510 Miles & 57 Days 2 ACL: 3 Must-See Artists @ ACL 2011 on Day 1

Fleet Foxes @ ACL 2008 - Photo by Dániel Perlaky

Avg age of artists featured below is approx. 23.6 years – The Future Is Bright

As of yesterday, we are booked and gearing towards ACL 2011, now a mere 57 days away! LMB proper detailed some of the sluggers that are making this trek a can’t-miss and it’s hard to believe this will be our 3rd chance to see Arcade Fire in the span of 4 months on some of the nation’s biggest live music stages. To get this ball rolling, here are 3 early day picks from the festival’s first day worthy of checking out and researching if you aren’t familiar with them. Check back as we’ll be rolling out more coverage as we get closer to mid-September.

Friday, September 16

Futurebirds – 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Get out there early kiddies. Athens, GA’s Futurebirds will be the first band performing at Zilker and will be gearing it up before noon. The ‘Birds are nothing new to the lofty responsibility of cutting a stage’s ribbon at a major festival after kicking things off in That Tent last month at Bonnaroo in front of an estimated 3,000 early comers (they did not disappoint). Should be a real shit-kicker.

Futurebirds – Ski Chalet (Live from Bonnaroo 2011)

Theophilus London :: 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. :: Bud Light

This dude just came across my radar over the weekend after reading this article about his four-star debut album (released yesterday) Timez Are Weird These Days. The man is a rising star, and at 23 the possibilities for growth for this Trinidad native are without bounds. Very much looking forward to seeing what he’s all about on the live stage. With Delta Spirit, Big Boi, NAS, Damian Marley and Kanye West following, a lazy fan could conceivably park it in front of the Bud Light stage all day Friday and see a helluva slate.

Theophilus London – Last Name London (Live on Jimmy Kimmel Live)

Reptar :: 1:20-2:00 p.m. :: Austin Ventures

Yet another youthful bunch from the Classic City, Reptar has quickly built quite a name for themselves despite still being a couple weeks away from their first major release, the Oblangle Fizz Y’all EP on August 2nd to be released on Vagrant Records. Following this gig, the dinosaur band that could will be hopping on the road with Cults and Foster The People for a string of dates, something that has undoubtedly de-prioritized the completion of college for the time being. These guys are the real deal, cross-pollinating the rock vocals that helped propel Modest Mouse over the last decade with the psychbeat weirdness of an Animal Collective or similarly tweaked out troupes to produce a powerful narcotic sound that’ll zone you into the bounce early. Blast Off with Reptar.

Reptar – Stuck In My Id by VagrantRecords

Reptar – Blast Off

About the author

Wesley grew up in coastal Georgia and is a former resident of The Music City and The Big Easy where he helped get LMB NOLA off-the-ground after launching in January 2011. Over the past few years, he has also contributed steadily to JamBase and Relix Magazine. Recently, Hodges moved on to L.A. where Abita Beer is hard to find, costs about $6 if located and impromptu parading in the streets will most likely get you arrested on the spot.

 

Tags: Austin City Limits, Futurebirds, Reptar, Theophilus London