ACL Live Shot: Alabama Shakes

Photo by Jana Birchum

ACL MUSIC FEST

• Friday ACL Live Shots

• First Aid Kit

  BY DOUG FREEMAN

• The War on Drugs

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• The Relatives

  BY JIM CALIGIURI

• L.P.

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Esperanza Spalding

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Jovanotti

  BY THOMAS FAWCETT

• Umphrey's McGee

  BY JIM CALIGIURI

• Tegan & Sara

  BY ZOE CORDES SELBIN

• The Afghan Whigs

  BY ADAM SCHRAGIN

• Alabama Shakes

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• Florence + the Machine

  BY MELANIE HAUPT

• Weezer

  BY ZOE CORDES SELBIN

• AVICII

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• The Black Keys

  BY MELANIE HAUPT

• Saturday ACL Live Shots

• Wild Child

  BY DOUG FREEMAN

• Wheeler Brothers

  BY JIM CALIGIURI

• Zola Jesus

  BY ADAM SCHRAGIN

• Bombay Bicycle Club

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• Rufus Wainwright

  BY ZOE CORDES SELBIN

• Father John Misty

  BY DOUG FREEMAN

• Sonámbulo

  BY THOMAS FAWCETT

• Big K.R.I.T.

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Oberhofer

  BY ZOE CORDES SELBIN

• Andrew Bird

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• Lee Fields & the Expressions

  BY THOMAS FAWCETT

• Kishi Bashi

  BY MELANIE HAUPT

• The Roots

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Antibalas

  BY THOMAS FAWCETT

• Gotye

  BY MELANIE HAUPT

• Jack White

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Neil Young & Crazy Horse

  BY JIM CALIGIURI

• Sunday ACL Live Shots

• The Eastern Sea

  BY ADAM SCHRAGIN

• Kimbra

  BY MELANIE HAUPT

• Stars

  BY ZOE CORDES SELBIN

• Gary Clark Jr.

  BY DOUG FREEMAN

• Two Door Cinema Club

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• Thundercat

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• The Lumineers

  BY DOUG FREEMAN

• Barrington Levy

  BY THOMAS FAWCETT

• Crystal Castles

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Avett Brothers

  BY JIM CALIGIURI

• Iggy & the Stooges

  BY ADAM SCHRAGIN

• Red Hot Chili Peppers

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

All was quiet on the Barton Springs stage front. Due to flaws in the sound engineering, the massive lump of people seemed to overpower the typically unhushed tones of the much buzzed Athens, Ala., quartet Alabama Shakes. Despite the technical gaff, 23-year-old Brittany Howard took the stage with gusto, quipping the sea of spectators on their well-being, then chiding them for not asking about hers. "I'm always alright," she laughed. The set list was predictable, considering the band's fledgling state and only one album to draw from. Howard stole the show with her rasp – a curious mix of Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus and Southern rock belle Janis Joplin. She howled her way through the majority of the tracks from Boys & Girls, highlighting Fifties doo-wop inspired "I Found You" and the love ballad march "Rise to the Sun," where she was joined by the horn section of Brooklyn Afrobeat band Antibalas. B-side "Mama" sent the crowd for dancing shoes, tapping deep into the blues-rock aesthetic – just hooky enough to get you moving, and just dirty enough to keep you there.