ACL Stage Preview: Austin Venture's Saturday Lineup with Mason Jennings, Roky Erickson and more
Brad Skistimas is indicative of the changing marketplace for music. He’s an unsigned artist with songs heard all over MTV programs like The Hills, Laguna Beach and much more, plus you can purchase his cd at Wal-Mart – a nearly unheard of prospect for a label-less artist back in the day. While he goes by the name Five Times August, Skistimas often performs solo, and fans of the singer-songwriter genre best expressed by John Mayer or David Gray should take notice.
Rapper Bavu Blakes is excited about playing ACL, and you can hear him flow about it on his MySpace: “I’m ready for Austin City Limits/ it is my very first festival/ watch how I’m about to wreck ‘em.” In the past, Blakes has performed with rap all-stars including Snoop Dog, De La Soul, Devin the Dude, and Jurassic 5. For this performance, Blakes will be joined by The Extra Plairs.
While this three-piece might fool you into thinking they’re local boys who grew up on classic rock and blues, Back Door Slam are actually part of that British contingency of bands who grabbed onto the whole Hendrix/Skynyrd vibe and ran with it. The trio are ACL veterans, and just released their debut Roll Away last year.
Speaking of the blues, we’ve got our own little oasis in Black Joe Lewis, who is teaming up with his Honeybears to follow up Back Door Slam’s set with what is sure to be a rollicking and raw performance. It has been a big year for Black Joe so far, and sure to get even more exciting. After ACL Lewis is set to play touring dates with Okkervil River, and he’s currently working in the studio with Spoon’s Jim Eno on an album.
How nice that this stage is just lousy with Austin artists. Next up are Electric Touch, festival veterans who have played Coachella and Bonnaroo but are bringing it all back home for ACL. The band just released their self-titled debut on Justice records, and are set to tour with The Fratellis and Airborne Toxic Event after the festival. Super-catchy, bouncy electronic rock that recalls peers The Killers or earlier retro-rock contemporaries, Electric Touch could have a nice conversation with The Black and White Years about synthesizers and writing fun hooks.
Quirky singer-songwriter Mason Jennings put out In the Ever this year, featuring balladry (“Something About Your Love”) set alongside wry religious contemplation (“I Love You and Buddha Too”). It’s the sort of mix that should endear him to indie audiences and toddler-toting, once-hip parents as well.
And for the main event, none other than Roky Erickson will close the Austin Venture stage Saturday night. The man needs no introduction, but here we go anyway: Erickson rose to fame as the sweet-voiced wailer behind The 13th Floor Elevators, but the band’s future was derailed when mental illness, drug abuse and personal struggles forced Erickson away from music for some time. Later, Erickson surfaced with a band called The Aliens to produce several albums - though he once again slumped into obscurity when old difficulties resurfaced. The last few years have been a sea change for Erickson, who now seems more confident and excited about performing and recording than ever before.
