Austin City Limits 2019: Weekend Two Overview

Written by Ahmed Gul and Omer Shaikh

The weekend cold front that hit Texas brought Friday morning rain upon the city of Austin. For Austin City Limit attendees, the rain could either make or break their weekend at the festival. As the clouds moved away, and the sun shined, the gates opened to an unforgettable experience. From the music, to food & drinks, to the fashion, and most importantly the vibes— ACL successfully took on the challenge of putting together an action-packed and memorable festival experience.

Every year, thousands of people travel to the city of Austin to experience a nationally recognized music festival that puts recognizes the creative arts and fulfills the need for a weekend of fun and excitement. From little kids playing in front of the ACL Fest sign, to college students reuniting with their friends after exams, to families basking and appreciating the good weather; ACL really does cater to a diverse pool of people.

Friday evening, the Honda Stage was filled with anxious fans curious to see whether Lil Uzi Vert would show up after failing to show up Weekend One. Better late than never, Lil Uzi Vert took the stage 20 minutes late with a thrilling and smoke-filled entrance opening with "Sanguine Paradise". His passion throughout his performance truly empowered his fans to see his true intentions behind making music. During his final song, Lil Uzi chose to put the mic down and smile as he watched his fans sing his song for him. This really showed the deep appreciation he has for his fans.

On Friday, as the sun set and the night rose, the festival came to life as Guns N' Roses took the stage at 7:30pm electrifying the crowd with their captivating performance. They performed hits like "Sweet Child O’ Mine", "November Rain", "Knocking on Heaven’s Door", and "Welcome to the Jungle". They finished off their 90-minute set with fireworks.

With the free spirit of dancing and singing around ACL, Tame Impala wowed a crowd of passionate and lively fans with his Australian charm and thrilling light show. His most notable song performance was “The Less I Know The Better” where the entire venue sang along. As the vivid rainbow lights streamed across the park, attendees sought to capture these moments through his unforgettable set.

Saturday morning fans rushed through the gates to return to yet another day filled with even more action than the first day. There were many things to look forward to on Saturday, including Billie Eilish, Gary Clark Jr, and Childish Gambino. People waited for upwards of 6-8 hours to claim front row seats to Saturday night’s premiere of Childish Gambino.

Saturday afternoon started with heartbreak as Megan Thee Stallion failed to show up for her set. Fans eager to see her perform, some even attending ACL only to see Megan were truly heartbroken at the news that Megan was not performing. Megan quickly took to Twitter to apologize for her shortcoming, but fans angrily refused to accept her apology. “I apologize to my Austin hotties for not performing at my 1pm set at ACL today. Megan tweeted: “I did not make it in time from my show in another state the night before. I tried to still perform and they just told me my set was cancelled. I will do a make up show for my atx hotties soon.”

The somber mood of ACL was at the mercy of Billie Eilish to help fans reignite the energy back into the weekend. Being the youngest performer at ACL did not take away from her being the most creative and energetic stage performer during that day. The crowd sang their hearts out to hits including "Bad Guy", “Lovely", and "When the Party’s Over".

As she utilized the stage to its maximum potential, she took a moment to recognize her fans for enabling her career to takeoff so quickly at such a young age.

21 Savage quickly took the stage immediately after Billie Eilish. Fans ran across to park to secure a spot close to the front of the stage. Despite a few hiccups and technical issues during his set, the crowd continued to sing along and appreciate his setlist.

With the night still young, the main event of the weekend took the stage - Childish Gambino. Fans faced the stage, waiting for his entrance, only to be surprised when Gambino entered from behind on a raising platform. Gambino’s performance was brilliantly choreographed, with moments where he run through the crowd, embracing fans, taking selfies, and signing memorabilia. Gambino’s 90-minute set was filled with great music, dancing, finishing off with a spectacular fireworks show to end the night.

Sunday was a slow winddown from an actionpacked weekend full of great music. Great food, and great people. Lizzo and Mumford & Sons were the highlights of the day. As the ACL weekend came to an end, attendees made sure to appreciate the good weather and atmosphere. Yet another weekend of memories in the books as fulfilled fans exited the venue with smiles on their faces.

Topography: Rolling plains, mountains, volcanoes

It is important we do not stray from the ranges. If we venture too far into the plains (which legend says have craters so deep we will never escape if our feet misstep, and we will be exposed to the rain forever), we could get lost in their endless sameness. We do not know what lies on the other side of the flat sands. Maybe there is more like us, and we would not be so lonely if we were to find them. But we cannot take the risk of losing our mountains. Their dry caves and impenetrable shells keep away the rains and winds and, for the most part, the nauseating smell of the storms. Our favorite mountain is the second highest from the surface. The opening of its safe space lets in the view of more volcanoes than any other. We used to fear the flying red liquid bursting from the secret pouch beneath our planet’s sands and rocks. It is by far more deadly than the rains, according to more legends. But we have learned where the volcanoes on this side of the plains are, and the red will not reach our skins if we use caution. So it is no longer frightening. It is beautiful to see our planet give birth to the red.

Life: A single creature known

There was a time when there was no we. This one body was an I. Then it was decided that I was too lonesome of a term. We was created so long ago, it’s hard to remember we ever were an I.

Sometimes, we lay on our back at the line marking the dangers of the plains that roll out as far as our eye can see. We put our arm behind our head and watch the super rotations. We wonder if our planet is spinning in circles this rapidly, or if it is the depressed, fat clouds traveling in a hurry. They never seem to stay in the same spot, but they never go away. We forgive them for keeping us down here while there is a possibility of unknowns they are not letting us see, because maybe they are being protective. We forgive them for their unpleasant smelling rains, because the precipitation from our eye has a bad odor when we are sad, too. We have been here for billions of heartbeats, millions of super rotations. Perhaps soon the dark masses will believe it is time for us to find another body, a friend, and break apart for us. We anticipate this with much excitement, because then we will not have to feel like we are so alone.

But we also are frightened. Legends have been proven false before. What if the clouds part, and we discover that we truly and incurably are alone?