I was there and am I allowed to say that ACL has to be up there as one of my life’s highlights? Well it truly was – 3 days of the most exciting, electric, fun filled music orgy that went way beyond any expectations I had. Amazing musicians, spine tingling music, enormous crowds, blisteringly hot, superb organization and yummy food all set in the beautiful Zilker Park….it couldn’t have been better and even the locals ranted and raved that it was the best ACL ever and they should know….I’m so glad I was there! My journey to ACL began several years ago when a bloke I know raved about it and if he raves about anything then you have to sit up and listen as you know it has to be good! So, come April and armed with my special login number (its akin to a military operation getting tickets) I crawl out of bed at 3am, log on and wait – up pops, ‘you are number 156 in the queue’ – 15 mins later I have 2 tickets.. with silly school girl excitement I tear downstairs (remember it’s 3.30am) to a bewildered hubby who says matter of factly…who are you going with? Haven’t a clue…wanna come?
That’s history and months down the track I head off to Austin. This city is very very cool, full of energy with Austinites being among the friendliest people I have ever encountered and the music scene is to die for!
Thursday we head to Zilker Park to get the heralded 3 day wrist band…the weather is looking perfect and Friday morning I’m at the ACL gates with my very comfy but essential deck chair along with thousands of others right on time….yeehaa!! I cheekily have my NZ cap and Lucinda Williams T Shirt with the Aussie and NZ concert dates plastered front and back on….more on that later…
I’m armed with the personal schedule I had spent weeks planning and head straight to the BMI Stage for Two Tons of Steel.…oh god, this is going to be amazing as I pinch myself again!! We are talking 130 live bands here over 3 days, artists I know and one’s I don’t but that’s the joy of music… being gob-smacked by the known and unknown.
Day one was such a blast….highlights being, JJ Grey & Mofro, Carolyn Wonderland – their very own Austin darling (locals insist I give up seeing The Mountain Goats ‘cos she is so good and they were right of course) Pat Green, Amos Lee (awe so good), Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses (brilliant)) Robert Randolph & the Family Band (wow) – 12 hours later, I drag my feet back to our Hotel, dead tired but in music heaven…
Day 2 and we have got the hang of this festival and rise at a reasonable hour and arrive via the wonderful shuttle system bang on 11am – today is not so rushed as I don’t have double ups that I’m dashing between. My faves are The Dough Rollers, Mayer Hawthorne & The County, Broken Bells, Monsters of Folk and Pete Yorn was pretty damn good as well! My girlfriend just loved Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – she’s not a bad singer, looks ravishing and knows how to ramp the crowd up a notch or to…:-) Which takes me back to my clothes insignia…the crowds here were enormous…often cheek to jowl – a healthy mix right through the age decades, lots of bumping, nudging, shoulder tapping and not once did I encounter any aggro whatsoever! In fact the festival goers politeness was outstanding. We could learn a thing or to here Kiwis! But folk were in awe of two Kiwi girls who had headed all the way to their festival, I was constantly tapped on the shoulder and asked, “are you really from NZ?” “yes.” “wow, you came all this way, that’s amazing, how do you know about it?” From these shoulder tapping encounters we found ourselves invited into homes, lunch dates and gathered a few more Facebook friends.
Day 3 the last….a twinge of sadness – my schedule had me tearing around again…huge day! First, we parked our chairs at the Budweiser Stage for the final headline act – The Eagles. My picks for today were Ashley Cleveland & Kenny Greenberg (Ashley was an absolute favourite) Robert Earl Keen, Midlake, Martin Sexton, Band of Horses and yes,yes,yes, Richard Thompson. The Eagles were a crowd pleaser and fun but not why I was there…saw them many moons ago and like me getting a bit long in the tooth! So, did I enjoy it? You bet. Will I go back? You bet! Anyone like to join me? And that $20.00 Long Horn chair I was going to ditch and is such an essential part of the festival is this very moment on it’s way back to NZ as the perfect reminder of the best 3 days ever. Thanks ACL…you will see me again – one day!