Austin has been, lovingly, called the Live Music Capital of the World for decades, and one of the reasons it received such an honor was on display across the last two weekends. Austin City Limits Festival turned 21 years old this year and, along with the fitting introduction of liquor to the general admission crowd, it celebrated with a packed line-up of ACL Festival veterans and new faces alike. The six-day music festival takes over Zilker Park every year, giving 450,000 people a chance to enjoy themselves at the city’s biggest greenspace. In addition to the 100+ artists performing, there are dozens of local food vendors, sponsorship activations and shopping experiences. In an uncharacteristically cool set of weekends with a “ring of fire” solar eclipse to boot, ACL Festival 2023 was one for the books. Here are eight memorable moments we caught at the festival this year.
Dave Grohl and Brené Brown Serenade Us
Credit: Dusana Risovic
Away from the main stages, you can occasionally catch some gems at the smaller pop-ups around the park. Easily, the best one I caught was Dave Grohl speaking to Brené Brown about the way music makes people feel. I know it sounds cheesy—and maybe it was—but where else could you catch Dave Grohl leading a group of people in “I Will Survive”? In the intimate garden of the Bonus Tracks Stage, Brown asked Grohl about how music has shaped his life. He discussed seeing his life as a mixtape with certain songs reminding him of important moments, all while Major Lazer was blasting “Can’t Hold Us” in the background. I couldn’t have written a more absurd scenario if I tried; it was truly a unique experience. Grohl was up there downing beers and smoking cigs while Brown was on the aux doing experiments with crowd-pleasers like “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Don’t Stop Believing.” However, to my horror, when Brown played Garth Brooks’s country classic “Friends in Low Places,” Grohl confessed he had never heard the track before, which is a crime to admit while you are in Texas. But, I’ll forgive him since he gave us the iconic image of him air drumming to AC/DC while wearing his dad glasses.
Jared Leto Soars Through the Sky
Credit: Roger Ho
If Jared Leto hurtling towards you at full speed is something that keeps you awake at night, then Thirty Seconds to Mars’ ACL Festival set would be a nightmare. Last year, ACL saw P!nk flying above the crowd but, at this point, we can expect that from any P!nk show. So, seeing someone else catapult themselves off of a 50-foot-tall stage is exciting, even if it is to some lackluster music. In quasi-Jesus fashion, Jared Leto stood above the crowd, arms outstretched in what I can only assume was a crucifixion reference—since the song playing during the display was “Walk On Water.” Finally, during the third repetition of the chorus—channeling his inner Morbius—Leto made his deadly descent. The bungee jump was far from a graceful float; he was fully skydiving for the crowd, and I ate it up just like the rest of the onlookers the stunt gathered. The remainder of the set displayed Leto’s celebrity status with many crowd participation moments, including bringing up the entire photo pit but, more importantly, Texas’s Minister of Culture and Leto’s Dallas Buyers Club co-star Matthew McConaughey. He claimed that bringing up McConaughey wasn’t planned, but perhaps that act was all part of the illusion, too. All I know is the real feat was keeping me entertained throughout the entire hour.
Shania Twain Slays “Best of You” with Foo Fighters
Obviously, any Foo Fighters set will be memorable; but when you bring out Shania Twain, it’s an iconic moment for a lifetime. The two-hour show was packed with hits from start to finish, with Grohl’s superstar presence keeping the (in his words) crowd of “50-year-old mini van-driving fuckers” screaming at the top of their lungs. Right before the second-to-last track began, Dave encouraged the crowd to sing along as he had been all night, but when he said “Everyone is welcome to sign along,” he was really speaking to someone special—Shania Twain. She lit up the stage when she came out in her hot pink wig and bedazzled shorts. I was in awe. However, to my horror, the woman in front of me confusedly shouted “Who is that?” Ignoring that utter disrespect, Shania took over the track minutes after wrapping her own set on the opposite side of the park. According to Grohl, she hopped on a golf cart and zoomed over to do the performance. I got a two-for-one special at the Foo Fighters set, which was happily received by everyone else after standing for three hours to catch a good spot—and it made the unbearable task of picking between the two acts a little easier.
Football Fanatics Almost Crash Cigarettes After Sex’s Set
Credit: Chad Wadsworth
One thing that has always floored me at ACL Festival is the sheer amount of people who hang out in the Barton Springs Beer Hall all Saturday and Sunday, watching football and keeping up with their fantasy scores. I can’t imagine spending so much money just to make ACL your sports bar for the weekend while missing a dozen amazing acts. You’ll typically hear random choruses of shouts throughout the day, which don’t tend to cause many issues—except for Sunday night during Cigarettes After Sex’s show. The sun had set on Weekend One, and the ambiance was just right for the soft crooning of “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby”—until the rowdy cheers blasted through the peaceful melody. The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers were playing Sunday Night Football, and I guess the diehard sports fans just couldn’t help themselves. Even though the interruption momentarily ruined the mood, the dream pop pros drew the crowd back in with the soft beat of “John Wayne.” Luckily, the fanatics stayed quiet throughout the rest of the show, as the slowcore three-piece finished their set with the beautifully devastating “Apocalypse.”
Crowd Acrobatics at Portugal. The Man
Credit: Pooneh Ghana
People-watching is one of the best parts of any festival, ACL Festival most especially. Much of the time, you can catch some crazy outfits, celebs enjoying live music or, even, people doing acrobatics. I saw a full performance of acrobatics during Portugal. The Man, and it was incredible. Right as “Purple Yellow Red and Blue” started, the couple began removing their shoes and socks and I thought they were potentially just trying to get more comfortable—or maybe even some hippy shit like feeling the music through the earth. But then, the woman started to climb her partner like a tree. I had planned to stay only for a few songs of the set, but I couldn’t take my eyes off these people doing a full performance in the middle of the crowd—standing on each other’s shoulders, balancing on their hands and doing intricate poses that I would probably never come unstuck from if I tried. They did this throughout the entire 12-song show, and I was thoroughly impressed with their skills and stamina on such a warm Texas afternoon. Plus, I got an extra free performance, which is always a bonus—and it’s something I can truly say I have never seen before.
Rina Sawayama Channels Her Performative Star Power and Lights Up the Stage
Credit: Cat Cardenas
Rina Sawayama showed off her acting chops in her set this weekend. Crammed into an hour, the 33-year-old graced us with costume changes, props and a three-act story that kept my eyes glued to the stage the entire time. Donning a white peasant dress, the indie pop star sang to her inner child (and mine) in the opening track “Hold The Girl.” She shed the white garb for a fiery red one-piece fitting for the Britney-esque pop number “XS.” The Dirty Hit artist is known for calling out injustices during her performances, and she took the time before “STFU!” to call out the Texas Government for suing Planned Parenthood. The John Wick star brought the drama during an interlude—a chance to change into her flaming red western look—where she acted out her off-stage decompression routine with a cheeky plug of her favorite liquor. Once she popped on her fringe-lined cowboy hat, she led the crowd in chants of “Got my invitation to eternal damnation / Get in line, pass the wine, bitch, we’re going straight to Hell.” Ending with “This Hell,” her anthem against religious extremism and anti-LGBTQ hate in Texas is something the fans ate right up. Sawayama knew it too, especially when she said to the crowd: “I guess this one is exclusively for the queers.”
Alanis Morissette Relives the 1990s
There’s nothing better than delivering a killer harmonica solo under the Texas sun. Alanis Morissette gave us that at ACL Festival and more, so let me tell you what you oughta know about her performance. Not many artists could get away with playing a montage about themselves before they perform, but for someone as beloved as this Canadian sweetheart, it was a celebration of three decades of her rock ‘n’ roll badassery. Looking radiant as ever, the alt-rock legend breezed through nearly the entire tracklist of 1995’s Jagged Little Pill—also adding in the classics “Thank You” and “Uninvited.” Morissette spent her hour grasping her hands in delight and spinning around so much it made me dizzy. When the opening notes of “You Oughta Know” played, the crowd surged, ready to enjoy four minutes of utter catharsis while screaming,“It’s not fair to deny me / Of the cross I bear that you gave to me.” That cross was present in the form of a mannequin head that looked eerily similar to Dave Coulier thrust on a pike above the crowd. It was a celebration of ‘90s post-grunge, female rage and Morissette’s success that left us all head over heels.
A Drone Show Distraction For Kendrick Lamar
Credit: Ismael Quintanilla III
Kendrick Lamar’s first weekend set was cut short after the rapper had mysterious plane issues that delayed his arrival at the festival. During the hour-long delay, weary festival goers were tricked into thinking the wait was over when drones were deployed to the skies to create images familiar to fans of the Compton rapper—a money tree and a butterfly. I’m undecided if it was an innovative display or a disturbing dystopian feat. Whatever it was, it kept people at bay for some time before the explosive entrance from Lamar with “N95” finally came. The crowd was rocking to hits like “Backseat Freestyle,” “HUMBLE.” and “Alright,” before ACL cut off the set due to Austin’s sound curfew. Fans were disgruntled and booing after their long wait, but the shortened set we did get was packed with energy, and Lamar made the best of the time he had. Weekend Two crowds caught the full intended performance with more hits like “DNA” and “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe.” Hopefully, Lamar makes an ACL Festival comeback soon so Austinites can get two full sets from the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper.