ACL Music Fest 2014 Saturday Listings
Blurbing Saturday ACL
Fri., Oct. 3, 2014
Mike & the Moonpies
Noon, Austin Ventures stage
The man who once fawned over George Strait now has a 12-inch vinyl split with the King of Country. This month's Daytrotter session marks a big little victory for Mike Harmeier and his Moonpies crew, the young sextet of Austinites who've spent the past seven years teaching hipsters how to two-step Wednesdays at the Broken Spoke. – Chase Hoffberger
Spanish Gold
12:30pm, Samsung Galaxy stage
Not quite a supergroup, the combined talent of Spanish Gold melds seamlessly on this year's debut disc, South of Nowhere. With Hacienda frontman Dante Schwebel, local instigator Adrian Quesada, and My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan, the trio riffs garage-psych nuggets out of gritty R&B, swaggering through tunes inspired by the Laredo border with grooving percussion and melting guitar licks. – Doug Freeman
Poliça
3:30pm, Austin Ventures stage
Two albums of liquid synth-pop and Minneapolis quintet Poliça can officially say they're big in the UK. Second effort Shulamith knifed its way to 33 on the English charts, after all. Not bad for a band about which the blogosphere forgot that "Lay Your Cards Out" burned its way across your screen way back in 2012. – Luke Winkie
The Head & the Heart
4:30pm, Samsung Galaxy stage
Seattle sixpiece the Head & the Heart followed up a highly successful Sub Pop debut with late 2013 release Let's Be Still. The album title was telling of the fiddling folk-pop crew, pulling them out of an acoustic-only approach and into electric guitar territory. Tireless touring has tightened the hooks, harmonies, and live set. – Abby Johnston
Avett Brothers
6:30pm, Honda stage
The days of Scott and Seth Avett, along with upright bassist Bob Crawford, kicking in the back-porch door of Americana seem distant with the North Carolina outfit now expanded to a touring sevenpiece in its second decade. Though their raucous, melodic howls have paved the way for current folk-pop revivalism, the Avetts' mix of cathartic stomps and emotional ballads remains vital on last year's eighth studio effort, Magpie and the Dandelion. – Doug Freeman
Beats Antique
6:30pm, Sculpture stage
A reason for celebration in the lockjaw EDM scene, the black-clad trio of David Satori, Zoe Jakes, and Tommy Cappel offers festheads something more substantial than a preprogrammed set list. The San Fran livetronica ensemble features Cappel on drums, Satori on viola, percussion, and electrified lute, and the ethnically inclined electro-tribal oscillations of Jakes' hypnotic belly dancing – leaving audiences wide-eyed without MDMA. – Kevin Curtin
Lana Del Rey
6:30pm, Samsung Galaxy stage
The daughter of a domain-name investor worth millions, 29-year-old Elizabeth Grant repeatedly proves money cannot, in fact, buy happiness. Her third album, June's Dan Auerbach-produced Ultraviolence, cements the L.A. singer-songwriter's sensationally dismal style, waxing poetic in her jazzy croon on all topics woeful – depression, addiction, sexual disillusionment – while her mystifying press inelegance only builds intrigue. – Neph Basedow
Major Lazer
7:30pm, RetailMeNot stage
Last year's Free the Universe features Santigold, Bruno Mars, Ezra Koenig, Shaggy, Wyclef, Tyga, and about 30 others. No way Diplo and his revolving door of hype men can reproduce such stardom, but here's guaranteeing an assembly of concertgoers onstage to twerk. Maybe during the homage to recently departed collaborator Nicky Da B, made famous through Dip's "Express Yourself"? "When You Hear the Bassline," you go oomp! – Chase Hoffberger
Juanes
7:30pm, Austin Ventures stage
After 11 years with Colombian thrash metal band Ekhymosis, Juanes reinvented himself as a solo act in 2000 with Fijate Bien. March's Loco de Amor blends the 42-year-old's honeyed voice with wicked percussion and misty dance beats, the same recipe that earned him a slew of Latin Grammys in the last decade. – Nina Hernandez
