2008 ACL Festival Recap

Another great ACL Festival has come and gone. This was my 4th year straight going and this year had to be the best weather yet! It was still hot at times but over all it was great.

Additions to this years festival that I liked first was the Big Daddy (24oz cans) Lone Star Beer all though I think they under estimated the Lone Star beer drinkers as they ran out of the big daddies on Sunday. Second was the ingenious marketing ploy of "Rock n Recycle" were they were giving away t-shirts to people who picked up cans and plastic bottles. All weekend I saw people with plastic bags picking up cans and at one point saw a lady going though a trash can for plastic bottles and beer cans. It was quite comical. Anyways on to the music part.

Best Bands:

Vampire Weekend- One of the bands I was really looking forward to seeing and they didn't disappoint. What was surprising was the crowd, it was much bigger than I expected.

Ryan Bingham- I have seen Ryan a few times and every time it's a great high energy show. This set was no different only shorter and he should have been on one of the bigger stages.

Old 97s- I have known about this band for a while but only recently gotten into their music. This was my first time to see them and won't be the last.

Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band- Conor backed up what could be the best album of 2008 with a great live set.

Okkervil River- Great set by another band I was really looking forward to seeing. The Beach Boys cover of Sloop John B was cool.

The Raconteurs- Always enjoy seeing Jack White play.

Band of Horses- A band I like but have never really gotten into a lot of their stuff but after their set at ACL will be listening to them more.

Best Moment:

Seeing the legendary Robert Plant sing with Alison Krauss. This was my first time to see both and it was a great show and am glad I can put another legend on the list that I have seen.

All in all a great weekend and I am already looking forward to 2009!