Austin City Limits music festival started with a hard-rocking bang on Oct. 2 at Zilker Park.
Thousands gathered Oct. 2 at Zilker Park for day one of ACL 2015.
Many of the day’s artists channeled a mix of rock and roll guitar and soulful harmonies into each of their sets.
The festival opened at 11 a.m. with In the Whale, a spirited two-piece rock band from Denver, Colorado, taking over the Miller Lite stage.
Run the Jewels perform Oct. 2 at ACL 2015.
Later in the evening, Run the Jewels dominated the same stage for an hour of spirited hip-hop that inspired one of the most excited crowds of the day.
Killer Mike and El-P worked seamlessly to bring more than a dozen songs from the pairs albums to life.
The duo came onstage with Queen’s “We Are the Champions” echoing in the background and proceeded to laugh with the audience about a run in with law enforcement that almost kept them from performing.
“We was sitting in a border patrol office about 27 hours ago with two ounces of marijuana and no excuses,” Mike said. “But we made it.”
The group ended their show with a special guest performance by Gary Clark Jr.
The Foo Fighters headlined Friday night of the festival with 2-hours of music that explored 20 years of the bands hit songs.
Mandi Madrid, Austin resident, said she tries to see the band every time they are in town.
“The Foo Fighters performance is going to be a hard one to top this weekend for me,” Madrid said. “This is my third time seeing them and they just keep getting better and better.
The band opened with crowd favorite “Everlong” and continued to excite the audience throughout the set with favorites such as “The Pretender” and “Hero”.
Dave Grohl, lead singer, elicited a continuous roar from the crowd as he reminisced on previous stays in Austin.
“I usually thank the road crew because they’re big and hairy but tonight I’m thanking you Austin,” Grohl said to the thousands of fans in the audience. “I am going to thank you guys for letting us to come to your city and spend a week here recording a song from our record.”
Madrid said the way Grohl interacted with the crowd was unique from any other performance she had seen.
“Dave Grohl is a legend,” Madrid said. “What he does on stage is honestly magic to be a part of.”
Gary Clark Jr, warmed up the crowd for the impending Foo Fighters performance as the sun set behind the stage.
Clark performance featured fierce guitar and laid back melodies perfect for a relaxing pause before the headliners took the stage.
Disclosure performed for 90 minutes in front of a much younger crowd at the opposite end of Zilker Park.
Howard and Guy Lawrence, the brother duo behind the name, managed to incorporate what most audiences would expect at any other EDM concert while also utilizing drums, guitars, and vocals.
In a day where music legends and newcomers displayed their unique sounds to the audience, the use of instruments seemed to unite each performance.
In recent years a notable shift has taken place in the ACL lineup, with bands such as Bassnectar and Nero dominating headliner spots.
While the youth in the crowd definitely made it clear there is room for electronic music at the festival, Friday’s lineup, which was heavy with guitar solos, drum kits and live vocals, made it clear that live bands are here to stay.