Concert Review: Austin City Limits Festival 2024

For two sunny October weekends, big names like Jungle and Kehlani graced the stages of Zilker Park’s signature festival.

Written by Afterglow Editors

Photo courtesy of Charles Reagan Hackleman

Following hot off the heels of its controversial 2023 iteration, ACL returned to Austin’s oldest metropolitan park for its 23rd edition. This year, the high-profile festival featured a country slant, from headliners like Chris Stapleton and Leon Bridges to queer outlaws like Orville Peck and Chappell Roan. As Austinites bid farewell to ACL until 2025, Afterglow’s editors reflect on highlights from this year’s festival.

Weekend 1

Dexter and the Moonrocks

Dexter and the Moonrocks brought its misfit energy to the sizzling BMI stage. At 5:10 p.m. sharp, the Abilene’s signature country-rock outfit marched onstage and launched Cheez-Its boxes into the roaring crowd. Despite setbacks from medical emergencies in the audience, the quartet tore through the hour-long setlist with kick-ass instrumentals. They threw a curveball at festival-goers with a thundering rendition of Queens of the Stone Age’s “Songs For the Dead” before jumping into the twangy “Where I Steer.” The band’s usual tomfoolery began shortly thereafter, as drummer Fox took off his shirt and shotgunned a beer can faster than the crowd could say “Western Space Grunge.” Fans also kept the ambiance fun by tossing around inflatable beach balls, going on triple shoulder rides, and singing Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” when Fox recreated her viral dance. The musical camaraderie continued throughout the set, as the crowd eagerly sang along to “She Likes Girls,” “Space Invader,” and the band’s fan-favorite cover of Green Day’s “Basket Case.” As the scorching heat subsided, vocalist James serenaded the audience with the four-piece’s debut single, “Couch,” thanking fans for their support through the years. Dexter and the Moonrocks’ ACL debut proved its staying power in the alternative scene and tireless devotion to its adoring fanbase. — C.S. Harper

Stephen Sanchez

Suave singer Stephen Sanchez embodied a 1950s aesthetic with his charismatic showmanship and swoon-worthy vocals. As the sun lowered on Friday evening, his band walked out in black-and-white suits alongside a presenter, who introduced Sanchez as if he had a primetime slot during the Golden Age of television. The man of the hour then humbly walked onstage, opening with the saccharine love song “Evangeline” from his 2023 album, Angel Face. Sanchez overcame frequent technical difficulties by gauging how the audience felt in between songs, improvising just as a true old-timey entertainer would. He shifted between vintage-tinged original works to covers of romantic oldies, from Paul Anka’s “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” to Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman.” Sanchez danced like Elvis during the upbeat seduction of “Only Girl” and gave the crowd a sing-along ballad with his dulcet hit “Until I Found You.” Despite finding viral fame on TikTok, Sanchez proved that his voice is timeless by bringing mid-century allure to a hot and heavy ACL. — Janie Bickerton

promqueen

As the first act to grace the IHG stage on Saturday, promqueen brought bubbly bops to day two of the festival. Her ACL debut was a chosen family affair, with her producer waverly on the drums and her creative team members Ariel O’Gwin, Menjam Temang, and ANGELINA dancing in sync with his beats. Although the audience was intimate, the first lady of m-hart and her entourage knew how to command the crowd. In a standout moment, promqueen introduced her fourth-ever single, “out of my head,” as her “Powerpuff Girl song” and invited her dancing pals to sit on a bench with her. As the indie princess did overhead waves and the audience followed suit, the track’s narrative about romantic infatuation transformed into a heartfelt ode to friendship and musical connection. Throughout her set, the singer alternated between tender moments and her superstar persona to offer crowd members a taste of her authentic musical philosophy. She let her sassy attitude and rapping chops shine during her performances of “Blow Up” and “mountain,” two highlights of the afternoon. With playful banter and heartwarming audience interactions, promqueen’s set gave fans a chance to become prom royalty. — C.S. Harper

Kehlani

In a mass exodus from Chappell Roan’s set to the Miller Lite stage, Sunday’s crowd crossed Zilker Park for more sapphic songs from R&B superstar Kehlani. Fans got there in time for “What I Want,” complete with a rock-driven dance break from the singer and their dancers. Kehlani proceeded to reflect on their career, noting how they played ACL nearly 10 years ago at the beginning of the day and are now headlining. In a set filled with effortless R&B riffs and intense electric guitar, Kehlani mixed their setlist with dark, seductive tracks from their 2024 album Crash and earlier samba-driven hits. During several dance breaks, the singer only interacted with their female dancers, a marker of their queer identity that they augmented with overtly sapphic songs like “Honey” and rumored WLW hits like “Hate the Club.” After twerking, strutting, and hitting high notes without fail, Kehlani ended their memorable set by ensuring the crowd went home knowing their name — and how to say it. “If you didn’t know me, you know me now. My name is KAY-lani.” With mesmerizing sounds and sights dazzling the stage, Kehlani ensured that no crowd member left unchanged. — Janie Bickerton

Leon Bridges

As Leon Bridges took to the American Express stage at 6:30 p.m., he attracted an enormous crowd as far as the eye could see. He kicked off the evening with his popular Khruangbin collaboration “Texas Sun,” an apt opener for a set scheduled near sundown. Dressed in a custom Longhorn jersey, the Texas-raised musician awkwardly busted a move, basking in the track’s funky guitar plucks. Afterward, he gave fans a sampling of his self-titled album — which he had released that same day — with mid-tempo tracks “When a Man Cries” and “Laredo.” With mellow rhythms and bright piano riffs, the songs offered fans a dance break. Bridges followed with “Coming Home,” which he introduced as “the song that put [him] on the map.” The musician’s croons wafted through Zilker Park as audience members swayed along to the track’s doo-wop-influenced instrumental. In his set’s final moments, he cooled things off with a stripped-back rendition of streaming hit “River.” Accompanied by minimal percussion and his own guitar, Bridges and his backup singer, Brittni Jesse, blew away the crowd with their vocal chops as their soulful belts intertwined. The bluesy balladeer picked up the pace with set closer “Beyond,” during which bassist Joshua Crumbley encouraged the audience to clap along to the syncopated beat. As the backing instrumental faded away, Bridges wished fans a “blessed night” and humbly strolled offstage. Although the singer’s stage presence left much to be desired, his emphasis on honest musicianship over elaborate showmanship made for a technically superb set. By letting his songs speak for themselves, Bridges delivered a touching tribute to Texas culture. — C.S. Harper

Weekend 2

St. Lucia

Composed of husband-and-wife duo Jean-Philip Grobler and Pattie Beranek, electronic act St. Lucia unveiled two new songs, “Fear of Falling” and “Falling Asleep,” christening them to a live audience at ACL. The group balanced technical precision with fun flair in tracks like “Closer Than This.” Difficulties rose for “Dancing On Glass,” the group’s most streamed track to date, as Grobler’s mic suddenly cut out. Beranek provided backing vocals as technicians scrambled to give Grobler a mic, which ultimately didn’t come until the next song. Crowd-goers screamed upon hearing his voice return for “Falling Asleep,” a new track loosely inspired by Habibi pop. The fast-paced song transitioned into the thoughtful “All Eyes On You,” which possessed the crowd, turning them from exuberant to easy-going. Then, the group performed the danceable “Touch” to an ecstatic audience, who danced fervently to the ’80s synth-pop track. Closing out the night, St. Lucia performed its signature song from its 2011 debut, “Elevate.” As Grobler sang the chorus, “And no one elevates you, elevates you now / And no one's gonna take you, gonna take you there,” the crowd gleefully joined him. Despite some technical difficulties, St. Lucia brought the heat to an already steaming Austin crowd, demonstrating its professionalism while living in the microcosm of the moment. — Rachel Joy Thomas

Geese

Under the hellish Austin sun, clouds of marijuana and cigarette smoke combined with ACL’s all-too-known dust, stood an indifferent audience that only cared about one thing: Brooklyn rock band Geese. Kinetic guitar solos, fantastical drum breakdowns and scintillating rockabilly influences defined the band’s performance at the T-Mobile stage. Frontman Cameron Winter provided a titillating performance that proved acid-prone and psychedelic, screaming, hooting and hollering through “Taxes.” The cacophonous “Undoer” attracted experimental fans of all types toward the indie-rock set, although the song played out slightly more mellow than its studio counterpart. The crowd excitedly sang along to “Cowboy Nudes,” following the sizzling hi-hat and Winter’s vocals as he crooned, “Be my warrior! / My love and light.” The only caveat to this mind-blowing performance was the singer’s occasionally muddled vocals, but it only matched the audience’s sweat-stained backs and half-baked smiles. — Rachel Joy Thomas

Emei

By the time Los Angeles-based Emei came out to perform her pop-laden tracks at 3:10 p.m., a dense crowd had enveloped the BMI stage. Her audience’s size was unsurprising, as the singer owned her afternoon hotspot with exhilarating confidence, smiling at the crowd through smooth performances of tracks like “Impossible” and “Better People to Leave on Read.” With only a guitarist and drummer for backing instrumentals, each track featured silky, pristine vocals infused with anxious lyrics that set her apart as an alternative one to watch. During the aptly-titled “Ferris Bueller,” the “Scatterbrain” singer lamented, “Wish I could be someone like Ferris Buеller / Sing on top of huge parades and do whatеver / Instead I'm sending emails for like fifteen hours,” in her cry against capitalist nine-to-five scheduling and the monotony of sending emails. Shooting a T-shirt out into the crowd with a cannon was just one of many tricks up Emei’s sleeve, as she sang a punchy cover of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” to wide acclaim from the audience. Fans waved artsy pride flag fans as the singer unveiled the unreleased “Crazy, Stupid, Love” and the call-and-response song “9 Lives.” To finish off her set, Emei thanked the crowd for coming to see her set and discussing her upcoming album before performing the dynamic song, “Cynical.” Emei’s first performance at ACL may haunt capitalist scrooges and former lovers, but it proved a delightful experience for newcomers and onlookers. — Rachel Joy Thomas

Jungle

Hundreds if not thousands of festival-goers packed like sardines for Jungle, waiting for a fateful orange glow to illuminate the Miller Lite stage and bring them to life. The U.K. electronic group’s members took a few moments to stare out at the audience before breaking into “Busy Earnin’,” a grooving, mesmerizing track filled with triple harmonies and bouncing synths. The cascading “I’ve Been In Love” wrapped the audience in a love spell, with a holographic version of Channel Tres taking rapping credit alongside the live band. Next came the star-dropping song “Back on 74,” which captured the evocative power of its popular music video through beachy guitar strumming and effervescent vocals. Throughout the set, beach balls bounced across the crowd, knocking some audience members’ heads before landing at someone’s feet. Latest member Lydia Kitto’s tantalizing, glossy vocals defined tracks like “Let’s Go Back,” where she balanced co-leads Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland. As the band broke through song after song, they maintained iconic, funky coolness and unrelenting drive. “Don’t Play,” a deeper cut from 2023’s Volcano, melded alien sounds and dreamy synths into familiar nu-disco, transforming into something warm, familiar, and smooth. Bathed in a final wave of white light, Jungle ended its set with the hopeful “Keep Moving,” infecting Austin with the urge to dance the night away. — Rachel Joy Thomas

REVIEWSAfterglow ATXOctober 22, 2024concert review, festival, acl 2024