Music festival preview: COTA Fan Fest to bring Joan Jett, family fun to Austin this weekend

The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) hosts a big Grand Prix race every fall. While everyone may not be race fans, most people in Austin like free live music, food trucks, beer gardens and activities for kids. At least that is what COTA and event sponsors are betting on as Fan Fest begins Friday in downtown Austin. The lineup of musical acts is impressive for a free music festival. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, De La Soul, Black Joe Lewis, Devotchka and many other international and local acts are slated to perform through Sunday.

Fan Fest will take place October 31-November 2 across ten city blocks of downtown Austin from the Warehouse District to Republic Square Park beginning at 4 p.m. Friday. Live music acts... Continue reading at Axs.com

Live music preview: Utah indie rockers Desert Noises return to Stubb's Friday

Last March during South by Southwest we were invited to the Do512 Lounge to watch a few bands the entertainment site invited to perform. One of those bands, Desert Noises was so impressive for a young, unknown group we struggled to get them out of our head after the show. Fortunately, we never did get that foursome out of our head and we watched the indie rockers from Orem, Utah twice more after seeing them at SXSW. On Friday lead singer and songwriter, Kyle Henderson and company return to Stubb's BBQ to play on the inside stage.

We asked Henderson why the band likes playing Austin. He replied... Continue reading at Axs.com

Live music review: American Authors, Mowgli's packed Mohawk for Honda Civic Tour

On the surface, American Authors appear to be like most bands that appeal to the teen music fan set and to some extent that view is correct. The Brooklyn-based band that headlined theHonda Civic Tour at Austin's Mohawk last night goes deeper than that though. In fact, the band has impressive credentials as the members met at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston in 2006 before launching their music career as Blue Pages. The hundreds of teen girls who packed The Mohawk likely know all those details and more. Most of the young ladies near the front of the stage could be seen mouthing lyrics to all their songs (and covers) as the band ran through their ...Continue reading at axs.com

ACL festival review: Weekend two - Lorde, Pearl Jam, The Replacements, Avetts (photos and set lists)

Austin City Limits Festival (ACL Festival) felt like a repeat of weekend two last year. There was plenty of rain overnight on Saturday... just like last year. Except conditions were not nearly as bad and officials were able to get Zilker Park ready for the approximately 70,000 people who came to see Pearl Jam, Lorde, The Replacements, Iggy Azalea, The Avett Brothers, AFI and more acts at Austin's largest music festival which concluded Sunday evening after six days of performances and countless after shows.

This year ACL Festival was not exactly a repeat of last year's fiasco. Sunday was not... Continue reading at examiner.com

4 great moments from day one of Austin City Limits Festival 2014 weekend two

Day one of Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL Fest) weekend two was filled with many great moments as waves of music fans descended on Zilker Park yesterday. Beck delivered yet another outstanding set at the Samsung Galaxy Stage to close out the day. St. Vincent thrilled fans at the smaller Retail Me Not Stage. UK upstarts, Temples played swirling psych rock at the Miller Lite Stage mid-afternoon as the sun shone brightly on crowds. We got to spend a few minutes with some of the guys from Temples at their Waterloo Records autograph signing. Find complete autograph signing schedule here. We also discovered ...Continue reading at Examiner.com

ACL festival review: Pearl Jam, The Replacements thrilled Sunday crowds on day 3

Much like New Orleans' Jazz Fest and Chicago's Lollapalooza, day three at Austin City Limits (ACL Festival) featured the largest crowds of the weekend. The huge turnout was for good reason. Hugely popular act Pearl Jam may have topped their incredible ACL Festival 2009 performance. The Replacements played the same Samsung Galaxy Stage earlier in the day. The legendary garage-rockers are back touring after a 21 year hiatus. Fans also had an opportunity to see local legends Spoon at the opposite end of the park at the Honda Stage. Spoon are taping another ACL TV show this week. An epic day of live music took place yesterday during an equally epic weekend.

Although the rare appearance of The Replacements on the main stage was a hot topic of conversation, the electric undercurrent of excitement around... Continue reading at Examiner.com

ACL Festival review: Day 2 - Eminem, Skrillex, Iggy Azalea, Trombone Shorty photos

More fantastic fall weather graced the second day of Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) this weekend at Zilker Park. We grabbed photos of Eminem, Skrillex, Interpol, Trombone Shorty, Lucius and much more as the largest crowds of the weekend took in all the music. We spotted Adrian Grenier enjoying Snowmine at the BMI stage. The actor and music aficionado has good taste. Snowmine impressed with indie rock hooks and great vocal performances. Iggy Azalea commanded a gigantic crowd at the Retail Me Not Stage. Lucius invited Head and the Heart to guest with them for a chillingly good sunset show. Headliners Eminem and Skrillex battled it out for supremacy at the cost of... Continue reading at Examiner.com

ACL festival review: Beck recap, St. Vincent, Childish Gambino and more pics

C3 Presents, the company that produces Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL Festival) could not have ordered more perfect conditions to kick off the 13th edition of the annual event yesterday at Zilker Park in the center of Austin. An overnight storm brought a cooling front to Central Texas early Friday morning and daytime temperatures peaked in the mid-80s with a light breeze.

The great weather meant fans got out early, crowding the lawn at the Four Seasons for KUTX's breakfast shows with Hard Proof, Lake Street Drive and Temples. Later in the day, Beck repeated his... Continue reading at Examiner.com