ACL Lineup Is Here
In case you haven’t already heard, the full ACL Festival lineup was just released last night. You’ll see that many of the rumored bands have held to be true along with some other nice surprises. They got the flippin’ Strokes so I’m happy… See the full lineup here.
The best part about the headliners? I can leave early to miss the mass exodus of people.
That said, there are some real gems in this line-up like Beach House, Morning Benders and the National…not to mention lesser known acts like Mountain Goats and The Almighty Defenders.
So, not nearly as angry after seeing bands like The Strokes up there with the likes of Phish. I can already smell the patchuli.
Gotta say the bottom part of the lineup is awful. Like the bottom 30-40 bands are all head scratchers to me. I do like some of the mid-level stuff and of course The Strokes.
I have few qualms, but no “spit my coffe out moments”. Kinda bummed not to see Deerhunter on there, but apart from that, it’s 3/4 solid. Agree about the bottom bands, C3 could we at least get a few more local acts next time to round out the rest of the line-up?
You guys wanna meet up and hack pre-Phish? Seriously though, I am pretty excited to see them on the bill. Myself 5-years ago however, is ecstatic.
Agreed Jon. I mean Speak is our local representation!? Speak!? I am happy to see Balmorhea on the lineup but yes some better local bands would’ve been nice.
I just don’t think we’ll need to get there until after 2 every day.
Also, in speaking with some people, it just feels like I’ll be burnt out on these “buzz” bands by the time ACL comes around. I mean I was super pumped about Local Natives and Girls… 6-9 months ago. I hate to be that guy, but the buzz will have faded on bands like that by October. To quote a friend: “I feel like other festivals are more forward thinking than ACL.”
In summary: I like a lot of these bands but I have seen literally all of them. Some may cry that I get exposed to a lot via ATH… which is true… but come on, these bands were all here during SXSW, last couple months, Fun Fest, or ACL two years ago.
STROKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will agree that there are some good mid-range bands coming, but seeing as how 3 day passes sold out in record speed and I do not get free press passes (wink), I don’t think it would be worth it to spend 200-300 dollars buying day passes to see maybe 5 bands throughout the weekend that I’d be really excited about. I used to love you ACL, but you’re breaking my heart.
I don’t understand why people are crying about this lineup…yes, you get to see some bands that were here headlining a few years ago, or that were out at Fun x 3, but there are some really good bands people are overlooking, like RayRay.
First, Sonic Youth…this band has been killing it for over two decades, and you all must see them before you die.
Second, The Almighty Defenders. I mean, Black Lips and King Khan together!
Third, The National. We all love the new album, so why not see it live.
Fourth, Monsters of Folk. RayRay loves Jim James and M. Ward, so why not see Conor Oberst and Will Johnson on drums to rock it out?
Fifth, Foals. Lots of English bands don’t make it here enough, so I’m excited to see these cats.
I could go on and on with lots of the mid-major bands who haven’t been here in awhile, like Mountain Goats. Yes, the headliners are lame, and I’m tired of Flaming Lips/Spoon/Muse at ACL, but come on, Phish will be there.
Nathan, all you did was prove Stephanie’s point. 5 good bands for $200 is not worth the ticket price.
I probably should keep my mouth shut though since I likely won’t be paying for anything.
I wasn’t just giving five points, I just gave up as I could have gone on with the list, such as Mountain Goats, The Soft Pack, Lucero, Two Door Cinema Club, LCD Soundsystem, Beach House, The XX, Morning Benders, etc.
Sure, its expensive, but the line-up, minus the headliners is really solid.
Whether seen before or not, it’s nice to fill your quota all in one weekend. Most of these bands aren’t ever within 3 hrs of me.
Excited to see (in decending headliner order:)
Muse
The Strokes
Flaming Lips
LCD Soundsystem
Spoon
Band of Horses
Monsters of Folk
Gogol Bordello
The Black Keys
Broken Bells
Yeasayer
Matt + Kim
R. Randolph
Midlake
David Bazan
The Very Best!!! (this is one of those shows that should start small and then get much bigger as it goes on. Please don’t schedule this at 12:30…)
I pulled the lineup from the billboard article since ACL is blocked at work, but also saw this nugget:
“Last year’s ACL ranked No. 4 on
Billboard’s top 10 list of the highest-grossing festivals of 2009, pulling in $13.5 million and drawing 195,000 people over three years.”
That’s a lot of people.
Intrigued by the 1/3rd or so of the list that i’ve never heard about. Looking forward to hearing some new music, even if the buzz is waning…
Festivals blow unless they’re free or you’re hired as a roadie. Then you get to play drinking games with your favorite rock stars like Britt Daniel, James Murphy, & Don Henley oh my! These guys rock ‘n’ roll sooo hard. Bring on the after shows!
~Ramakins
Good to see Kings Go Forth on the line-up.