MJ Lenderman, Cage the Elephant, Hozier, Luke Combs, and More Reviews From ACL’s First Friday

ACL Fest 2025 has arrived. The first Friday of the two-weekend festival returned the usual Zilker Park suspects – heavy dust, Cage the Elephant, Hozier – and introduced new players, from locals the Animeros and Briscoe to twangy slacker MJ Lenderman and country star Luke Combs. 

The Animeros Credit: Gary Miller The Animeros Sway and Snap 

In the building heat of Friday afternoon, the Animeros captured laid-back dancers and enthusiastic local listeners in the shady oasis of the Tito’s tent. Formerly known as Hotel de Nova, the Austin-based band comprises members of jazz-influenced tropical group Superfónicos and psychedelic cumbia outfit El Combo Obscuro. The Animeros’ bolero-blending sound caught the ear of Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach at SXSW 2024, landing them a spot on his Easy Eye Sound label roster. Their most recent singles, “Terlingua” and “Gózalo,” sway and snap with salsa and Tejano tempos, coastal cumbia-feeling percussion, and electrified rock riffs, fusing fluently in the quintet’s practiced hands. On these tracks and others, the group’s fusion sound flairs with a touch of drama, at times conjuring the eerie quality of a ghost town honky-tonk, at others the luscious greenery of a bustling tropical beach bar. On the ACL stage, the fusion group entranced families, fans, and fans-to-be with contagious rhythm, abundant instrumentation at once precise and seamless, and their smirking, swaggering style. Stage lights flared and flitted, swirling through the growing crowd and accenting the Western-outfitted group’s suave showmanship as festival buzz blossomed on the breeze. – Caroline Drew

Panda Bear Credit: David Brendan Hall Panda Bear’s Long-Awaited ACL Debut 

Panda Bear and his sleuth (a group of bears) Animal Collective marked their local territory decades ago. Anyone remember a 2007 Antone’s show for the latter lo-fi Baltimore electro collective, or their performance at SXSW the year before? Noah Lennox played three Levitation fests as Panda Bear going back to 2014, yet he only debuted at ACL Fest yesterday afternoon. Leading drums and bass and a pair of sound manipulators, the longtime Lisbon dweller put on a masterclass of indie rock grace. A soundcheck by the band before their set time proved the first treat. Opener “Praise,” which kicks off seventh LP Sinister Grift, layered his reverbed voice and oscillated backing over a tropicália beat into an instant Sixties callback. That album’s second cut, “Anywhere but Here,” indulged his Beach Boys yen going all the way back to solo bow Person Pitch and received the best hand in Zilker, its overlapping harmonies especially dreamy. Lennox’s melodic keening connects first wave UK hooks to Brit-pop and shoegaze. Choppy riffs, swirling backgrounds, a dash of “Guantanamera” (“Ends Meet”), clang-y rockisms and big choruses: One Grifter bled into another, their polished warmth gritting up live – thicker yet perennially lo-fi. When his singing parted the effects, a plaintive tenor melancholic, yearning resounded endearingly. At the finish, when he finally said a few words, he took off his guitar to reveal a Baltimore Orioles T-shirt and then proceeded to break down his stage set-up as fans yelled “Noah” and begged for set-lists. – Raoul Hernandez  

Dylan Gossett Credit: Gary Miller Dylan Gossett’s Heartfelt Homecoming 

A rising force in country music, Dylan Gossett proved there’s no place like home with nonstop boot-stomping beats and a down-to-earth breath of fresh air. The 26-year-old singer-songwriter sported a happy-go-lucky attitude as he balanced upbeat twang-laced guitars (“Tree Birds”) with soft-spun serenades (“Sweet Lady”). Between songs, he paused to offer thanks, making it clear that the newfound limelight hadn’t dimmed his Southern hospitality. With glimmers of his hometown woven into his lyricism – ”Back 40” nods to his time working at Circuit of the Americas, while “Beneath Oak Trees” is about his wife, whom he married just “down the road” in Wimberley – his performance felt all the more genuine. Sing-alongs were in full force for closers “Coal” and  “Somewhere Between,” with a few ambitious fans attempting to two-step within the confines of the crowd. The golden boy won the crowd over in under 55 minutes, with festival goers left begging for “just one more song… or 10 more songs!” as his midday set came to a close. With raw storytelling and unabridged vulnerability, it’s no surprise that Gossett’s leading the second coming of Texas country. – Miranda Garza

Briscoe Credit: Isabella Martinez Briscoe Lives Up to the Hype 

Opening their debut ACL set with a gust of saxophone and confident cohesion, Briscoe lived up to the rising promise of their sophomore album’s media run – and the duo’s dedication to exuberant Western-tinged performances. Heat of July, released this September, is positioned as a lyric-serious work and a step forward for the pair in finding their sound amid Americana roots. Balancing the saxophone, banjo, harmonica, keys, and guitar, Philip Lupton weaves a saloon-style instrumentation into the folk project’s Texan narratives. A guest appearance by beloved local fiddler Warren Hood lent their Friday performance an even fuller, outlaw gothic flavor. On earnestly delivered songs like “Flashlights in the Canyon,” an empathetic vignette about life on the border and the hard walk to safety, and “Roughnecks,” an ode to hard work and long days inspired by Truett Heintzelman’s oil-drilling grandfather, the pair’s songwriting steps into a long tradition of Southern rock storytelling. Like true Texans, however, the duo also knows how to have a good time. Their show captured a feel-good country ease with boisterous yet balanced barroom harmonies backed by all three members of the gingers’ band, and sing-along songs like the sweet “Saving Grace,” contemplative “The Well,” and a cover of Willie Nelson’s “Whiskey River.” An eager crowd of fans of all ages, friends, family, and former UT classmates stepped and sang along to songs old and new and particularly reveled in Briscoe’s first hit, 2020 barn raiser “Hooped Earrings,” which closed out the evolving act’s set. – Caroline Drew

MJ Lenderman Credit: David Brendan Hall MJ Lenderman Evolves the Indie Slacker Anthem

MJ Lenderman walks a fine line between slacker indie rock and self-indulgent stoner guitar jams. Then again, maybe there’s really not that much of a line between the two. Riding the success of last year’s stellar Manning Fireworks LP, Lenderman and his backing quartet the Wind took the Beatbox stage Friday evening with a pedal steel-washed “Rudolph” before dipping back into 2022’s Boat Songs with “Toontown” and “SUV.” The North Carolina songwriter (and Wednesday guitarist) exuded a laid-back nonchalance onstage as he slung his droll Stephen Malkmus-esque lyrical non-sequiturs and bender ballads, highlighted with “Joker Lips” and “Wristwatch,” which bookended his recently released This Is Lorelei cover of “Dancing in the Club.” The band fully unleashed with a minute-long wall of scrawl on “Bark at the Moon” that bled into the heavy down-stroked riffs of “I Ate Too Much at the Fair,” but the hooky “She’s Leaving You” hit with the biggest impact with the crowd before closing with “Knockin.” Lenderman never much acknowledged the audience across the 13-song set, but did take a moment to aptly quip at the close: “See you next week, if you’re brave enough to do this again … or stupid enough.” – Doug Freeman

Cage the Elephant Credit: Isabella Martinez Cage the Elephant Remain Future Hall of Famers  

When Cage the Elephant stormed ACL Fest in 2016, they tore through a mainstage set like the Clash. Friday on the opposite side of the Park at an even bigger headliner stage, the Kentucky sextet’s maturity only deepened their importance. Maybe swayed by the ’stache, we swear we saw gray in front-wonder Matt Shultz’s do, further offset by an all-black, Seventies plainclothes cop outfit. His jump kicks still know no gravity, nor he any less lean, elastic tenacity. Pyro’s new, though, flames leaping with set starter “Broken Boy,” whose imperfections Shultz reaffirmed late in the 60-minute fusillade introducing “Telescope.” In-between, Cage the Elephant stomped and strummed, slide guitar and thumping anthems. “Too Late to Say Goodbye” touched off a series of contortions and exhortations from the singer just short of convulsive. When fuzzbuster “Mess Around” didn’t receive its proper due, he mused, “I don’t know, for a moment I thought we were in Austin, Texas.” Even veterans of the ATX circuit don’t understand that we’re too hot and high here for exaltation, never mind that we’ve witnessed it all – twice, thrice, 10 times. No matter, the Bowling Green boys kept coming. “Trouble,” “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” and “House of Glass” walked and rocked and threw stones a-plenty. When they picked some “Sweet Home Alabama” to introduce “Cigarette Daydreams,” classic rock indoctrinated another contemporary but no less future Hall of Fame band. – Raoul Hernandez

Maren Morris Credit: Isabella Martinez Maren Morris Takes ACL to a New Church

“The last time I played Austin City Limits was nine years ago, and a lot of shit has happened since then,” laughed Maren Morris a few songs into her Friday night headlining Beatbox stage set. This year’s D R E A M S I C L E was inevitably received as the Texas songwriter’s divorce album, but as the set emphasized, the new songs cut a lot deeper than just heartbreak. Coming out to a disco intro, Morris stepped centerstage on a shag-carpeted riser to open with the heavy bass and backbeat anthem “cry in the car,” and commenced a communal catharsis of bad loves and self-empowerment. Songs like 2019’s “GIRL” and 2016’s “Rich” were cast in a new light next to new tracks like “cut!,” “lemonade,” and kiss-off sing-along “too good,” while the blistering diss of “be a bitch” served the ultimate statement of the Highwoman’s take-no-shit attitude. Perhaps most impressive was the crowd singing along to every word of the new songs, Morris having clearly struck a vein with D R E A M S I C L E. The back half of the 14-song set leaned more into expected hits, popping with “The Middle” and “My Church” and closing out with the soaring show-stoppers of “carry me through” and “The Bones.” Although Friday marked Morris’ only appearance over ACL’s two weekends, it will likely stand as one of the Fest’s best sets: emotionally raw and powerful as she fires with a new creative energy, and her fans embrace the cathartic fury. – Doug Freeman  

Hozier Credit: David Brendan Hall Hozier Wants You to Love Thy Neighbor

Only two years since his last ACL stint, Irish crooner Hozier proved that his spot as opening weekend’s first headliner was more than well-deserved. With a tracklist spanning his three critically acclaimed albums, the night consisted of soul-baring proclamations of love (“Work Song”) and social commentary (“Eat Your Young”), with full-bodied crescendos at the end of each song. In between his groove-driven electricity and bluesy folk-founded riffs, the 35-year-old singer took to a small side stage for an intimate stripped rendition of “Cherry Wine” and “Unknown / Nth.” Though typically a man of few words, the singer-songwriter introduced activism anthem “Nina Cried Power” with a speech about democracy, people’s rights, and the work that was done for us to enjoy those rights. From Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” to Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name,” the stage’s backdrop flashed the titles and singers of politically charged songs while Hozier sang his own with backup singer Amanda Brown. “Austin, at the core of it I believe it is so fucking simple. I believe that people are good, they have generous hearts, that we want to see human beings live in peace, in safety, and security,” he added through the trills of his thick Irish accent. Within his 90-minutes of crystalline vocals amid the weekend’s budding dust bowl, Hozier set very high expectations for the rest of the festival to follow. Good luck! – Miranda Garza

Luke Combs Credit: David Brendan Hall Luke Combs Tests ACL’s Country Appetite

Luke Combs seemed to take ACL as a challenge, noting during his set that he was the Fest’s first country headliner. Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson would probably disagree (not to mention George Strait and Willie Nelson), but Combs took his position of representing country music at the top of a mainstream, largely pop-driven festival bill with a sense of warranted pride. 

The North Carolina native certainly proved he has the hits to carry the role, managing to pull the largely ambivalent and talkative crowd back with enough radio sing-alongs to keep the energy high. Combs isn’t the most dynamic performer, but he has such a bully of a voice that it demands attention, rough-hewn but with an undeniably tender cut. 

The songwriter casually strolled onstage behind his seven-piece backing band to immediately unload a declarative “Back in the Saddle,” and then proceeded to work through a 19-song set balancing high-octane and higher proof drinking anthems and uniquely burly love songs that pulled mostly from his earlier albums. Flames burst up from the dancehall-backdropped stage for “Cold as You” as the band leaned into the rockers, but Combs was at his best unloading his vocals on ballads like “Houston, We Got a Problem” or “Better Together.” 

Combs offered up an excellent acoustic solo moment with new song “Days Like These,” from his new The Prequel EP released earlier on Friday, but it was clear the crowd was there for the familiar, and the songwriter dutifully reeled them back with a stirring “Beautiful Crazy” and a cover of Ed Sheeran’s “Dive.” The quick two-song encore may have captured the dichotomy of Combs’ country the best though, delivering his sharp version of “Fast Car” and setting the crowd loose with a ripping “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma.”  – Doug Freeman 

Catch up with all of the Austin Chronicle’s ACL coverage, including interviews and reviews.

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