02.live Austin City Limits 2024

Catching sets from Remi Wolf, The Beaches, Spinall, Wave to Earth, Jungle, and Dua Lipa at my first music festival in nearly a decade

Attending my first “real” music festival in 8 years, I wondered if it would be actually fun, or a crowded human soup in the dusty heat of Austin, Texas. (I put real in quotes because, while I have attended one off days of small niche festivals here and there, they really don’t live up to the energy, power, exhaustion, and vibe of a Coachella. An Outside Lands. Or, here, an ACL). Here’s a short overview of the event.

When the lineup was released, I wrote out an entire list of artists I wanted to see at every level - most interested, medium interest, and minorly interested should they all fall on the same day. A true evaluation of whether to even attend. In the end, I convinced myself it would be a fun getaway from the hustle and bustle of New York City life, and a good way to catch some great music while seeing some wonderful friends who live in Texas.

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The evening before my festival date (because, as someone born in the 90s, I truly could physically only do one day), we caught an ACL Nights set by Remi Wolf. Her set unfortunately overlapped with another artist I wanted to see on Saturday, so it was a treat to be able to see her the night before.

While we were situation behind a wall of cell phones, she still put on a rocking show. I loved the staging with her 8 piece band, the lighting, and the way she worked the stage.

Her vocal abilities even live are truly out of this world. I also got to see her two weeks before in New York, and it’s a wonder to me how she is able to sustain her voice throughout the tour with all the runs and high notes she hits. I highly recommend seeing her live if you get a chance.

While I was not able to take great footage of any specific song, I have included a personal favorite below:

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ACL Nights sets start and end late, so we got a late start the next day into the festival. But after a 20 minute line to enter, we were able to walk around and grab a drink before hitting up our first stage.

First in our line up was all girl band The Beaches. I was not well versed in their music prior to the show but it was a good opening act to see. We didn’t get to finish their set as we headed over to another stage to attempt to get out of the direct sun. We stumbled upon a set from Nigerian DJ Spinall which was a true dance party. He seamlessly melded genres and got people of all ages dancing (and even threw in a mix of Fein for those tuned into the trend.) While the set wasn’t originally in my list for the day, I was glad we got to check it out and experience a new artist.

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We followed it up with a set from South Korean indie band Wave to Earth. With a set with most of their new songs off their latest ep, Play With Earth (my write up on this album in case you missed it!), the band also mixed in instrumental breaks and serious rock jamming and guitar shredding. It was a great introduction to the band for those who haven’t seen them before.

You can also check out live videos I took at the set, also available on my youtube channel:

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As the sun was setting in Austin and the air cooled, Khruangbin took the stage to start hyping the crowd up for the evening. It was so special to get to hear them live as I have adored them for a while.

A negative aspect of festivals is not being able to see everyone you want to due to overlapping sets or trying to prep for the next act at another stage. While we didn’t get to fully see out the set, the band’s music provided a perfect soundtrack for our hike to the opposite end of the park to get situated for Jungle’s set. We also got to see a bit of Benson Boone on the side, and his famous flip off the piano he does in his sets.

We ended the night with the top billed acts Jungle and Dua Lipa.

Jungle was truly phenomenal. A start to end dance party, with such high energy.

The sequencing of songs in their setlist, paired with live video visuals of singers they collaborate with (such as Channel Tres) really keeps the energy up for the entire 45 minutes. Similarly to how the band does not really put their faces forward in music videos and promo, and keeps everything about the music itself, their stage was entirely backlit in orange and yellow, for you to focus on the music and have a good time.

I was surprised by how many songs of Dua Lipa’s I knew. While I don’t actively listen to her discography, I guess I have come to know many a hit, and enjoyed myself immensely. As someone who is nearly chronically online, it was really interesting to see how far she has come from being an internet meme about her dancing, to the staging and choreographies she has integrated into her sets.

It was overall a great experience, and I would seriously consider another festival in the future. The entire thing was well run, down to the app you can download to check set times and maps for locations of everything. I would highly recommend it for anyone thinking of attending.

While this was brief, please look forward to more pieces coming soon.

Thanks for tuning in!