As the chaos from the first day of the festival began to settle, Austin City Limits attendees found their footing and began to confidently navigate the large seven stage festival grounds.
While day 1 of ACL was filled with mostly country and alt-rock artist, day 2 offered fans a larger range of artist to choose from featuring some of the most unique sets of the festival thus far with an additional hour attached to the set.
PawPaw Rod
Starting the day off at the T Mobile Stage, second largest stage on the east end of Zilker was the LA based artist PawPaw Rod who brought his uniquely stylish blend of hip hop, soul, and groovy house music to kick off day 2. Growing up as a military brat, PawPaw had a mix of different cultural influences from across the country, and it’s expressed beautifully in his music making him a fantastic representation of the genre blending festival itself. Opening up his set was his funky hit single “Glasshouse” a groovy, smooth hip hop based tune featuring a mixture of his rap/singing style. His humble energy and chill demeanor made for a great atmosphere and a vibrant audience as the perfect way to start the morning.
Geese
The second artist to hit the T mobile stage was the Brooklyn based indie act Geese. The heart felt, angst filled post punk artist rocked the stage with an incredible performance and stellar and intense vocals from frontman Cameron Winters, reminiscent of 90s predecessors Scott Waylon and Kurt Cobain. With fascinatingly unique singles such as “Cowboy Nudes” and “3D Country” the band sends fans on a sarcastic misdirect from the sounds they portray and can only be deciphered upon listening upon listening where you can get a true sense for what the band is all about.
Something Corporate
The second act of the day to hit the main stage on the west end, the Honda stage, were the alt-rock heroes of the early 2000s Something Corporate. The OC based indie alt rock group helped create the hipster aesthetic and sounds that were popularized in the late 2000s with their passionate lyrics, intense delivery from vocalist/pianist Andrew McMahon and emotional instrumental synth heavy guitars to bring it all together. Aging millennials rushed the stage to see the lively performance that shaped their youth and helped give them their identity. In true showman fashion Andrew brought the crowd to screaming joy as he stood on the piano, jumped off the stage and into the crowd to sing with adoring fans and give the audience the amazingly stellar performance they deserved.
Telescreens
The second to last band to rock the BMI stage was NYC rock band Telescreens. Telescreens have been making big waves in the NYC rock scene from filling rooms at DIY shows and selling out shows across the city, the rising rockers brought their youthful and aggressive energy to Austin on Saturday and gave fans a glimpse into the new rock movement that’s taking the east by storm.
Wasting no time, the band immediately began the show with their fast paced hard rock sound almost resembling the energy of early Arctic Monkeys. Although still relatively unknown compared to many acts at the ACL fest this year, Telecreens captured the audience’s attention immediately with their fresh and hungry energetic stage presence. It’s not often that people get to see bands like this early in their careers at large festivals, but when they do, you’re guaranteed to see a captivating performance. They shook the stage and kept the focus of the crowd throughout the entire set with their rhythmic distorted guitar riffs, catchy lyrics, and mesmerizing vocal performance.
The BMI stage was the perfect place to showcase a band like this as it was intimate enough to capture the feeling of what it would be like to see them play at a house party or DIY show in NY. While the band didn’t have much to say in between songs, the lead singer did take a chance to announce his 27th birthday which caused the crowd to break out in a Happy Birthday song, creating an awesome moment between the band and audience before going into their next tune. There’s no better place to celebrate your birthday than at a music festival, especially when you’re the one that’s playing it.
Still Woozy
Performing later that evening at the Miller Lite stage was indie alternative genre blending solo artist Still Woozy. With arguably one of the coolest stage sets of the festival featuring giant blow up characters from his album artwork, Still Woozy brought his relaxing and smooth style of indie alternative to the stage with a fully packed crowd awaiting him. The summer time vibes were in the air during the fun and upbeat performance as beach balls bounced around the audience and the distinctly Californian sounds were brought to the city of Austin.
While his sound may be laid back and relaxed, Still Woozy’s set was anything but as the artist bounced around the stage, running from one side to the next, waving his hands in the air, and egging on the crowd to sing along with him as he played fan favorites such as “Again”, “Sh*t Don’t Change and the classic “Goodie Bag” to wrap up the set.
Khruangbin
As the sun set in the distance, the Houston based instrumental focused trio Khruangbin performed as the second to last artist to hit the American Express stage. Much like the city of Houston, Khruangbin draws influence from multiple cultures from across the world blending east asian musical styles, in which they pay homage to with their name which translates to airplane in Thai, with Texas twang and a laid back western energy. What the band lacks in words, they make up for ten fold with their complex instrumentation and blend of musical styles creating a vibe that’s one of a kind.
Listening to the artists effortlessly smooth and intricate sounds, you can tell that they are incredibly disciplined on all their instruments with their mesmerizing guitar licks, funky basslines, and incredible drumming skills that constantly stay on beat no matter how technical the songs become, which has almost become a running joke on the internet at this point. Towards the end of the set, the magical moment that the crowd had been waiting for had come to fruition, fellow ACL performer Leon Bridges joined the band on stage to perform their hit song “Texas Sun” under the Austin sunset. It was the perfect set to end a perfect afternoon as the night drew in and day 2 of ACL was coming to a close.
Vince Staples
Headlining the IHG stage was none other than the LBC native rapper Vince Staples. Vince has had a stellar year releasing one of the best rap albums of 2024, Dark Times and airing his own television show on Netflix, appropriately titled The Vince Staples Show, so it was only fitting that he was given the opportunity to play a headlining performance at the festival. With a stripped down set and minimalist attire Vince hit the stage with one of his latest singles “Black and Blue” that had the excited crowd jumping in the air while singing along to every word. Performing fan favorites such as “YEAH RIGHT” and “Norf Norf” mixed in with a heavy track list from Dark Times, Vince had the audience in the palm of his hand excited to hear the new album live and adoring the classic tracks. Vince proved something that newer rappers need to take note of, one, you don’t need backing tracks to perform a stellar set, and two, no one cares what you’re wearing as long as you can deliver an amazing performance.
Pretty Lights
Closing out the Honda stage for the evening was the electronic heavyweight Pretty Lights. After a five year hiatus, Pretty Lights returned to the stage last year performing a handful of select shows to adoring fans who weren’t entirely sure they’d ever get a chance to see him perform again. Now that he’s back in the full swing of things, Pretty Lights has been making his rounds across the nation and Austin was lucky enough to catch one of his sets at one of the main ACL stages. Love and excitement filled the incredibly respectful and spacious crowd as everyone kept their space from one another so that they could dance and boogie to the funky and psychedelic sounds of the legendary DJ. Accompanied by a full band ensemble, Pretty Lights dropped an amazing set featuring his classic tunes such as “Hot Like Sauce” and “Chasing Rainbows” mixed in with rap classics such as “Still Tippin’”. The amazing light show and stellar visulas alone were a reason alone to catch the set, but watching the legend return to the ACL stage and play an incredible set was the cherry on top.
Summary
As the second day of the festival came to a close, crowds across the festival were given a chance to see artists from almost every genre perform as well as multiple blended genre artists, which almost seemed to be the theme of day 2. While many fan favorites had come and gone over the course of the two days, festival goers were still waiting in anticipation for what was yet to come for the final day of the first weekend.
I’m a photographer currently based in Austin after recently relocating from Denver, CO. I graduated from the University of Colorado, Denver in 2019 with a degree in Business Management. I love music of all genres and have been going to live shows since I was 5 years old. Some of my favorite artist currently include Freddie Gibbs, Lola Young, Ivy Lab and Knocked Loose, but that is always subject to change.
