Austin City Limits Music Festival 2019 – Day 3, Weekend 2
Zilker Park, Austin, TX,
October 13, 2019
Photos and review by Jim Chapin
All good things must come to an end, and The Austin City Limits Music Festival did just that on Sunday, October 13. And it was a pretty perfect day. The weather was beautiful – not too hot like all of weekend one, nor too cold like Friday of Weekend two.
The big news on this day was Lizzo. Everyone was either staking an early claim to the front of the Miller Lite stage or asking each other how soon do they need to be in the vicinity in order to secure a spot and witness the self-described “bad bitch.” Was last week’s HUGE crowd a result of rap superstar Cardi B following, or was Lizzo truly the reason for the biggest crowd ever at one of the side stages?
Festival organizers were taking no chances and set up to broadcast Lizzo’s performance on the adjacent Honda stage screens so everyone can enjoy the show. And it was a good thing that they did. By the time her show started, the crowd densely blanketed the entire west end of the festival grounds.
And of course, Lizzo did not disappoint. She and her dancers twerked, strutted, danced and sang with reckless abandon. This girl was having fun and it was infectious. She played all of her recent hits – including “Truth Hurts” and of course, “Juice.” And she was enjoying the crowd. At one point she encouraged them to start a wave, causing her to giggle with glee as she watched in awe.
Following Lizzo could prove to be a difficult act, and Swedish singer Robyn was up to the challenge. While the crowd was smaller and initially less involved, she performed as if she had something to prove. She danced, rolled, writhed and skipped around the massive stage with never-ending energy. It wasn’t long before the audience broke out in full party mode, dancing along with her. All in all a great set that surely satisfied her longtime fans while making many, many more.
Earlier in the day Austin quartet Ley Line offered up smooth harmonies and South American rhythms to a fervent crowd in the Tito’s tent. In sharp contrast, L.A.’s Duckwrth worked the crowd with his boundless energy and rhythmic flow on the nearby T-Mobile stage. Over at BMI, Cuban American recording artist Kat Dahlia dished out her own unique rhymes punctuated with a bit of sticky-sweet pop.
No matter what your musical inclination may be, you can find it somewhere at the fest. UK punk rock quintet IDLES slammed the crowd with their high-energy set that had the crowd in the palm of their hands. As the members of the band flailed, spit, and thrashed, the excited crowd moshed wildly, middle fingers in the air.
Back at Tito’s, the cool vibes continued with a UK musician of a different bent. YOLA wowed the crowd with her take on soulful Americana which she interspersed with a wide smile and stories of each song’s roots. But it is her voice that truly commands attention.
From roots-soul to roots reggae, 19-year-old Jamaican singer Koffee demonstrated that reggae’s future is alive and well.
Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía brought the Latin sexy to the Honda stage with a playful performance that blended flamenco and R&B with a bit of EDM thrown in for good measure.
Alt-pop artist BANKS took to the stage with her highly anticipated set of dreamy soul punctuated by sharply choreographed movements. At times she was joined by two dancers who flanked her on each side offering precisely coordinated moves and an occasional amorous kiss, much to the delight of zealous fans.
Decked out in a flowered corduroy mini with matching boots, Kacey Musgraves took to the big AMEX stage during the golden hour to sing songs from her similarly titled album. Relaxed and in control, she flirted, strutted and truly delivered to an audience of extremely passionate fans.
While Robyn had the crowd dancing on the other side of the park, Mumford and Sons closed out the evening with a memorable two-hour set on the main stage, playing their last performance “for a while.” About halfway through, about 100 members of the Austin High School marching band joined in for a rousing rendition of “the Cave.” They were also joined by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich for a performance of their Wilder Mind cut “The Wolf.”
Another year in the books. Cannot wait to see what’s in store next year! (OCT. 2-4 & 9-11, 2020)
Weekend Two of the Austin City Limits Music Festival concluded on Sunday, October 13, 2019 with performances by Mumford & Sons, Robyn, Lizzo, LANY, GRIZ, Kacey Musgraves, Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, Third Eye Blind, BANKS, Caamp, Wrabel, FISHER, Rebelution, GoGo Penguin, Imagination Movers, Rosalía, Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, Koffee, IDK, Yols, Resonate, Shura, Bea Miller, IDLES, Shandon Sahm, Joseph, DUCKWRTH, Kat Dahlia, Mallrat, Still Woozy, Julie Jacklin, School of Rock, Ley Line, PBTHN, Sego, The Gospel Stars, Kady Rain, and Caroline Rose.
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