Austin City Limits 2013

After many consecutive years of sell-out crowds, Austin City Limits is doubling down to accommodate more fans this October.

ACL will announce on Monday that it will showcase back-to-back offerings of the same great lineup of music, art, local food and activities to Zilker Park this year. Weekend One is happening October 4-6, 2013 and Weekend Two is happening October 11-13, 2013. With almost 140 acts already signed, this year's fest is sure to be a doozy.

Already inked:

DEPECHE MODE
THE CURE
MUSE
KINGS OF LEON
ATOMS FOR PEACE
LIONEL RICHIE
PHOENIX
WILCO
VAMPIRE WEEKEND
THE NATIONAL
ERIC CHURCH
PASSION PIT
ARCTIC MONKEYS
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
FUN.
KENDRICK LAMAR
FRANZ FERDINAND
D'ANGELO
KASKADE
TAME IMPALA
LOCAL NATIVES
THE SHOUTING MATCHES
TORO Y MOI
GRIMES
PORTUGAL. THE MAN
SILVERSUN PICKUPS
THE JOY FORMIDABLE
NEKO CASE
DIVINE FITS
GROUPLOVE
JIMMY EAT WORLD
THE BLACK ANGELS
THE BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR
THE MAVERICKS
OKKERVIL RIVER
SHUGGIE OTIS
PURITY RING
DAWES
HAIM
SMITH WESTERNS
JUNIP
WALK THE MOON
VINTAGE TROUBLE
NOAH AND THE WHALE
PAPER DIAMOND
LISSIE
PINBACK
THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION
WILD BELLE
PHOSPHORESCENT
COURT YARD HOUNDS
THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN
FOXYGEN
LITTLE GREEN CARS
SAVAGES
AUTRE NE VEUT
PARQUET COURTS
FIDLAR
WHITE DENIM
TRUE BELIEVERS
THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA
DELTA RAE
JAKE BUGG
THE LONE BELLOW
ELECTRIC GUEST
DAN CROLL
DEAP VALLY
WILD NOTHING
TYPHOON
HUNDRED WATERS
TWIN FORKS
RED BARAAT
ELECTRIC SIX
SHOVELS & ROPE
REIGNWOLF
MONA
MS MR
WIDOWSPEAK
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
BEAR MOUNTAIN
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS
JD MCPHERSON
PACHA MASSIVE
VALERIE JUNE
WILD FEATHERS
ROADKILL GHOST CHOIR
JC BROOKS AND THE UPTOWN SOUND
DESERT NOISES
THE BAND OF HEATHENS
HOLLY WILLIAMS
ALANNA ROYALE
CHERUB
THE DYNAMITES FEAT. CHARLES WALKER
SHINYRIBS
JACUZZI BOYS
WICK-IT THE INSTIGATOR
SHAKEY GRAVES
HOUNDMOUTH
WILD CUB
PETERSON BROTHERS BAND
LUELLA AND THE SUN
X AMBASSADORS
SONS OF FATHERS
COURRIER
MY JERUSALEM
NOT IN THE FACE
DANA FALCONBERRY
BOBBY JEALOUSY
WHISKEY SHIVERS
THE PRESERVATION
MAX FROST
LATASHA LEE & THE BLACKTIES
CALEB
SHANNON LABRIE
ANDREW DUHON
KRISTIN DIABLE & THE CITY
COLIN LAKE
BROOKE WAGGONER
TYREE MORRIS & HEARTS OF WORSHIP
ENDURANCE
THE STAPLETONES
HEAVENLY VOICES CHOIR
THE MCCRARY SISTERS
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST
THE HENSLEY ENSEMBLE
THE DURDENS
THE WARRIOR GOSPEL BAND
BARTON HILLS CHOIR
THE VERVE PIPE
SCHOOL OF ROCK
TIM AND THE SPACE CADETS
PETER DISTEFANO & TOR
GRACE LONDON
PLAYDATE
THE OHMIES
THE Q BROTHERS
ANDY Z
CASPAR BABYPANTS

Please note that backstage passes will be for an individual weekend only. Request yours now!

Member Review: Kings of Leon

BPD subscriber xxxbaker writes:

The big question on everyone’s minds was how would lead singer-guitarist Caleb Followill look and sound?

The answer is that the rest appears to have at least done Caleb’s voice some good even if he looked a little shaggy with facial hair and appeared, along with the rest of the group, pretty tentative for most of the night.

The southern-fried garage rockers kicked off their hour-and-40-minute performance with Radioactive from their 2010 album Come Around Sundown but it was as if a lot of the joy had left the group.

They seemed to keep their energy contained within themselves instead of sharing it with each other or the audience.

The first flub of the night came about six songs in when they started, then stopped, then restarted the normally anthemic Fans for reasons that weren’t clear.

The crowd was forgiving, however, gamely singing along on the next new song, Back Down South, as the two video screens on either side of the stripped down stage showed waving fields of wheat and back roads, before joining in on the old favourite Milk which was followed by another slow-tempoed number Arizona.

Slowly, the band started to find their footing with Slow Night, So Long, Molly’s Chambers and Closer as the large three-paneled video screens behind them finally came to life but they never really set the place on fire until the top of the first hour with On Call and Knocked Up, which both prompted crowd clap and singalongs.

Then it was time for the mother of them all - Sex On Fire - which closed the set before a five minute break leading into the lively encore of The Bucket, the anthemic Use Somebody and Black Thumbnail which ended the evening punctuated by fireworks and firebursts.

I would say that the show was C+. Maybe they need more time off, I don't know. They were cordial backstage to me but it felt that fans were more of a bother than anything else to them right now.

Bonnaroo Followup

Although the list remains incomplete, the initially posted lineup is nonetheless quite impressive. Consider:

Dave Matthews Band • Kings of Leon • Stevie Wonder • Jay-Z • Tenacious D • Weezer • The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform "Dark Side of the Moon" • The Dead Weather • Damian Marley & Nas • Phoenix • Norah Jones • Michael Franti & Spearhead • John Fogerty • Regina Spektor • Jimmy Cliff • LCD Soundsystem • The Avett Brothers • Thievery Corporation • Rise Against • Tori Amos • The National • Zac Brown Band • Les Claypool • John Prine • The Black Keys • Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers • Jeff Beck • Dropkick Murphys • She & Him • Against Me! • The Disco Biscuits • Daryl Hall & Chromeo • Jamey Johnson • Clutch • Bassnectar • Kid Cudi • Baaba Maal • Kris Kristofferson • Medeski Martin & Wood • The xx • GWAR • Dan Deacon Ensemble • Tinariwen • Wale • Deadmau5 • The Melvins • Gaslight Anthem • Miike Snow • The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band • Dr. Dog • They Might Be Giants • Punch Brothers • Isis • Blitzen Trapper • Blues Traveler • Miranda Lambert • Calexico • OK Go • Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue • Martin Sexton • Lotus • Baroness • Dave Rawlings Machine • Mayer Hawthorne and the County • Japandroids • Jay Electronica • Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros • Ingrid Michaelson • The Dodos • Manchester Orchestra • The Temper Trap • Cross Canadian Ragweed • Big Sam's Funky Nation • Carolina Chocolate Drops • Needtobreathe • Tokyo Police Club • The Entrance Band • Local Natives • Brandi Carlile • Mumford & Sons • Rebelution • Diane Birch • Monte Montgomery • Julia Nunes • The Postelles • Lucero • Here We Go Magic • Hot Rize • Neon Indian • B.O.B

Our suspicion is that some of the biggies are still to be announced.

If you've been living on Mars, FYI, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a four-day, multi-stage camping festival held on a beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee every June. Bonnaroo brings together some of the best performers in rock and roll, along with dozens of artists in complementary styles such as jazz, Americana, hip-hop, electronica, and just about any contemporary music you can think of. In addition to dozens of epic performances, the festival's 100-acre entertainment village buzzes around the clock with attractions and activities including a classic arcade, on-site cinema, silent disco, comedy club, theater performers, a beer festival, and a music technology village.

The dates this year are June 10-13 and we WILL have passes. Make your requests asap for this premier outdoor fest.

Member Review: Kings of Leon

BPD member DaCrawDaddy wrote:

Sex, guitars, tattooed drummers, dark and moody looks, and disciplined raw power. Those are the rock and roll truths. Those are the Kings of Leon.

The Kings are singer Caleb Followill, with brothers Nathan and Jared on drums and bass and cousin Matt on lead guitar: three sons of a preacher man and their cousin.

Kings of Leon is a throwback to the 1960s and 1970s, when rock and roll was the common voice of a whole generation.

So it goes with Kings of Leon, a nostalgic rarity, a fashionably out of date, traditional Southern American blues rock and roll band which has more in common with bands from a generation and more earlier -- The Doors and The Black Crowes.

This was garage rock on a grand scale. Hell, there was no mistaking the lack of pretense, cliche or posing from this band, right down to the DIY band- logo taped onto the bass drum.

"You guys still having fun out there?" teased Caleb mid-set. Everybody was already having a lot of fun and ready for more. The teasing line was followed by a challenge to his bandmates.

"How are you doing up here on stage? You having fun?" he asked, looking around.

That meant it was time for Sex on Fire, the KOL anthem and a contender for the rock hall of fame.

With the light show burning red and the fans singing along massively, Sex on Fire burned along -- and the night was officially hot. It had been hot all night with only Caleb's three visits from me (as the designated refreshment deliverer) bringing some liquid coolant a cause for worry.

"In the last few days, we've come down with a cold or something. I know I'm not supposed to drink, but................ Would you take care of us while we're out front?" he had asked me before they took the stage. How could I say no?

Three times, though? Maybe all that sexy sweat on the frontman was a cold and maybe that held him back. Maybe. He did spit on stage at one point -- and not in a Johnny Rotten, let's spew all over the fans way. Maybe not. The only one of the band to move around much, he has finely judged prowl to go with his sweetly strong growls.

Their latest album, Only By the Night, celebrates its first birthday later this week and the hits just keep on coming.

The lead single Sex On Fire was No. 1 on the "Modern Rock" charts forever.

The second single, Use Somebody, came along with a video that long since cleared six million views on YouTube. It arrived in the encore in last night's set, long after songs like Notion and Crawl.

Kings of Leon were mostly brilliant, that is if your notion of a solid rock concert is less-is-more.

Serving refreshments? Now that's quite a gig!!

Our members sure do seem to have a good time. Want some? Join today.