, I've never been able to express those thoughts. And then my music, once I got to college, became an outlet where I just talk about whatever I want to talk about.”
As a musician, hyejin started on the production side when she was 14, volunteering at her mother’s church to get her mother to buy her a USB mic and later Logic Pro, before being able to buy her own equipment. hyejin’s focus soon shifted to songwriting, “realizing that music’s such a collaborative thing and you gain a lot by working with other people.”
“With my producers, I met them my freshman year of college, and it was a very interesting process… I'd never been in the studio before. I was just writing songs in my room. And then once I got to college, it was kind of like figure it out in the studio,” hyejin recalled. “And so what I did was, I was super shy, so they would arrange the song first and then I would go to my bathroom floor to write it because I couldn't write in front of them for a while. Now I don't have an issue, but I used to be unable to top line or do anything in front of people. So I would do it in my dorm and then my roommate would come in at night to sleep, so I would go to my bathroom. Like all my songs are songs from my dorm bathroom floor. Just gross, but that's how it happened.”
With a diverse taste in music, hyejin has also been collecting records since she was 14, which can help her to find new sounds and inspirations.
“My dad would drive me to a bigger store in LA called Amoeba Records. That was like the greatest, greatest happiness of like, being able to buy like a $40 record. You know, I mean, it's an investment piece, and I have a few that are like rare finds,” hyejin shared. “My favorite one is a record called Oasis by Roberta Flack. I bought it at a bookstore in LA for 99 cents. I’d never heard of the record. Like, I love Roberta Flack, but that was not her hit album, I think. I listened to that and I fell in love. A lot of my songs are inspired by her and that album, especially my song, ‘I’VE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE.’ The reference I had was a song from that album, so that's such a special album to me.”
As a musician, hyejin has recently started doing live performances and connecting with fans in person. When asked if there were any artists whom she listens to that someone might not expect from her catalog, hyejin discussed an upcoming track.
“I'm a huge Radiohead fan. I've been super inspired by Radiohead since high school, and I think my current catalog doesn't reflect that, but I have a few songs that are going to come out that are sort of alternative rock. I don't want to say it's a rock song, but it has the influences of rock music. So I'm very excited for that,” hyejin said.
After the interview, I was able to listen to the referenced track, titled “My Favorite Pillow.” It melds her unique style with more experimental stylings, mixing together multiple vocal and instrumental sections in an exciting new direction.
hyejin’s music is available wherever you stream music.
Photo courtesy of hyejin.
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.
One of the highlights of the whole weekend for me was seeing 
ACL also has a Bonus Tracks stage that features conversations in a podcast-esque format. I attended to see 
Having played a lot of festivals this year, it was a guarantee that 
After Alanis Morissette, 
The final act of the day was 
During his set, 
Hozier
The Sunday headliner that I attended was 
With Sound on Sound starting to top the learning curve, I believe this will be a fun Northeast festival to make time for.
When I arrived to the venue for the show, the line had spanned the parking lot and was beginning to double on itself, and there was excited chatter in the air. The line ended up being so long that the show was pushed back 20 minutes, just so that everyone could enter the venue and not miss the show. The anticipation was infectious, and I knew it was going to be a good night.
Finally, it was time for the headliner, Boygenius. Featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker, the supergroup gave a high energy and emotional performance, getting reactions from the crowd not just for their music, but also for a resounding condemnation of Texas governor Greg Abbott led by the band. Coming out onto the stage with Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town” blaring, the group’s comfortable humor and group dynamic captivated the crowd throughout the night, closing with a solo track from each of the members of the group. Their set again had interruptions to help keep crowd members safe, but kept up steam even with the delays.
Out of the weekend, the final act, Steve Lacy was perhaps the most engaging to see live. Lacy’s energy and inimitable stage presence kept the audience engaged and showed why he’s such a unique artist to follow. Lacy’s most recent tour sold out with a large margin added to the resale tickets online. The crowd at Re:SET hung onto every word from Lacy, singing along with most of the tracks, with an impressive knowledge of his words. Starting with “Helmet,” Lacy humorously talked to the audience throughout the show, guiding them through his catalog. Fousheé also came back out for a joint performance of “Sunshine.” Near the end of the show, Lacy asked the crowd to “watch this,” going right into playing his viral hit “Bad Habit.” Ending with “Dark Red,” Steve Lacy gave an unforgettable performance that was a fitting end to the festival.
