In 2013, back when hip-hop was scarcely represented in Zilker Park, the young Compton rapper stole the show on a side stage – drawing a headliner-sized crowd as he stoically performed cuts from the previous year’s instant classic good kid, m.A.A.d city. “He didn’t dance, he didn’t sweat. He just stood in front of his band and made everyone go apeshit using his words,” I wrote at the time, adding, “No performer before or after Lamar received such a rapturous response.”
At the end of that breakout performance, he stared at the audience and repeated: “I will be back. I will be back. I. Will. Be. Back.”
That proved true as he returned to headline the festival in 2016 on the heels of his rap/jazz/funk/poetry masterwork To Pimp a Butterfly. By that time, his stage presence was so commanding that I imagined it akin to witnessing Bob Marley in the Seventies. Between songs, he’d speak his mind on something then say, “Do you agree?” and the audience would affirm their asses off. My wrap of that week risked hyperbole: “Kendrick Lamar will go down alongside Al Green (2006) and Stevie Wonder (2011) as one of the best headliners in ACL history.”
So, with Lamar set for a third triumphant appearance at the festival on Friday, what could possibly go wrong? The answer: “Plane issues.”
A collective groan emanated from the crowd around 8pm when the jumbotron displayed a card reading: “Due to plane issues, Kendrick Lamar’s performance tonight will be delayed. Further updates to come.” His 8:40pm start time came and went and, at 9:24pm, a new bulletin updated fans. “An abbreviated set by Kendrick Lamar will begin at 9:45,” which is just 15 minutes before the event’s amplified sound curfew hits – though there were rumors either he or the festival would potentially take a financial penalty from the city to exceed the allotted time limit. Until then, the waiting audience oohed and aahed to a mostly underwhelming drone light show.
The 65-minute delay only primed the tens of thousands of spectators for a momentous release when Lamar’s voice came over the speakers, singing the childlike intro of “N95” from 2022’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Follow-up “Element.” spiked the energy, leaving no doubt in the superstar lyricist’s credo: “I’m willin’ to die for this shit!”
But not show up on time for this shit.
After explaining that there had been an emergency issue with the plane he was flying on, Lamar addressed the elephant in the park: “I heard y’all have a curfew… I told them they’d have to shut off my mic.”
That drew huge applause, though it also proved prescient when eventually organizers did exactly that.
In short time, though, Lamar delivered. He was unrattled and on point in an outpouring of 11 truncated songs over 31 minutes that was generally satisfying as a condensed, hit-heavy version of his festival set. Regrettably, some of the cut-for-time setlist staples were his best verses: notably the 2013 Pusha T feature “Nosetalgia,” containing some of his most brilliant early bars, and the 2022 Grammy-winning single “The Heart Part 5.”
But no one missed a hit. “King Kunta,” “DNA.,” and “Humble.” all resonated. The unique group choreography that thrived on his recent Big Steppers Tour lent to the big stage spectacle. Meanwhile, there was a strange thrill in seeing the big red numbers of a digital clock tick behind him on stage, knowing the plug could be pulled at any moment and any song could be the last.
That time came at 10:15pm. He was already a minute into standard closer “Alright” when the volume in the main speakers abruptly faded, though he still had sound in his monitors so he kept performing – eventually realizing no one could hear him. After many fans booed or chanted “Fuck ACL,” they eventually sang along loudly to the anthem’s refrain: “We gon’ be alright! We gon’ be alright! We gon’ be alright!”
In the end, Lamar had something to say, but we don’t know what it was because the sound engineers declined to turn the microphone up, which made for a pretty awkward finale. I imagine he was saying: “I told you they’d have to shut off my mic.”
Keep up with all of The Austin Chronicle’s ACL 2023 coverage.
This article appears in October 6 • 2023.