The start of Austin City Limits Fest frenzy is here: The lineup is out, tickets are on sale and our sister station KUTX's top picks are in.
Guns N' Roses, Mumford & Sons, Childish Gambino, The Cure, Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Tame Impala and Robyn will headline the two-weekend festival on Oct. 4-6 and Oct. 11-13. But here are nine other acts KUTX's Peter Babb says you won't want to miss at Zilker Park this fall.
1. Gary Clark Jr.
Gary Clark Jr. is considered one of the world's greatest living guitar players. KUT's DaLyah Jones descibes him as an artist known for his modern blend of blues, soul, rock and hip-hop that evokes a spiritually euphoric and gritty sound.
He visited KUTX in 2013 for a chat and an accoustic medley of his songs "Blak and Blu" and "Bright Lights." Watch below:
2. Lizzo
Lizzo has gone from playing the flute in a high school marching band in Houston to marching to her own beat, KUTX's Art Levy says. "Her music has gone far and wide, thanks to her infectious blend of rap, R&B, humor and a social message."
Watch Lizzo perform "Good as Hell":
3. Black Pistol Fire
Black Pistol Fire's Eric Owen and Kevin McKeown are "unfailingly nice dudes, maybe due to their Canadian/Austin roots," writes Levy. "But onstage, the pair rip it up, playing a blend of gutbucket blues-rock and punk."
Watch Black Pistol Fire perform "Speak of the Devil" at KUTX:
4. Ximena Sariñana
"Rythym and blues course through the veins of Ximena Sariñana, the Grammy-nominated Mexican pop songstress," KUTX wrote after her pop-up session at KUT/X photographer Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon's house during SXSW this year. Her band serves sunny guitars as the tropical score for a surprising thumping bass and drum kick.
Watch her perform the track "Lo Bailado":
5. Yola
Yola — who hails from Bristol, England — got into music through an intense connection to Dolly Parton records, NPR Music's Stephen Thompson says. "Now that she's got her own record ... she's woven together strands of country, soul and pop to craft a sound that's both classic and current."
Watch Yola perform "Still Gone" at KUTX Live at the Four Seasons during SXSW 2019:
6. Otis the Destroyer
Otis the Destroyer is back with a hard-hitting EP of grunge-inspired indie rock, KUTX wrote this month. The band's new release, "Cool Evil" — which you can watch below — is a departure from its debut LP, "veering toward '90s shoegaze with mellow, laidback vocals and squealing guitars."
7. Abhi the Nomad
Growing up, Abhi Sridharan Vaidehi moved to a new country with his family every few years. Making music became a necessity, he said, to keep his memories. "It's kind of the only thing that's consistent because everything changes," he said during a visit to KUTX last year.
Now based in Austin, Vaidehi — who performs under the name Abhi the Nomad — raps about moving past faults to move forward. Watch him peform "Dogs":
8. Caroline Rose
A "musical chameleon," Caroline Rose has unnervingly perceptive songwriting that is undeniably funny all at once, KUTX wrote of her 2018 visit.
Watch why Rose is a KUTX favorite with her performance of "More of the Same":
9. Alesia Lani
Austin's Alesia Lani grew up on a steady diet of '70s soul, '90s R&B and hip hop, KUTX's Levy writes. "All of those influences swirl together in her music."
Watch Lani perform "Drunken Freestyle" at KUTX:
