Chappell Roan Says ACL Performance Is Her Last of the Year, and More Surprises From Weekend Two

Amid sweltering heat, ACL Fest Weekend Two saw Willie Nelson sit in with Chris Stapleton and Orville Peck, Dua Lipa bleed Burnt Orange, and Chappell Roan go out on a high note. Here are some of our highlights from ACL W2.

Friday

Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Collective: Rams Go Ham With Jams

Austin’s oldest institution of higher learning represented in appropriately soulful fashion to kick off the first day of ACL Fest’s second weekend. Starting off with a rendition of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” the 10-piece band plus four singers delighted a home crowd full of maroon and gold. The HBCU students spanned the gamut from country to R&B before ending with a medley of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady,” and “Come Down” by funk/hip-hop powerhouse Anderson .Paak. – Haris Qureshi

Australian Bard Paul Kelly Revisits Cities of Texas

“G'day, Texas,” began Paul Kelly. Helping touch off ACL Fest’s second weekend at 1:15pm, Australia’s Bob Dylan strummed an acoustic alongside his electric-guitar-wielding nephew Dan Kelly on the enormous Amex stage. Friday started well, then, ATX’s Aussie contingent dancing and yelling as a crowd of several dozen doubled then tripled during a 40-minute set of indelible modern folk stretching back to the late Seventies. “When I First Met Your Ma,” “I’ve Done All the Dumb Things,” “God Told Me To,” upcoming LP primers “All Those Smiling Faces” and “Taught by Experts,” and anthemic closer “Cities of Texas” delivered a plainspoken bittersweetness: candied melodies and hard truths. – Raoul Hernandez

Katie Pruitt Unloads With Powerful Determination

Katie Pruitt can’t not be anthemic. Her vocals demand to be let out, and the joy of her leading off the Miller Lite stage of weekend two on Friday built in her ability to unleash with abandon. Even on the slower mid-set numbers (“Leading Actress,” “Out of the Blue”), her voice carried a power that demanded attention. But the boil and cathartic wail in the searing defiance of “White Lies, White Jesus, and You” and self-determination of “Self-Sabotage” defined the set, and emphasized the urgent willfulness that marks her from new aptly-titled sophomore LP Mantras. – Doug Freeman

Norah Jones Gives Good Advice

“Hydrate!” Norah Jones reminded the 4pm sweltering crowd from a white grand Friday. You can’t blame the 45-year-old mom of two for acting on instinct. Sporting a retro striped dress with purple eyeshadow, the ever-evolving, cross-genre icon pulled mainly from Visions, her latest twist on soft rock and jazz-pop heavily decorated with three-part howling harmonies and chill guitar shredding from the piano vocalist herself. Before closing with an unrushed fairytale-esque “Don’t Know Why,” Jones reiterated: “Drink lots of water,” she smiled. “The shade will find you.” – Amber Williams

Santigold Doesn’t Need to Take a Bow

Santigold breaks the rules. Emerging in the late aughts, the producer-turned-performer has consistently defied any attempt to box in her art. Spiraling across the Tito’s stage in a white gown and jeweled cap on Friday, the unorthodox queen traversed her discography of electronic-punk-pop sprinkled with reggae-rap juxtaposed against melodic chorus lines and Cyndi Lauper-style vocal twirls. The concert ran like an open-invite party, complete with call-and-response, hip- hop hands, and disco ball sparkles. Closing out the celebration with “Creator,” the hostess invited a buzzing cohort of fans to shout-along onstage before she disappeared without a bow – something only a rule breaker would do. – Amber Williams

Jeezy: The Snowman Brings the Heat From ATL to ATX

Atlanta’s trap progenitor Jay Wayne Jenkins, formerly known as Young Jeezy, brought to Austin a rap furor that he whipped amongst the crowd. Jenkins, who is also now a real estate mogul as well as the head of Corporate Thugz Entertainment, did what he needed to do to earn his paycheck and had his DJ warm the crowd up before performing his set solo sans hypeman with highlights such as Southern anthem “All There” featuring the late Bankroll Fresh. He made sure to shout out Houston, the city which inspired some of his classic collaborations with UGK and Slim Thug, among others, and finished with cult classic favorite “Put On.” . – Haris Qureshi

Saturday

Rose-Encrusted Sisters the Tiarras Stay Brave and Chingona

Orville Peck’s lava-flow Western wear first weekend beat any dude on the circuit, but the Tiarras’ blood-rose outfits in the Tito’s sanctuary eclipsed the masked Canadian by miles and miles of Texas. Singing and slinging front sib Tori Baltierra’s red cowboy hat, drummer Sophia Baltierra’s smart red beret, and the red flowers woven into bassist Tiffany Baltierra’s braids matched the red hot glow of the homegrown trio’s establishing set on game day. From cumbias to their own brand of Lone Star reggae, the sister act synced its familial groove into perky new single “Every Kinda Brave” and empowerment staple “Soy Chingona.” – Raoul Hernandez

Elyanna Entrances With Arab-Latin Pop Fusion

Breakout Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna moved to ACL weekend two only as she kicks off her North American tour behind this year’s Woledto LP, but the combination of energy and artistry she brought to the Tito’s tent on Saturday was worth the wait. The 22-year-old dominated the stage as the centerpiece of her four dancers, unleashing a choreography ranging from fierce to seductive as the fast-paced set moved through the recorded backing mix of intoxicating Arab and Latin rhythms. But the highlight remained her soaring and powerful vocals, whether on the uptempo crowd-inciting “Mama Eh” or the emotional ballad “Oululee Leh.” – Doug Freeman

Remi Wolf Is the Party

“Let’s party!” exclaimed Remi Francis Wolf after playing a funky set including hits off her new album Big Ideas which just dropped a few months ago. The charismatic 28-year-old USC School of Music alumna and Palo Alto native, who made her first appearance at ACL Fest in 2021, lived up to her exhortations as she and her guitarist turned around and began twerking. Screams erupted all around, not only from the massive throng of fans swooning over the alt pop princess but also from the folks in the beer tent next door who were simultaneously cheering the final seconds of the Longhorns’ pummeling of Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. – Haris Qureshi

Grand Funk Railroad’s Golden Anniversary

As soon as the very first band broke up and reformed, up sprang the revival circuit. A 50th anniversary banner at Grand Funk Railroad’s weekend-two-only ACL debut might spell Spinal Tap for lesser acts, but not this Michigan locomotive. Mark Farner left last century, but pipe cleaner bassist Mel Schacher and hall of fame drummer Don Brewer recruited Detroit tough sidemen in six-string superhero Mark Chatfield and blue-eyed soul clarion Max Carl. Little Eva’s “The Loco-motion” chugged at minute 20, Brewer beat his sticks up front and boomed “Some Kind of Wonderful” at minute 40, then followed “I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)” and “We’re an American Band,” which brought down the Tito’s tent. – Raoul Hernandez

Long Beach Native Vince Staples Provides “Norf Norf” Vibes in South Austin

Starting out his set with “Black&Blue” off his new album Dark Times, Vincent Jamal Staples asked the crowd at the IHG stage, “Where did Tupac and them go? Where Nipsey Hussle and them go? Swavey and Drakeo?” The creator of Netflix’s Vince Staples Show, who first achieved notoriety online from his observations based on his street life experiences after being featured alongside Odd Future, powered through nearly an hour of his catalog, making sure to end with certified West Coast bangers like “Big Fish Theory” and “Norf Norf” before reminding folks that season two of his comedy TV series will be coming soon. – Haris Qureshi

International Pop Diva Dua Lipa Is One of Us Now

“Training Season’s Over” and “Radical Optimism” flashed on the screen as Dua Lipa’s entourage of dancers flooded the stage to the delight of an absolutely gargantuan crowd. Lipa, a Kosovar Albanian singer-songwriter and model born in London, ran through flashy dance routines as fireworks erupted among the Austin skyline for hits like “Levitation” and “Houdini.” Lipa spent time in Austin this last week at local staples like Broken Spoke, La Barbecue, Este, Kemuri Tatsu-ya, and Donn’s Depot; she even put on a custom Texas Longhorns jersey during her performance of “Be the One.” – Haris Qureshi

Sunday

Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol Busts Out Rare ACL Fest Metal Set

“ACL, what’s up? [We’re the] good-time heavy metal portion of the festival.” So intoned Leo Lydon at noon-thirty Sunday, a golden hour to both breeze into Zilker rather than face godless gate gridlock later as well as catch musical dreamers on big stages (hello 2003 Kings of Leon). Rarest genre at Austin’s fall classic, the local trio’s Big Dumb Riffs – also their third and latest LP – surprised and delighted a healthy, empty-park crowd. Like a grunge Devo, “Clown Town” beat irreverently, while “Body Bag” moshed a Beasties post-punk lumber. Ozzy, Pumpkins, and Pixies, Jesus Lizard on “The Cincinnati Tilt” – Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol represented every hard-n-heavy hero never booked at ACL Fest. – Raoul Hernandez

Kalu & the Electric Joint Taps Nigerian Roots for Epic Fest Set

Last December at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, Kalu James and his electric six-string mesmerized as usual since his 2007 arrival in Austin: psychedelic Afro-folk. Early Sunday owning the Tito’s Tent, the Nigerian roots bender inhabited a bigger, bolder, badder music construct: Afro-shaman. Resplendent in gold and flailing dreadlocks, the stately frontman commanded his electric quintet with a progressive, peace-loving punch – Zeppelin-esque reverberations of wicked slide steel and a dancing days emcee. “Garden of Eden” remains especially epic, in that regard; easy to imagine the group at the Summer of Love’s Monterey Pop between Lou Rawls and Buffalo Springfield. For James’ “Blue Child,” that spectrum ranges Sly Stone to Arthur Lee.– Raoul Hernandez

Red Clay Strays Insist on Rock & Roll

Over the past year, the Red Clay Strays have shot to the top of Americana lineups behind sophomore LP Made by These Moments, leading to their headlining slot on Miller Lite stage Sunday night. Yet while they embrace the country crowds, the Mobile, Alabama sextet has insisted they are a rock & roll band, and the rockabilly wail of “Ramblin’” to start their set reiterated the point. Still, Americana’s a broad tent these days, and frontman Brandon Coleman’s pompadour and Elvis-styled hip kicks suggest a classic throwback style reworked with Southern rock and Hank Jr. flair. – Doug Freeman

BROCKHAMPTON Frontman Kevin Abstract Shows Out in His Home State

In case you had any doubt about Kevin Abstract’s sexuality or didn’t know what he was about, any questions were eradicated as soon as his set began. The Corpus Christi-born rapper played a snippet of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” before greeting the crowd with “How are you f----ts doing?” He then segued into “Empty,” a song off his 2016 album “American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story” and followed that up with “Tennessee,” his new single featuring fellow Southern queer rapper Lil Nas X. He made sure to shout out San Marcos, the town where his old rap group BROCKHAMPTON came together after meeting on a Kanye West-focused Internet forum, before launching into “Voyager,” where he sings “Every summer with you has been a dream.” Given the 100 degree heat during this last weekend, we were obliged to agree with him.. – Haris Qureshi

Round Rock’s Own That Mexican OT Storms Central Texas

Although to the world he’s known as That Mexican OT, if you ask around at Stony Point High, the staff might just remember him as Virgil Rene Gazca. The Bay City native who moved to Round Rock in middle school represented his family’s homeland by yelling “If you brown and proud to be Mexican, make some noise!” before he and his DJ blended a medley of party classic “Suavemente” into his “Texas Meskin” track. There was a sizable clique of bystanders onstage including comedian Ralph Barbosa, who crowd-surfed during one segment. Gazca made sure to rock the party by playing his collaborations with Moneybagg Yo and DaBaby along with repping Texas to the fullest by performing his song with Dallas rapper BigXThaPlug as well as his smash hit “Johnny Dang,” featuring another well-known Texas rapper with ties to Williamson County – Georgetown-born Paul Wall. – Haris Qureshi

Chappell Roan Announces Break, Ends With a Bang

A swarm of pink-clad revelers of all ages descended upon ACL Festival’s final day to see Kayleigh Rose Amstutz aka viral popstar Chappell Roan bring down the house with her sly, subversive pop punk-inspired takes on being a young woman and finding yourself in the big city. Amstutz, originally from Missouri before moving to Los Angeles, showed compassion for the packed crowd and frequently pointed out audience members who needed medical aid after camping for hours in Texas summer conditions since morning just for a chance to see her up close and personal. After canceling previous East Coast festival appearances due to the stress of her newfound fame, she informed fans that this was her last show of the year and taught us dances for “HOT TO GO” while pink fireworks flew for her closing songs, “My Kink Is Karma” and “Pink Pony Club.” What a way to go out.– Haris Qureshi

Sturgill Simpson Delivers a Classic Rock ACL Close

If last weekend’s festival closeout set proved Sturgill Simpson is still outlaw, weekend two unloaded an extended jam of classic guitar-driven rock. Although he leaned country at the outset with “Long White Line” and two cuts from his new Johnny Blue Skies LP, Passage Du Desir, a cover of “Purple Rain” reset into wailing guitars that rarely let up. Likewise, turns into “LA Woman” and “Midnight Rider” emphasized the classic rock set, while the nearly 15-minute closing explosion of “Call to Arms” rolled well over the 10pm curfew, but no one could stop Simpson’s freight train once it got rolling. – Doug Freeman

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Find the Austin Chronicle's complete ACL Fest 2024 festival coverage – including reviews, interviews, photos, and more – here.

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Editor's note: A previous version of this post misspelled Cyndi Lauper's name, and honestly? It's gonna take a while to look in the mirror again without wincing.