Austin City Limits Music Festival 2002
by Jamie Machala

Austin City Limits Festival has been on PBS since 1976, filmed on the campus of the University of Texas, it's yet another Texas "Claim to Fame." This year the broadcast took a new direction by hosting the 1st Annual Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. The festival consisted of 6 stages and 70 bands all in two, ninety-five degree, not-a-cloud-in-the-sky days. If you could take the heat, it was well worth it.

With a combination of local Austin bands at the likes of Bob Schneider, Vallejo and Los Lobos mixed with the more well-known Soulive, Ryan Adams, String Cheese Incident, and Wilco, it was the perfect eclectic blend that Austin is known for. With six stages and only two days, it was impossible to see all of the bands, even though I unsuccessfully made the attempt.

I did catch an Austin city staple, The South Austin Jug Band, a great group of twenty-something's, full of energy and pulling off a great performance early in the festival. They’re a great blend of rock-n-roll, country and bluegrass, all without drums or amplifiers. Their diverse style has developed a strong following in central Texas.

Having recently developed an interest in Patty Griffin, I was really excited to see her perform live. I think most of the audience felt the same way. The crowd was buzzing about this performance all day, and what a performance it was. The powerful voice you hear on albums is at it's peak when heard live. Patty proved her many musical sides as she belted out her latest ballad "Rain" from her album 1,000 Kisses, and changed it up a bit with a rock-n-roll tune "Flaming Red" from her 1998 release of the same name.

With the sun setting behind the Chevrolet/Texas Stage (and directly in our eyes), one could question whether or not to stick around for Nickel Creek, but I’m glad I did! There's just something about a "family" on stage, because you know their hearts are in it. Sara Watkins (fiddle) is 20, Chris Thile (mandolin) is 21 and Sean Watkins (mandolin and guitar ), Sara's brother, is 25. These child-prodigies formed the band in their junior-high years with the help of Chris Thile's father, Scott Thiles. Nickel Creek is most widely known for their bluegrass upbringing, but from what I saw on stage they have branched out quite a bit. It seems to me that there is no musical classification for a group with a brother and sister who switch out on lead vocals while gauging an acoustic flare. The music is just plain good. With their ever-growing popularity and grammy-nods, Nickel Creek is a band that will, without a doubt, be around for a very long time.

After the Nickel Creek performance the sun finally set and everyone began to cool down listening to the sounds of Soulive. Their sound was a blend of jazz, soul and funk with a touch of hip hop. Their high-energy drummer, Alan Evans, kept the crowd moving with his funky beats while his brother, Neal Evans played the bass line on the keys of a B-3 organ. Guitarist, Eric Crasno led the group into and out of many jams including one of my favorites "Turn it Out". The downside of this performance was missing out on their recently added sax player, Sam Kinninger that couldn't make the festival. All in all, what a great way to cool down.

Bob Schneider is another a hot ticket in the Austin music scene, so it was no surprise that he would be performing, backed up by one of the many bands that he plays with around town, The Scabs. He definitely drew one of the biggest crowds on Saturday, and rightfully so. He seemed to enjoy the performance as much as the crowd. During his final song, Tarantula, he let the crowd sing most of the chorus, pulling 20-30 fans on stage, acting as impromptu back up dancers if you will. After seeing his and the reaction of the crowd, I finally see what the fuss is all about.

These artists are only a small percentage of the performances that took place over the weekend. With an expected 40,000 attendees, the artists had more than enough audience to entertain. It will be a few years until the festival reaches Jazz Fest status, but the Austin City Limits Music Festival was a success to say the least. The atmosphere was great and the crowd seemed delighted to be there despite the Texas heat. The festival was all about furthering the appreciation for live music. In my eyes, that goal was accomplished!

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