Austin City Limits has given us endless experiences, a suffocating heat, dozens of concerts and musical memories that we will never forget. We review the most Showmoon moments of a dream weekend at Zilker Park. We say goodbye until next year of this fabulous park of magical sounds. If you are lucky and you plan to go to the ACL during second weekend, don’t miss the wonders it offers.
Magic Gambino
Probably the most exquisite show of this edition. The versatile Californian artist felt indebted to Austin after canceling his performance last year for an inconvenient injury. Donald Glover was squeezed for an intense hour and a half. He appeared in the middle of the audience on a lifting platform and from there he began to condense the best of black music: Funk, R&B, Soul, Rap … An iconic staging and a musician in a state of grace. Magic Gambino.
The New Star
The millennial queen met with her hosts at Zilker Park. Despite the Texan sun, a crowd rarely seen crowded an hour before the concert so as not to miss a generational encounter. A leg injury did not prevent her from lighting the fuse at ACL. The summary of her repertoire made us jump nonstop while she showed an absolute self-confidence and spectacular visuals. She connected with her audience in on million ways but the most celebrated was showing a closeness that had been evident in her interview on Bonus Tracks Stage to her fans. Make way. The new star has arrived.
Hotter Than Texas
The Latin rapper of the moment put the finishing touch to a badass weekend with one of the best lineups that are remembered. She was 30 minutes late but once she appeared on the scene, she gave us the most sophisticated show of the festival. Some stairs watered with lush dancers reminded us a little version of the Baychella of Beyoncé in Coachella. Fire, confetti and a selection of suitable songs not to stop dancing. The queen of Twerk showed that this dance can also be art. The New Yorker told us that after her next live show in El Paso she will be locked to record her next album.
Flamenco Hurricane
The Spanish artist broke into a hurricane at the festival. Reviewing her album El Mal Querer, we find an elaborate and measured in detail show. Six dancers accompanied Rosalia with background visuals that offered her a spectacular visual perspective. The connection with the public was latent from the first moment and came to paroxysm with Malamente as a closing to a performance that leaves the live premiere of her new song with Pharrell Williams, Esto está encendío. A rising star landed in Austin.
A Diva in the Austin City Limits
The diva did not miss her appointment with Austin City Limits. Her departure to the stage inflamed a crowd of people who went back as far as the eye could see. Based on great songs, Lizzo was demonstrating the innate ability she has to transmit and make catchy sounds that fall in love with anyone who hears. Her concert combines those songs that rumble so much in our heads with a dance show worth contemplating. Without complexes and an insulting naturalness, she made it clear that it will not take long to occupy the headliner position of a great festival.
Echoes in the Park
James Blake’s elegance fit perfectly in Zilker Park. The Austin City Limits seemed silent on the sequence of songs that the British artist displayed. His collaborations with Travis Scott or Rosalia put that moment of calm so necessary in the debauchery of a festival like this. An hour of sonic luxuries and relax to exalt a unique artist whose sensibility fits anywhere in the world.
A New Way to Live Music
Bonus Tracks Stage
“Just be patient, you’ll be fine. I promise you.”
Did you catch @billieeilish chatting with @nprmusic‘s Stephen Thompson on the Bonus Tracks Stage.
🎥 @Circuspicnic pic.twitter.com/E2JBVBGeCw
— ACL Festival (@aclfestival) October 6, 2019
The new Austin City Limits experiment proved to be one of the most pleasant surprises of the festival. This flirty stage is a wonderful tailor’s drawer. It has room for all kinds of activities: Yoga, Tai Chi, podcast recordings and interviews with Texan scene musicians and festival stars like Billie Eilish. The closeness of artists with their audience is another way of living music and discovering them as people. A delight that we hope to enjoy again next year.
A Delicious Cherry
We had already sensed in the past SXSW that Clementine Creevy and her band are a delight that deserves to be explored again and again. Elegant but with dark and noisy soul, its pop with a lot of distortion and grunge, noise and garage vibes offer a concert in which the minutes evaporate, and you keep asking for more and more as the show goes on. Without a doubt, one of the most Showmoon moments of the festival. However, it was lived by a few chosen.
Punk To Fall in Love
The electricity of this British band is contagious. It has all the ideal elements to enjoy a good concert. It has a cool sound. Their punk is strident but not repetitive. Above its addictive noises, the figure of Joe Talbot stands out, one of the most charismatic and cool frontmen of today. And to top it all, it is backed by a band that sounds really good. An explosive cocktail ready to burn the Austin City Limits.
Like at Home
From this rapper in Philadelphia you can always expect the unexpected. None of her shows are repeated. These are unique jewels that he distributes around the world as if she were in her living room. In this organized chaos Tierra Whack shines like no other. Her naturalness is key in this process of good vibes and fun that is a concert of her.
Her DJ, Zack Whack heats the atmosphere with a previous session that burns on the plates while delivering shirts to the public. Then that volcano appears with a show that looks little like her fabulous album, Whack World. She create the perfect mix: Cool rap and a lot of charisma. The highlight of this concert was when she presented and autographed her Nike shoes to a lucky birthday boy. The improvisation to the power of the best rhymes of the weekend.
Savoring the Austin City Limits
ACL Eats
One more year, Austin’s choicest streetfood made the Austin City Limits experience much more enjoyable. From the fabulous Salt Lick meats to the incredible Tiny Pies desserts, we have found foodie proposals in line with the stars of the festival’s lineup. Difficult to escape the spell of the exquisite and healthy bowls of Blender & Bowls or the natural juices of JuiceLand. Shawarma Point shawarmas were a good prelude to Tiff’s Treats passionate sweet or Amy’s succulent ice creams. Some nights we have lost ourselves in the flavors of Austin’s Pizza or in the imposing burgers of Wholly Cow. Musical and culinary deli in a festival that is also eaten.
Bonus Track: VVAA
Among the many concerts we have enjoyed, we did not want to ignore some jewels that you should discover or savor in this festival without limits called Austin City Limits.
- Houses, The Racounters, King Princess, Sigrid, Flora Cash, Brittany Howard, Nilufer Yanya.
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