With the Red Hot Chili Peppers taking their final bows to the audience, so ended the second weekend of the 2022 Austin City Limits Music Festival. This year marked the 20th anniversary of the festival, which first began in 2002 as a two-day festival featuring 67 bands. Now the event has not only expanded to two three-day weekends but also now hosts over 90 artists. Approximately 75,000 music lovers visited beautiful Zilker Park to absorb a very diverse lineup including the aforementioned Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Chicks, and Pink as headliners.
Here is a look back at some of the best performances from weekend two!
Friday night headliners, The Chicks kicked off the weekend with an incredible two-hour performance. The Chicks played all of the fan favorites like “Wide Open Spaces,” “Landslide,” as well as hits from their 2020 album “Gaslighter.” The night was made more special because it was Natalie Maines’ 48th birthday. To close out the night The Chicks finished with “Goodbye Earl.” Photo Credit Todd Owyoung
“Austin, my name is Conan,” Conan Gray shouted from the American Express stage to the crowd. “It’s good to be back in my hometown.” Gray, technically is from Georgetown, and throughout his performance hinted that some of the songs could be about people in the audience. Photo Credit Todd Owyoung
Saturday headliner entertained the fans by starting off her performance with hits like “Get the Party Started,” and “Just Give Me a Reason” before going into the classic Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody.” She ended her performance with a choreographed aerial routine as she sang “So What.” Photo Credit Todd Owyoung
The Bonus Tracks stage featured KUT programs “Tacos of Texas” and “Pause/Play,” as well as other informative discussions. Later in the afternoon the guests bust a move with “Bob’s Dance Shop.” Photo Credit Ashley Osborn
On Saturday, Lil Nas X took the ACL crowd to the future in a multi-act performance, which included at least six outfit changes and a huge golden Trojan horse. Photo Credit Greg Noire
Seattle rock band Death Cab for Cutie played before a large crowd on Saturday evening. “I’m going to tell my mom there were 400,00 people here,” commented frontman Ben Gibbard about the size of the crowd which came to watch them perform. Death Cab mixed songs from their new album, “Asphalt Meadows,” into their set which include fan favorites like “I Will Possess Your Heart,” “Black Sun,” and the love song “I will Follow You Into the Dark.” Photo Credit Ashley Osborn
The stage in the Tito’s tent was standing room only for Tulsa’s indie rock band, Wilderado. Known for their 2021 hit, “Head Right,” the band was one of the five bands to see in our ACL Fest preview article, and they didn’t disappoint. Photo Credit Roger Ho
As Kacey Musgraves took to the stage Sunday evening, with a burning heart in the background, tens of thousands of fans packed to see the performance many believe was the best of the weekend. The six-time Grammy winner played songs from her 2019 album “Golden Hour,” and 2021’s “Star-Crossed,” as well as a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” before ending her set with “Rainbow” and “Slow Burn.” Photo Credit Jackie Lee Young
As the closing act of the 2022 Austin City Limits Festival, the Red Hot Chili Peppers entertained the fans with their funk-rock fusion. Despite early audio issues, the Los Angeles rockers played through an hour and a half set which included favorites “Give it Away,” “Californication,” and the final song of their set “By the Way.” Photo Credit Todd Owyoung
With the 2022 version of ACL Fest in the rear view mirror, it is time to look forward to next year’s festival. Make plans in 2023 to be at Zilker Park on Oct 6th-8th and 13th-16th as the festival returns. Also keep up with all of the upcoming news about ticket sales, and lineup release sometime in May by visiting https://www.aclfestival.com/ and sign up for news and updates. Photo Credit Dusana Risovic
Brian Maass enjoys live music, and sharing good times at a local brewery or winery with his wife and friends. If he is not at a concert, then you will find him at a National Park photographing the amazing scenery this world has to offer.
