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The 2022 Austin City Limits music festival took over Zilker Park for two weekends in October and our team is onsite capturing photos, pop-up performances backstage and interviews with some of our favorite artists performing at this year’s festival. Keep your browser pointed here for all of our photos coming in from the park!
Spoon
Quick: name a band with a twenty-year career that has never released a weak album, and is still doing some of their most vital work. There’s one correct answer: Austin’s Spoon. They’ve been wowing audiences all over playing songs from their latest, Lucifer on the Sofa, while ripping into their back catalog and springing other surprises.
Danielle Ponder
Though music has always run deep in her genes, New York’s Danielle Ponder was a public defender before committing full-time to her inspired soul music. Justice still rings out throughout the songs in her debut album, Some Of Us Are Brave.
Culture Club
80’s British pop icon Boy George treated fans to smash hits like “Karma Chameleon” and “Never Going To Hurt You” as well as a handful of covers including “Sympathy For The Devil” from fellow English rockers The Rolling Stones. Not to mention a fabulous bowler hat and tartan trouser combo that only he could pull off.
Flora and Fawna
As Austin’s Flora and Fawna, songwriters Lili Hickman and Mason Ables blend their voices into a rhythmic deep city groove. They take the ACL stage with a trio of new 2022 singles. Their latest, “Never Mine”, was released in September.
Death Cab For Cutie
A late addition to the ACL lineup, Ben Gibbard and band are back with a brand new quarantine-inspired album, Asphalt Meadows, and Gibbard puts his edgy days on pause. “I am learning to let go of everything I tried to hold.”
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
The antithesis of an overnight success, Nathaniel Rateliff’s organic build to superstar status has been something to see. His latest album with the Night Sweats, The Future, was released in 2021.
Phoenix
Bubbly French pop-rockers return to ACL Fest armed with a lot of new material from their upcoming Alpha Zulu album.
Arlo Parks
Arlo Parks released her debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams to rave reviews last year. The British artist combines indie pop sounds with perceptive, poetic lyrics about romance, whether it’s falling in love or dreaming herself away. She brought this music to ACL Fest this year, playing both Fridays, October 7 and October 14.
Paramore
Fronted by Hayley Williams, Franklin Tennessee’s crunchy alt-rockers Paramore are survivors. Neither their revolving door of personnel changes nor a lyric controversy over their biggest song, “Misery Business”, have done anything to slow down their career trajectory. Their extensive fall 2022 tour includes ACL Fest and a lot of new material from their soon-to-be-released album This Is Why, their first since 2017.
Dehd
Accelerated indie rock guitars and dynamic vocal interplay exemplify the sound of Chicago trio Dehd. Despite only being together since 2015, the band just released their fourth album, Blue Skies, and they remain steadfast in their approach – driving rock, post-punk but not quite, made unique by vocalist Emily Kempf’s potent screams and yowls.
Diplo
Dj/producer Diplo, through his work with Major Lazer, LSD, Jack U, and his label Mad Decent, is as much a svengali as a star in the electronic scene. His 2022 release, Diplo, features collaborations with Leon Bridges, Elderbrook, Lil Yachty and Jungle, amazon many others.
Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X’s career began with the country-rap song “Old Town Road”, and Billy Ray Cyrus came on board for a remix when Billboard removed the hit from the country charts. Controversy has been part of the package ever since, and Lil Nas X has faced it all with boldness and fierce creativity. The openly gay rapper released his debut album, Montero, in 2021, and the explicit video that accompanied it created another firestorm. And a platinum #1 smash.
Adrian Quesadas Boleros Psicodelicos
Mining the over-the-top melodrama of the psychedelic baladas that permeated late sixties Latin America, Quesada, the guitarist/producer/Black Pumas wunderkind, has made one of the year’s best albums, putting a modern spin on the classics with a variety of co-conspirators, and even writing some originals. The live recreation is not to be missed.
Omar Apollo
Now in his mid-twenties and riding high on the release of his first full-length album, Ivory. Omar Apollo has come a long way from the kid who uploaded songs to Soundcloud while working at Jimmy John’s. Expanding his musical palette, this bilingual r&b star, born in Indiana to Mexican parents, incorporates everything from Minnie Riperton to Prince.
Jazmine Sullivan
Releasing her first album in six years, 2021’s Heaux Tales (and its greatly expanded 2022 re-release) became watershed moments for this Philly R&B star. Despite platinum records and near-universal acclaim, her bracingly honest studies of heartbreak, female attitudes, insecurities and sexual empowerment turned even more heads in her direction.
Walt Disco
Six piece Scottish band, Walt Disco, brought the self-loving glam world they live in to Austin for weekend one of ACL. The performance of their debut album Unlearning does nothing more than say that anything goes- as long as they’re having a good time.
Happie Hoffman
Charged by music from an early age, Happie Hoffman embraces the sonic emotions of her talents in the music she creates. Her crimson ruffles & rose petal graphics offered an ethereal vocal soltace for the dust covered concert goers of ACL weekend two.
Kacey Musgraves
Well before 2018’s Golden Hour swept the Grammys, Texan Kacey Musgraves was already building a solid repertoire with bold songs that speak to the heart. Her latest album, Star-Crossed, was released in late 2021.
L’Impératrice
There was a certain je nais se quoi that graced ACL found only at the performance of France’s very own pop disco troop, L’Impératrice. Founded in 2012, L’Impératrice, or it’s English moniker “The Empress”, has been creating their own brand of English/French melodies that tend to reach beyond the visible.
Flume
Accompanied by his trusty synthesizers & surrealist graphics, Flume ended the long & winded Saturday night of weekend two bringing nothing but vibes to his faithful fans.
Backstage
Me Nd Adam
Me Nd Adam’s Vince Winik and Adam Walker channel power pop icons of yesteryear with hard-hitting party anthems forged in the crucible of New Orleans’ legendary nightlife. Unfortunately for the self-professed trashwave pioneers, the good times and their debut album American Drip Pt. 1, hit the unforeseen roadblock of a global pandemic. A couple of years and millions of streams later and the dynamic duo is back with a mixtape of new music just in time for their Austin City Limits Festival debut.
Urban Heat
You don’t need combat boots to dance along with ATX darkwave trio Urban Heat, but after a set with Jonathon Horstman’s romantic baritone, you may find yourself lamenting the lack of fishnets and black eyeliner in your wardrobe. Bassy analog arpeggios, body-moving industrial beats, and 80’s post-punk swagger await you with our former Artist of the Month.
John Wesley Rogers
Born in small-town Missouri, Rogers came out to his parents at age six but hid his orientation until attending college in Nashville. There his performances attracted the attention of the industry, and after several successful independent releases, he was signed to Warner Records. His flamboyant stage presence has earned him comparisons to Elton John (who’s also a fan).
Como Las Movies
After a COVID layoff, the easy international charm of “Cafe” and an ACL Fest appearance mark a return to form for Nelson Valente Aguilar’s long-running Austin band Como las Movies.
Good Looks
A powerhouse band with unusually canny songwriting, their EP Bummer Year put this Austin band front and center on the city’s musical map. Weathering some setbacks, the band is back in full force, and ready to take to the ACL stage.
Jake Lloyd
Former KUTX Artist of the Month has been a prolific and supportive artist on the Austin scene, releasing singles crossing a diversity of genres. “Sweat”, his latest, was released in September.
Wet Leg
After wowing everyone during SXSW, these Isle of Wight rockers return to dazzle us all over again.
Sarah Kinsley
Born in rural California, classically-trained Sarah Kinsley attended middle school in Singapore before eventually landing in New York. Her precisely crafted musical storytelling has earned her raves.
Japanese Breakfast
Much has been said about Koren-American Michelle Zauner, and with good reason. Her tales of detachment and heartbreak have not only framed a best-selling memoir, Crying In H-Mart (soon to be made into a film), but the relatable songs of her band Japanese Breakfast. Jubilee, Japanese Breakfast’s 3rd album from 2021, is their most fully realized. Zauner’s songs are confessional but unsentimental; her unique perspective unparalleled.
Buffalo Nichols
Buffalo (real name: Carl) Nichol’s thin and wiry music bristles in the best American blues tradition. Nichols’ unadorned voice is framed by steel picking, while the occasional bass drum wanders in to lay down a beat. His evocative storytelling speaks of a country that doesn’t work for everyone, with a voice in turns gritty, soulful, impassioned. Born in Houston, raised in Milwaukee, now based in Austin, Nichols leaves wide-open spaces in his songs that speak of his own nomadic existence. His debut album, Buffalo Nichols, is out now on Fat Possum Records, their first present-day blues signing in years.
Sofi Tukker
2015’s Grammy-nominated “Drinkee” set the formula: droll, clever, and inordinately catchy. Everything since from this duo of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, known as Sofi Tukker, has followed suit. Their latest album, Wet Tennis, has already yielded several hits. On their latest single, “Kakee”, a surf guitar hook sits atop a new wave backbeat.
Tobe Nwigwe
A torn ligament kept him from a likely NFL career. Instead, Houston Nigerian Tobe Nwigwe has made himself the city’s foremost conscious rapper. The independent artist has been dropping his weekly songs and videos for years and has made fans of everyone from Erykah Badu to Michelle Obama. The subjects are both secular and spiritual, but none caught fire quite like his post on Breanna Taylor. For Ngigwe, it’s all about the message. “Peep my essence/I keep all more flows open-minded so you can see the blessings.”
Big Boi
Outkast’s memorable 2014 reunion hit ACL Fest, but in truth the duo are now fifteen years in the rear-view mirror. And since that time, the irrepressible Big Boi has never skipped a beat. In addition to numerous film and tv appearances, he’s released a string of hit singles and solo albums (his last album was 2017’s Boomiverse, but he’s showing up as a collaborator on everyone’s projects. He also released The Big Sleepover with Sleepy Brown in 2021.
Sarah and the Sundays
@sarahandthesundays wanted to be the Sundays until fans of the nineties Bristol band objected. Thus the odd moniker. None of that stopped them and their videos from achieving viral combustion, a trend that continues with their latest single, “Vices”, off their soon-to-be-released debut full-length album, “The Living End.” The band brought a crowd of young fans to the BMI stage for their early evening set on Friday of weekend one.
Sarah Kinsley
As a classically trained pianist, Sarah Kinsley is no stranger to the intensity & intimacy of her past youth orchestra life- something that’s become a core aspect of her music. However, no matter the influence, style, or arrangment, there are no boundaries for Kinsley to let her musical artistry roam free.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The tube sock era has long passed, but guitarist Frusciante is back (again). Inching towards their fourth decade of punky white funk, California’s Red Hot Chili Peppers are not even thinking of slowing down. They’ve released two albums this year alone, Unlimited Love and the live Return of the Dream Canteen.
Magdalena Bay
The sweeping pop of Magdalena Bay, the LA duo both of Argentine descent, continues to trap more and more in their gravitational pull. A series of singles and EPs culminated in the their acclaimed debut album, Mercurial World, released in 2021.
Marcus Mumford
Californian Mumford leaned heavy into the unlikely pop stardom of his group Mumford and Sons. Now he’s stepped back into his more comfy rootsy beginnings. His new album, Self-Titled, features lots of guests and a natural vibe, replicated here at ACL.
Samia
It’s been nearly two years since Samia’s hit Big Wheel, but her performace at weekend two of ACL proves no signs of stopping for this soft pop muse. Her latest single Kill Her Freak Out did nothing short of capture her audience & certainly bring out the feels on stage.
Princess Nokia
Known for telling it straight up & praised for her feminity, Princess Nokia was more than excited to bring her latest single Diva to ACL for weekend two. The New York born, Puerto Rican trap queen flaunted a Lavagirl reminicsent outfit letting audiences know she meant business.
Portraits
