I am giddy…grinning from ear to ear…my heart is racing…and I’m jumping around in the truck unable to conceal my excitement. A song starts on the radio and I shriek and turn the volume up – “All the other kids with the pumped up kicks…” Judd turns and looks at me as if I’m off my rocker. “You know this is like hunting for me,” I remind him. He slyly replies, “I know, I KNOW.” We are on our way to meet my friend, Erin, so she and I can attend Day One of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Now although this was not my first ACL rodeo, somehow it seemed much more adventuresome than the other two trips. Maybe it was because I had no intention of going this year until the opportunity was abruptly offered to me not much more than a week before the event. I can’t throroughly explain the feeling I got, walking through the gates…seeing the sea of people…the various stages spread out over the park…and hearing the faint sound of music in the background…that sweet, sweet music that beckons me to come near…and listen…and feel…and embrace the moment. I feel so alive! So yes, it was HOT. Yes, it RAINED. And yes, it was PERFECT! And here is a recap of the bands I was able to see.
Day One:
After establishing our base camp at the AMD stage, we started off with the infectious grooves of ”First name THEOPHILUS, last name LONDON!” We made our way back to base camp to catch Asleep at the Wheel and along the way heard a little of Ha Ha Tonka. By far the high light of the day and the entire festival for me was Brandi Carlile. She put on a great show full of energy and spunk! Move over Jennifer Nettles – I have a new girl crush now! 
We caught a little of the Smith Westerns before Ray Lamontagne’s glorious voice serenaded us, covering Haggard’s “Mama Tried” with The Secret Sisters. Stopped by to check out Kurt Vile, but I was not impressed. Then we TRIED really hard to see Foster the People but the crowd was unbelievable – I think everyone at ACL was trying to make it to their stage. We fought with the best of them for a bit, but decided it wasn’t worth it. I was very disappointed to miss them…but hope to see them in a better venue. Dang ACL for putting them on the worst stage with the smallest crowd area!! So we made our way back over and caught Cold War Kids, Bright Eyes – who I was not familiar with, but really enjoyed, and then waited for the final show.
Now I’ve heard some people criticize Coldplay for being a wussy girlie band – but I have always enjoyed their music. And I challenge any nay-sayer to go see them live and still call them a wussy girlie band. They put on an awesome show!
Day Two:
Upon walking in we were mesmerized by a band on the smallest stage – Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown. They looked like a bunch of teenagers but they were rocking out! You should definitely check them out!
We shopped a little at the booths, then caught a little Twin Shadow, Phosphorescent, and the end of Young the Giant. City and Colour was pretty good and then just as Iron and Wine started, so did the rain. I was a little bummed because I wanted to see Allison Krauss and Union Station and Gillian Welch – but that meant leaving my dry “hunker down” spot and fighting the crowd clear across to the other side of the park. So I decided I would see them at another venue one day as well. The rain stopped just in time for Fitz and the Tantrums which was a totally fun show and none other than Christian Bale was in the audience watching – I saw him on the big screen! Cut Copy was cool and I learned some new dance moves…LOL – then laid down to take a break while they finished – the sky and clouds were so awesome then. Heard a little Chromeo, Courtyard Hounds, and TV on the Radio as we made our way over to Stevie Wonder. Sadly, the sound was messed up in the beginning so we decided to head out early and beat the crowd. I did hear that the sound was eventually fixed and he rocked out!
Day Three:
My very generous and kind friend, Erin, had other things to tend to on Sunday, so she graciously passed on her wrist band to Judd so we could finish out the festival together and oddly enough it ended up being the best weather day of the weekend. After literally melting in the heat for the first few hours waiting for and then seeing The Head and the Heart, the rest of the day was mostly cloudy and breezy. We hung out for awhile in the shade trees, just listening to various bands’ tunes drifting in on the breeze, then found a nice spot to see Ryan Bingham and the Deadhorses. And girls, let me just say – MY OH MY – this boy is H-O-T!!! Not only does he have an incredibly sexy raspy voice with a country twang, but he sure is purdy to look at! Here is some eye candy proof:
After recovering…LOL…we saw Jack Ingram under the Vista Equity tent and then found a good spot to see Hayes Carll – who I have been wanting to see for quite some time. And it was just as great as I expected. For those of you who don’t know – he is an extremely talented songwriter with a unique sound. You should definitely check him out!
The videos are not great quality but it is all I could find.
I’ll get old before I’m any good at this.
Who’s the president? What year is it?
Doesn’t anybody tell the truth anymore?
Maybe that’s what songs are for. – Hayes Carll
So that was my 2011 ACL experience. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did sharing it with you! I had this conversation with Erin while at ACL:
Kellie: “It’s kind of funny to me that as important as music is to me, I can’t play or sing to save my life.”
Erin: “Maybe we are meant to be listeners, appreciaters of music.”
So with that being said, I still feel like the following quotes apply to me in some way.
I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts.
Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force
already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like
food or water.
Ray CharlesI think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive
expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what
culture we’re from, everyone loves music.
Billy Joel
EVERYONE LOVES MUSIC.
Love on, my friends…
Kellie
I only went Sunday and had an awesome experience as well!