It was one of those moments you feel truly blessed to call Austin home. Sheer bliss.
There are days when you fall in love with a city all over again. Saturday was one of those days for me. It’s hard to beat a crisp, clear October afternoon in Austin. When you add music in the mix—it’s heavenly.
Every year, I ask myself, “Do I really want to fight the crowds at ACL Fest?” After all, I can see some of these bands in a more intimate setting throughout the year here in the Live Music Capital of the World. But every year, I realize that plodding along through throngs of people is worth it! You can’t replicate the energy and enthusiasm of music fans seeing their favorite groups against the backdrop of the city skyline.
The musicians seem to give bigger and better performances. Trombone Shorty is quite a showman. I’ve been treated to his show in a smaller venue in Austin, but when he brought members of the Longhorn Band on stage to fill out his horn section and then jumped into the audience on the lawn below, the crowd went wild! You can’t replicate that in the confines of a club.
Each performer adds an outdoor touch that grabs the group. For Broken Bells, it was giant purple balloons we bounced above our heads with giddy, childlike delight. Those balls matched the hue that hovered over the hills as the sun set over the Violet Crown.I looked up in the sky and saw the moon bathed in the bright spotlights from the stages.
It was one of those moments you feel truly blessed to call Austin home. Sheer bliss.
Photograph of Trombone Shorty courtesy of the Austin American-Statesman