Jose Gonzalez Sent Hushed Harmonies Over Zilker Saturday

Patrick Dentler

Returning to ACL for a second time, Swedish import José González transformed the Dell Stage into an intimate venue on Saturday afternoon. Armed with only a classical guitar, a folding chair and a microphone, he filled the air with the lush resonance of strummed guitar and his mesmerizing voice, creating a soothing sonic oasis in the middle of Zilker Park. Two others joined him on stage after a few songs, chipping in on harmonies and peppering the simple compositions with percussive accents from shakers and conga drums.

González gave a good sampling of his catalog, playing crowd-pleasers like "Crosses" and his take on Massive Attack's "Teardrop" along with several other tunes from his most recent album, such as "In Our Nature," "How Low" and "Down the Line."

González's haunting folk melodies didn't exactly evoke dancing but did earn silent attention from a crowd held captive by one powerful performance. There were no gimmicks, goofy outfits, toy instruments or sarcastic banter: just a musician and his instrument. And while he isn't alone in doing the one man, one guitar bit, González proved again that he is one of the few that can pull it off in a way that removes any stigma from the label of singer-songwriter. -Eric Pulsifer