The 2014 Austin City Limits Music Festival launched on Friday (Oct. 3) just as the heat from the hot Texas summer finally broke, with acts like Chvrches, Childish Gambino, Sam Smith and Outkast delighting the massive crowds.
ACL Music Festival 2014 Preview: Double Weekends, Cashless Wristbands and a Golden Porta Potty
On Thursday evening, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, one of the 2014 ACL Music Festival’s major sponsors, hosted its annual “Hometown Shindig” at the renowned Stubb’s BBQ. Tito’s, a runaway success started in 1997 by a local Texas man (Bert “Tito” Beveridge), is one of the fastest growing liquor brands in the world.
This year’s Shindig featured Beck, who reprised much of his old catalog, mixing in several cuts from his most recent 2014 album, Morning Phase. While Morning Phase may be Beck’s second highest-charting album (it debuted at No. 3 in March), the crowd favorites eliciting an obvious reaction came from such classics as 2005’s Guero and 1996’s Odelay (1996).
Beck, who played ACL Music Festival’s main Samsung Stage (opposite Outkast) on Friday night, has recently had several media appearances. The first was on Conan as a part of a series celebrating George Harrison, where he performed “Wah-Wah” from Harrison’s 1970 album All Things Must Pass, which he performed Thursday at Stubb’s. The second appearance was on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver as a quick aside on a bit about how drone strikes “are uncomfortable to think about — like the fact that Beck is a Scientologist.”
“Last time I played here was about 20 years ago tonight” Beck exclaimed to the crowd at Stubb’s just after cycling through “Devil’s Haircut,” “Black Tambourine” and the crowd’s favorite, “Loser.”
Austin-based Asleep at the Wheel, along with Jimmy Cliff, Bleachers and Hozier kicked things off in the early afternoon at the ACL Music Festival on Friday, but it wasn’t until folks started getting off work that the crowds really picked up.
Chvrches, a regular on many of this year’s summer festival lineups, cycled through crowd favorites “Gun” and “Recover” at the Honda stage while saving “The Mother We Share” for an epic sing-along with the crowd, which then moved en masse to the Miller Lite stage for Smith. The British singer recreated the sing-along scenario, particularly with “I’m Not The Only One.” While his intimate ballads may not seem as conducive to a rowdy festival audience, Smith managed pulled off a magnificently engaging set.
It was at this point that we noticed just how immense the crowds seemed this year. Ranked the No. 2 highest-grossing festival in 2013, according to Billboard Boxscore, the ACL Music Festival is expected to draw more than 75,000 people per day this year.