Hozier’s Heavenly Vocals, Sabrina’s Crowd Chaos and The Killers Killin’ it at ACL

With headliners like The Strokes, Sabrina Carpenter, John Summit, and Luke Combs, there’s no question why Austin City Limits brought a crowd of 75,000 people per day, according to Texas Lifestyle Magazine.

Despite temperatures reaching the 90s, crowds stampeded in early to rush to the barricade, not wanting to risk missing out on  viewing their favorite artist without obstructions.

The festival boomed with energy and didn’t shy away from welcoming people of all ages and music tastes. There were even special appearances from local Texans like Matthew McConaughey to surprise appearance guests like Lizzy McAlpine during Role Model’s set.

Regardless of whatever plans attendees made in order to see multiple sets, crowds still made it particularly difficult to maneuver through the park, and it was not uncommon to get stuck by stages.

With the lineup that big, fans had to make a very big decision: Which artist were they going to see?

Here is what this WIM reporter observed during weekend two:

Day 1

To see Hozier’s set, which this WIM reporter was dedicated to, I sat barricade at the T-Mobile stage for about eight hours and watched King Princess and Role Model in order to watch Hozier’s last performance in the United States for his “Unreal Unearth” tour.

Role Model drew in plenty of fans that crowded the T - Mobile stage fast before headliner Hozier.

American singer and songwriter Role Model performs on the T - Mobile stage Oct. 10.

The alternative pop singer brought out Hillary Duff weekend one to be his “Sally” and Lizzy McAlpine

Irish singer Hozier preforms “Jackie and Wilson” at the T - Mo bile stage Oct. 10.

Hozier preforms “Movement” before closing with “Nina Cried Power” and “Take Me to Church.”

Hozier switched guitars throughout the night as he sang songs from his several albums including his

During his set, screen behind him displayed different graphics, some even showing clips from his mus

Photos by Annabella Mireles 

Although the T-Mobile stage did not face the Texas sun, fans in the crowd unfortunately did. While getting “toasty,” King Princess delivered great stage presence while fashioning black leather chaps and a white tank top, a staple of hers. Her setlist included new hits like “Fantastic” from the popular Netflix series,  “Arcane,” “Pain” which was featured in the 2023 film, “Bottoms,” “1950” her first release and “Pussy is God,” just to name a few. This was done in front of a huge screen displaying graphics like a woman wearing a shirt that says, “your girlfriend loves King Princess.”

Role Model also knew how to excite his fans and drew a large crowd of people that reached far past the front of house. In true Texas spirit, he danced around with fellow singer Lizzy McAlpine during “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” which I have to say, wasn’t as iconic as weekend one’s Hilary Duff cameo. His set was lively, fun and got the crowd pumped before Hozier’s emotional ride.

During Hozier’s performance, the Irish singer graced the stage with graphics like a large skull that loomed and followed him as he walked along the stage. Later, he displayed statistics such as the net worth of the world’s five richest people and the homeless population in the UK while he sang “Eat Your Young.” Before he sang “Cherry Wine” and “Unknown,” he went down into the audience to the “B” stage for a more intimate performance with his crowd of thousands. His most memorable performance though, had to be “Nina Cried Power” who he did a duet with alongside Amanda Brown.

Day 2

My second day consisted of roaming the American Express stage in preparation for Carpenter’s performance. In doing this, I also witnessed Marina’s set and Doechii’s set.

Considering the Amex stage is facing the sun, Marina played it smart and brought out a white and black Parasol and sunglasses. Her set started strong with “PRINCESS OF POWER” followed by “Are You Satisfied?” The Welsh singer carried the umbrella for most of the set while singing by her mic wrapped in pink ribbon. Fans tossed up their fans and sang a lot to hits like “Primadonna” and “How to be a Heartbreaker” as they warmed up their voices for Sabrina.

Doechii followed and did not disappoint. Although her set seemed to get the worst of the heat since she went on at 6:30 P.M. and her jewelry occasionally fell off, her energy was unmatched along with DJ Miss Milan who kept the crowd jumping to songs like “Alter Ego” and her version of “America Has a Problem” by Beyonce.

Sabrina Carpenter performs “Manchild” on the American Express Stage Oct. 11.

Carpenter’s stage was one of the more elaborate at the festival, featuring a double staircase.

Carpenter sings “Sharpest Tool” and dances alongside her backup dancers.

Photos by Annabella Mireles  

As soon as Doechii’s set ended, the crowd packed like sardines and gave no space to move. Oddly enough, it was Carpenter’s set where I witnessed the most chaos. A few men started fighting, women were crying as they desperately tried to make their way to the front, and people fainted left and right. The stage held a double staircase where backup dancers paraded before Carpenter finally came out and gave the crowd what they were waiting for. The stage illuminated blues, pinks and greens as she sang her best hits and a few tunes from her fifth studio album, “Emails I Can’t Send.” Between songs, the screens displayed vintage style commercials teasing her next song which seemed to rile up the crowd. She ended her set by surprising everyone and sang from a crane that hovered her above the audience as she waved goodbye.

Day 3

I started my day at The Dare’s set which grew quite a crowd as the singer had several sound systems displayed behind him and wore his suit and sunglasses. 

“This is probably the first time I’ve worn sunglasses for their actual purpose,” he said as he performed in the heat. 

He was a solo performance and played his Korg MS-20 synth that went along with his early 2000s NYC dance-punk style that gave new fans more than a taste of indie-sleaze.

After his set, I made my way over to T-Pain who seemed to be a crowd favorite. 

He joked about his age and said, “I’m a week older than that last time…I mean my knees have been much worse. I ain’t tripping.” 

Despite him saying this, it didn’t seem to deter him from giving the crowd a great performance. The audience did not seem too tightly packed for this set, not because there was not a lot of people, but because they needed space to dance, and that is exactly what everyone did.

Finally, for me, was The Killers who claimed their weekend one performance was just their rehearsal. Lead singer Brandon Flowers sported a teal suit that was as electric as his energy. They surprisingly opened with their biggest hit, “Mr. Brightside,” which almost seemed to be a diss at the grand crowd at John Summit’s stage. They followed with “Spaceman” and “Jenny was a Friend of Mine” and later ended with “All These Things That I’ve Done.”

Their set was a great way to end the three-day festival, and although my feet and back were in immense pain, it somehow went away when I was listening to my favorite artists.

Austin City Limits did it again and didn’t hold back. Even when fans were not at the stage, they could choose between the 50 local food vendors at the “ACL Eats & Sweets” areas, take a break at the Tito’s air conditioned lounge, and visit the artisan vendors who sold items like custom bandanas, jewelry, and hats to name a few.

One of my biggest observations of Austin City Limits is this: This festival is for EVERYBODY!

“Austin Kiddie Limits” provides an area for younger audiences and offered family-friendly music and a “Tag-Your-Kid” which is a great way to keep families together through the crowds. The “Big Tent” provided a cool-down spot as well as large TVs for those who don’t want to miss the weekend football games as well as plenty of areas for people to camp out and drink in between sets.

From music genres like EDM, rock, hip-hop, folk and country to food from global cuisine for the foodies to shopping areas for the merch hunters, this festival truly has no limits.

About Me

Annabella Mireles is a creative writing MFA student at UTEP with her bachelor’s in digital media production. She is a freelance photographer and writer with works published in The Prospector Newspaper, Minero Magazine and The City Magazine.