Austin City Limits 2022 Wrap-Up: Our Favorite Artists From the Festival

As festival season wraps up in Austin, we look back on our favorite artists that graced the stages at ACL this year.

Written by Afterglow Editorial Staff

Photos courtesy of Ana Cuba, Nick Little, and Matteo Mobilio

Out of all the festivals that come and go in Austin, ACL is always a doozy. With this year’s stellar lineup, we look back on some standouts to commemorate another successful festival season in the Live Music Capital of the World.

Siena Liggins

Photo courtesy of Erika Goldring

The Black queer community’s antithesis to the sea of (predominantly white) sad girl sapphic indie took the BMI Stage by storm with her bubbly, anti-pop sound this past ACL weekend. Liggins’ siren-like voice contrasted her distinctly butch fashion sense — “Euphoria”-inspired makeup and an orange jersey — as she graced audiences with her rising pop hits. Having released her debut album Ms. Out Tonight in 2021, the Detroit native is the mastermind behind women-loving-women bops about “all of the relationships, situationships, fall-outs, break-ups, all those things [that she goes] through with different girls.” But she handles the subject in a positive light, taking on a playful tone with bouncy beats and electronic soundscapes on tracks like “Girlfriend” and Baby Tate collab “Dirty Girl.” Her playfulness comes through most with her cheeky lyrics, with lines like “You look like you was raised on ‘Blues Clues’ / And Flintstone vitamins yabba-dabba / Do you wanna go out with me?” regularly making the cut on her releases. All in all, Siena Liggins offers a refreshing take on the queer pop genre, and her free-spirited energy made for an engaging set at ACL. — C.S. Harper

Japanese Breakfast

Photo courtesy of Jim Bennett

ACL was a jubilee this year, not just because it’s the 20th anniversary of the festival, but because attendees had the pleasure to see Philly pop band Japanese Breakfast. Frontwoman Michelle Zauner and bass player Deven Craige started the band in 2013 and have since been steadily growing in popularity. In 2021, the duo broke out into the mainstream with its track “Be Sweet,” and subsequently released the hit album, Jubilee, garnering attention from fans and the music industry. The album is critically acclaimed, and Japanese Breakfast has gone on to play big venues and festivals, including the upcoming Coachella festival. Their ACL performance this year was nothing short of charismatic, with Zauner lighting up the stage with her enigmatic performance and sweet-sounding voice. Accompanied by violin and saxophone, ACL audiences were treated to heart-wrenching songs about heartbreak, love, and a soulful thank-you to her deceased mother. — Adam Cherian

Teezo Touchdown

Photo courtesy of Greg Noire (@gregnoire on Instagram)

Beaumont, Texas native Teezo Touchdown was eclectic as he kicked off day one of ACL’s second weekend. As the sun adorned the crowd’s anticipating faces, Teezo’s DJ, who was dressed in a full suit, started the set with a wedding hymn detailed with bells. Sure enough, the DJ’s “bride” (Teezo) approached the “aisle” (stage) in a distressed wedding gown with a microphone planted in a bouquet of flowers. Another memorable accessory was a cowboy hat with protruding nails, a Texas twist on his signature look of attaching nails to his hair. Over his rock-influenced sounds, Teezo sang clever and unforgettable phrases such as, “What’s the point of being on all day when no one can tolerate the noise you make?” which is from his single “I’m Just A Fan.” Teezo also referred to multiple artists (Tyler the Creator, Rico Nasty, and Westside Boogie) who catalyzed his accelerating musical career — before performing his features from the mentioned artists’ songs, he “called” them on a red landline phone. Teezo is undeniably marrying unconventional style and genre-bending poetry, and fans should look forward to attending his next wedding. — Elizah Funke

Slayyyter

Photo courtesy of Jay Janner

The infamous “Throatzillaaa” turned heads at the Miller Lite stage with her unapologetic take on bimbo pop and an exuberant ensemble — thigh-high boots, a black corset, and a scarlet fur coat. She teased the audience with unreleased single “Erotic Electronic” before delivering banger after banger, ending her set with her two most streamed songs to date, “Mine” and “Daddy AF.” Outside of her jaw-dropping live performances, Slayyyter is known for her provocative hyperpop-adjacent music on club culture. With lyrics like “I been fuckin' models / I been poppin' bottles all night,” Slayyyter has created seminal songs for the bimbo bible. But with her latest album, Troubled Paradise, the St. Louis singer brought a more vulnerable side to her ditzy persona, singing in the title track, “You were my remedy / Love like a fever dream, yeah / Now we are enemies / I still got the memories.” The PC Music affiliate brought both nightlife and bimbo tears to her set, leaving fans crying at the club — or Zilker Park — and eagerly awaiting her upcoming album. — C.S. Harper

MUNA

Photo courtesy of Sara Diggins

Returning to ACL for the first time since its 2017 debut, MUNA stole the show during weekend one of the festival. The trio, made up of Katie Gavin, Naomi McPherson, and Josette Maskin, opened their set with the vibrant “What I Want” and immediately transported the outdoor crowd to what felt like a high-energy nightclub. Fan favorites like “Number One Fan” and “Stay Away” kept the audience entranced and mercilessly belting each lyric back to the stage. At one point, Gavin paused her infectious dancing and brought out an acoustic guitar for country-esque gems “Taken” and “Kind of Girl.” To her left was McPherson, who alternated their attention between the array of keyboards surrounding them and their acoustic guitar. On Gavin’s other side was Maskin, who devoted all their focus to the black Fender. The band’s cover of The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” left every audience member jumping in place and singing along. During the twangy “Anything But Me,” Gavin brought a plethora of inflatable horses, all named “Stephanie,” onto the stage and tossed each of them into the crowd one-by-one. The band closed their set with their breakout pop hit “Silk Chiffon,” which brought the tireless crowd to peak energy. Final waves from each musician marked the end of their hour-long performance and left fans radiant, humming the phrase “Life’s so fun!” in their heads for the rest of the day. — Miranda Garza