Results tagged “bellx1”

It started out well enough. The overcast skies cooled Zilker Park's temperatures, and until about 3:30pm, it appeared that the rain was going to hang back and cut everyone a break. But the heavens opened, the ponchos were donned, and it became 'the day it rained at ACL.' Most people took it all in stride, but the windy rain soaked through raincoats, made beer less appealing, and likely thinned the crowds a bit later in the day. One troubling note is that the new lawn at Zilker looked to have really taken a beating by the end of the day - hopefully it is more resilient than it looks given all the time, effort, and money spent to upgrade the park over the past year.

You might not have heard of Dublin's Bell X1, but in their native Ireland, they are superstars with two #1 albums who now headline festivals and arenas. After significant American touring, though, fans are starting to take notice, as are satellite radio and late-night TV. We suspect it might further pique your interest that most of Bell X1 were originally (in a different format) a band called Juniper, who featured one Damien Rice on vocals and guitar. When Damien left to pursue his folkier style, Juniper became Bell X1, and they've both gone on their separate paths to stardom. Bell X1 play ACL this weekend to support their 2009 Yep Roc disc Blue Lights On The Runway, which mixes portions of their traditional rock sound with electronic textures and some longer, more serious tracks than on past albums. We recently emailed vocalist Paul Noonan to ask him about musical influences, Oxfam, and touring.