It was the final day of ACL and we were looking forward to seeing what the festival was going to bring us for the day. The first act of the day that we managed to catch was Tom Odell. The English singer came on stage, sat at the piano and started playing. You could see that fans were immediately captivated with his vocal and instrumental abilities. The next artist we saw was Yungblud performing at the American Express stage. He opened his set with “The Funeral” and the energy erupted within those first few minutes. He was running around the stage, jumping, singing and telling fans to jump as well. There was a moment during the set where he started bleeding from his knee but that didn’t stop him from performing, he kept pushing like the star he was. There was not a moment during his set where he didn’t have the audience’s attention. Next at the Barton Springs stage was Atlanta singer Faye webster. She took the stage with her guitar, started playing and fans joined her in singing. The entire crowd was swaying throughout her set and especially during some of the fan favorite songs such as “Kingston”.
Immediately following Faye, was BIA. The DJ was hyping up the crowd and trying to get them as excited as they could be for the rapper. BIA came out in an all denim outfit and you could tell that fans loved it. They immediately started rapping along and did not miss one word. It may have been an extremely hot day, but that did not stop her fans from going all out and having the time of their lives. We were also lucky enough to catch the Austin local band Spoon, right across at the Honda stage. Favorites such as “Inside Out” and “Don’t You Evah” were played and everyone loved it. We went back to the Barton Springs stage to catch Los Angeles based band The Maria’s. The band opened with “Calling U Back”, “Un Millon”, and “Little by Little”. There were many longtime fans in the crowd, including myself, and many new fans were made after the set as well. The band even performed “Otro Atardecer”, a song they collaborated on with Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny and immediately the fans went wild, they were truly an incredibly act to watch
After The Maria’s we were able to catch Paramore at the American Express stage, and wow they did not disappoint. The band opened with my personal favorite song “Hard Times” , and continued the set with popular hits such as “Brick By Boring Brick”, “Still Into You” and “That’s What You Get”. During “Misery Business” the band brought out PinkPantheress who performed earlier in the day at the festival, you could tell she was having the time of her life. Shortly after, Hayley Williams took a moment to sing Happy Birthday to Flea of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and then ended Paramore’s set with their newest song, “This Is Why”.
We finished the festival weekend with the one and only Kacey Musgraves. Before the singer went on stage, festival staff were passing around light up bracelets, which then synced with the singers music. You could hear the excitement of the attendees as they were told this information, they were looking forward to being part of the show, even in the smallest ways. Musgraves opened her set with the “Star Crossed” from her latest album of the same name. She performed in front of a giant heart which then lit up in flames, you could hear the fans cheer in excitement, as they knew the set was going to be one to remember. On top of performing songs from “Star Crossed”, Kacey also sang songs from “Golden Hour” such as “High Horse” and “Butterflies”, fans were at their loudest during these moments, showing how much they loved these songs.
During a brief moment in the show, Musgraves told the crew that she was thirsty to which Beto O’Rourke, a candidate for the governor’s race in Texas, brought out a beer for her. He waved to the audience before heading off stage. Kacey then proceeded with the show by covering Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”, she said she wanted everyone in the audience to sing the song, and displayed the lyrics on the giant screens. As the show was coming to an end, songs like “Merry Go ‘Round”, “there is light”, and “Rainbow” were played, where rainbow colored lasers surrounded the park. She thanked everyone for coming out and ended her set with “Slow Burn”.
ACL 2022 was one for the books. There were so many different things that were available at the festival such as music performances, food options and even locations for photo moments, attendees could always be found busy with the festival. We’re looking forward to what ACL 2023 is going to bring, and if you have a chance to attend please do, it’s a festival you have to experience at least once in your life..
KACEY MUSGRAVES
PARAMORE
THE MARIAS
SPOON
BIA
FAYE WEBSTER
YUNGBLUD
TOM ODELL
Photos & Review by Michael Perea | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!