ACL WE2 – Saturday in Photos

Saturday may not have been the strongest lineup, but it was awfully photogenic.

Slaves was a pure musical highlight for me; British punk rock from two individuals that believe in the songs and enjoy what they do. More on that after the break. JR JR was the surprise set of the day, far more fun than I imagined it would be, shiny things. Saint Motel has left the ATH behind, now a solid fest headliner after we spring-boarded the band with a Stubb’s Inside booking, sarcasm. Andra Day is terribly talented, but not my jam. LL Cool J was the throwback performance we deserved. The Naked and Famous used black and white outfits and high energy from the crowd to fill a memory card. #jumpshot Blue Healer won the day for the locals, strong set getting the crowd to stop and listen. Two Door Cinema Club put down the best festival set, admitting the crowd, in spite of how favorably they responded to the new songs, wanted bangers. Finally, I finished with a little Connor Oberst before heading out.

Read on past the break and then look at the pretty pictures.

Slaves shared angryish punk protest songs. They also asked everyone to hug each other, including the Police officers monitoring the hospitality areas near the stage. It was a lovely moment, audience members, security people, police, all hugging. LL can sweat. Shout out to the sign language team; their physicality with the LL set was rad. Blue Healer‘s late in the day spot at BMI was just lovely, warm sun, happy to be there band and crowd. It was good times. Melanie Martinez was creepy.

Pics.