#KariTakesOnACLACL. Austin City Limits Music Festival. I've always dreamed of attending this festival and this year I made it happen. I've attended SXSW numerous times, but ACL was something I've always wanted to attend. Friday Lucky for me, my job is kind of cool. I got to do my show live from ACL! I mean I wasn't as legit as some of the other people doing their show live from there but I did call ins and had awesome music playing in the background! The first band I watched was Asleep at the Wheel. I showed up a tad bit late for Asleep at the Wheel’s performance but got a few songs in and it was all I ever wanted in life. IT WAS SO ENTERTAINING. Lately, I’ve been very skeptical of seeing older artists perform their new music. I shouldn’t have worried with Asleep at the Wheel. They had so much energy on stage for a noon show! Mind you, I only caught the last two songs so I can only imagine how energized their whole set was. I have a thing for horns so when I heard some horns playin’ I had to run over there and boy was I not disappointed. Next on my agenda was seeing one of my favorite bands, Bad Suns. I was lucky enough to get to interview them as well! I'll provide a link to that later. Bad Suns, if you're unaware, are a 4-part alternative rock band from Los Angeles, CA. The song that made them who they are today is "Cardiac Arrest." Go check it out. It's my alarm. haha! They recently released their sophomore album "Disappear Here" and you can tell they've definitely grown with their music. Something pretty cool about ACL is they give you the opportunity to meet some of your favorite artists. As I was in line to meet Bad Suns, I realized I was interviewing them the following day so I jumped in line to meet AWOLNATION. You know? "SAIL!" Excuse me while I fan girl but they totally signed and loved my Marvel backpack. I had some down time for a bit before I had to make a decision on who was next on my agenda. There was also this really awesome wall where you could leave your mark on ACL 2016. You totes know I did that! LANco vs. AWOLNATION vs. Foals All of these are bands that I genuinely like. The struggle in choosing was so real. I ran over to see LANco first. This was actually a performance that I was very surprised by. They have a Top 40 hit song right now, but they’re still pretty underground. If you don’t know what song I’m talking about click here. LANco (which stands for Lancaster and Company) at first reminded me of some Contemporary Christian band but once I saw them put their own country/blues twist to Poison’s “Your Momma Don’t Dance” I knew this would be a band to watch. Once I thought I'd seen all I needed to see, I ran over to catch a small bit of Foals. This was as close as I was going to get. I caught about two songs before running back to catch the end of AWOLNATION's set. Oh and of course, they closed out with "SAIL!" They're actually a lot more metal than I thought. I totally loved that. Next up was my boys THE STRUTS! They totally know how to put on a hell of a show! Hands down the best performance on Friday. They know how to keep a crowd entertained. The crowd participation and Luke's R rolls made the show all that it needed to be. The audience jumped, kneeled, and sang along for The Struts. The Struts are my current guilty pleasure. Their music is so upbeat and funky. Even heard a guy compare Luke (lead singer) to Freddy Mercury, Vince Gill and Steven Tyler in one. I can totally see that! Oh and I even saw some friends while there! Yay friends! I took on this festival alone so seeing familiar faces was fun! Next up on the agenda was Flume. Flume is an Austrailian DJ , who if you're into the EDM scene then you'd totally enjoy him. Heck if you like pop music you'll enjoy him. He had the crowd jumpin' up and down like crazy playin' hit after hit! Next up, another well known EDM artist...Major Lazer and Diplo! This show was WILD. I mean intense! There were so many people and honestly I was surprised to see the amount of older people "raving." I mean talk about goals! I left Major Lazer's show a bit early to go catch Radiohead. I didn't stay too long for their set but what I saw was all I needed. Radiohead is a very unique band and I'm pretty sure most people were there just to see them perform "Creep." No lie, that's why I was there. #NoRegrets Saturday I started off my day by interviewing Bad Suns. Getting to talk to those guys was so much fun! They were pretty fun to hang out with. You can check out their interview here. We talked new music, ACL, touring, embarrassing moments, and more! After the interview I went ahead and caught the last of Saint Motel's set. I got there just in time to hear two songs before they played my jam "My Type." It was SICK! I wish I was able to catch a few photos of them but I was way off in a corner. :( I took a quick break to get my hair done in the press tent which was awesome! Major shout out to Blo for giving me a killer rocker hairstyle for the day! Then my inner 90s kid came out and I ran to check out LL Cool J. THE LL COOL J! He drew a huge crowd; I mean why wouldn't he? Not only does he act and host "Lip Sync Battle" but he's always been an amazing rapper. At this point the Aggie game was still going on because we all know that game lasted FOREVER. I found a HUGE group of Aggies in the Beer Hall doing yells and watching the game. Cage The Elephant was next on my list and I'm just gonna flat out say the night should have just ended there. I heard their shows are extremely energetic and fun, but I did not expect this. Crowd surfing and lots of it! Lots of audience participation and of course the usual headbang. Like I mentioned Cage The Elephant's performance was one for the books. I could go on and on about how amazing it was but that'll bore you. I saw the guys who predicted us to win and got that prediction correct, next. THE CHAINSMOKERS. My only thought on their performance was I feel like the crowd for them was definitely underestimated. They performed on one of the smaller stages which was fine for Flume, but The Chainsmokers are HUGE right now especially with their current single "Closer." Overall though, seeing their performance from a far was the smarter thing for me to do, ha. #SocialAnxietyProbs Considering how far back I was for their performance, all I needed to do was turn around and there was Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick is fantastic live. No wonder he's won so many Grammy's. If I could describe his performance in one word it would be: "wow." Plus the fireworks as I was leaving for the night were a nice touch. Sunday By the time Sunday rolled around I was exhausted but ready to tackle the final day of ACL. First on my agenda was Anderson East, Miranda Lambert's new beau. I heard really good things about him so he was my first stop of the day on the final day of ACL. Anderson did not disappoint me. If you’ve never heard his music, let’s go ahead and change that. Here’s one of my favorite songs he performed that day called Devil In Me. Good stuff, right? Straight up baby makin’ music! You’re welcome for that. He has so much energy on stage. He even performed on one of the big stages and drew a pretty huge crowd for an underground guy. Not to mention, I totally spotted Miranda Lambert during his set. Anderson was moving around on stage and in the background there she was coral dress, sunglasses, blonde beautiful hair, gum in her mouth supporting her man. I spent a lot more time in the press tent on Sunday. I was starting to feel my anxiety, exhaustion, and dehydration kick in so I had to take a few steps back. I decided to reward myself with a massage. Yes, a massage. Again, #NoRegrets. Plus while I was there some of the broadcasts had artists come in and do private sets. I may have creepily watched Ra Ra Riot from my table. Around 4 I made my way out to catch two acts I'd been wanting to see: Atlas Genius and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nightsweats. I caught about half of Atlas Genius' set at the BMI Stage, enough for me to be satisfied then walked over to see Nathaniel. Nathaniel's set just reminded me like I was listening to some Gospel music...but I totally wasn't, ha. You know how I know? He's got a song called S.O.B. Yes, it's exactly what you think it stands for. Next was the moment I'd waited for all weekend. Willie Nelson. First off, I need to say that I totally fangirled when Matthew McConaughey got on stage and said “Alright! Alright! Alright!” Yes, MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY introduced Willie Nelson on stage. The crowd was insane for Willie’s performance. It was one of the biggest crowd’s at ACL…ever! I got extremely emotional when Willie took the stage, not just because of the beautiful video they created to thank him for giving so much to ACL these last 15 years but because I was in the presence of a living legend. Although the sound could have been better, the crowd stood silent and still to listen to the Red Headed Stranger sing “Whiskey River” as his opener. Willie delivered hit after hit including a song for his late best friend Merle Haggard “It’s All Goin’ To Pot” and one for Waylon “Good Hearted Woman.” He was joined on stage by his little sister Bobbie who has some mad piano skills! As I looked through the crowd, everyone had the same look on their face…the look that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Men and women in Willie Nelson attire and braids all for the man, the legend, the Willie Nelson. And of course only Willie Nelson has the power to bring artists of different genres on stage with him. He was joined by Mumford & Sons, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nightsweats, Margo Price. Matthew McConaughey, and many more. It made me even more emotional. I felt like I was in a church service…the church of Willie Nelson. The entire festival was so organized. Never have I ever gone to a festival this organized. Everything seemed to have gone according to plan.
Plus ACL has so many charities that it gives back to, it made me happy knowing that a lot of this is done to give back to the community. Check out more on ACL Cares here. As I left the park, I caught a part of Young The Giant's set. Unfortunately I had to get back to College Station and miss Mumford & Sons. :( I overcame so many obstacles such as going to a festival alone and not letting my anxiety get the best of me. It was fun, ACL. Until next year. Peace & love.
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