It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The long-awaited Austin City Limits Music Festival makes its return to Zilker Park for its 20th anniversary with two full weekends of live music across nine stages on October 7-9 and October 14-16, 2022.
With each passing year, ACL seems to outdo itself with its lineup of star studded headliners. This year is no exception. Festival goers can belt their hearts out to familiar favorites from The Chicks, head bang to the classics by Red Hot Chili Peppers or relive their teenage angst with Paramore. However, the same can be said for the crop of local talent representing Austin at this year's festival. You might be surprised to recognize a few artists on the 2022 roster that got their big start right here in Austin. And for those up and coming names you don’t know yet, we created this list of local artists to put on your must watch list.
Even though 3-day passes are sold out, it’s not too late to grab 1-day passes here.
Spoon
The Austin music community gave rise to indie-rock band Spoon in the 1990’s, and the band has consistently grown in nationwide popularity ever since. After ten studio albums, one theme remains the same: their unwavering love and support for the Austin music scene. That’s part of what motivated the band to record their new album “Lucifer on the Sofa” primarily in Austin.
Adrian Quesada’s Boleros Psicodélicos
Grammy-winning guitarist-producer for the Black Pumas, Adrian Quesada, branches out with a new solo album paying tribute to the golden era of balada music—Latin America’s velvety narratives of longing and despair—in this musical exploration of psychedelic Latin balladry.
Asleep at the Wheel
10x Grammy-award winning band, Asleep at the Wheel, has been a fixture not only on the Austin music scene, but of Texas music as a whole, for over 50 years. Inspired by a mix of western swing and honky-tonk country, frontman and local legend Ray Benson has been rocking American juke joints for over five decades and shows no sign of slowing down.
Mama Duke
Austin rapper Mama Duke is a two-time Austin Hip-Hop Award winning Artist and two-time Austin Music Award Nominee. Drawing on her own experiences as a queer, biracial, female rapper, Mama Duke has been able to draw a loyal local fan base while her undeniable swagger and thought-provoking lyrics dare to evoke change and challenge the traditional Austin music scene.
Buffalo Nichols
Blues singer, songwriter and guitarist, Buffalo Nichols, bares his soul on his self-titled debut album, sharing stories of the Black experience in a way that avoids stereotypes and challenges the narrative. His soulful, bare-bones acoustic style has landed Nichols on The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert and allowed him to open up for bands such as the Drive-By Truckers and Houndmouth.
Me Nd Adam
Emotionally turbulent, electro pop duo, Me Nd Adam (made up of vocalist Adam Walker and producer Vince Winik), cultivates a new concept of trashwave music that they describe as more of a lifestyle than a genre of music. Pulling from their own personal experiences of crazy nights out and bad decisions that we all wish we could relive.
Luna Luna
The four-piece Latin band, Luna Luna, combines the innocence of teenage love with dreamy, retro synthpop, creating slow-burning indie-pop hits that have built the group a loyal fan base of hopeless romantics ready to turn up or slow dance at any moment.
Primo the Alien
Primo the Alien writes and produces all her own songs, delivering a sound that is uniquely her own. By blending together synthpop and retrowave melodies with powerhouse vocals, Primo is able to captivate audiences with her visual storytelling and eccentric bravado.
Sarah and the Sundays
Rising indie-rock band, Sarah and the Sundays, has quickly grown in popularity across the local Austin music scene, making a name for themselves as the band who can get the party started simply by a strum of a guitar or a beat of a drum.
Darkbird
Brian and Kelly found each other on the Austin musicians page of Craigslist, bringing the two together to form the romantic waterloo that would become Darkbird. Since coming together the pair has gained some serious attention from local music venues and radio stations making a name for themselves as the ultimate rock opera musical.
