The ten most anticipated acts of ACL Music Festival 2009: An Overview

Photo courtesy of Dave Matthews Band.com

Note: This is a re-print of an article than ran this past week.  Apologies for the technical difficulties.  The countdown will begin resuming this week.

As the Austin City Limits Music Festival draws closer and closer, it’s time for the hype machine to begin churning.  Not that the festival needs any additional pumping up- it looks like Saturday is already sold out, according to the official ACL website.  So if you’re hoping to jump on the bandwagon for Friday or Sunday, we would recommend that you get your tickets ASAP- they’re probably not going to be around much longer.

Today marks the first entry in the beginning of ACL’s top ten most anticipated performers.  We will reveal the list over the course of the next few weeks, starting later this week with number ten and working our way to the top spot (and just a heads up, number one might not be who you would think). It’s always a precarious proposition to do any kind of top ten list, because roughly half the people who read them disagree vehemently.  Then again, that’s always kind of the fun part- starting arguments over what order the list should actually be in.

The Decemberists photo courtesy of
TheSpaceLab 

The criterion for assembling the choices was really simple, actually.  They all come directly from the ACL Music Festival website; they're simply ordered based on the number of fans who added each group to their concert schedules.  Basically, the fans put this together through a vote (which conveniently rids Examiner.com of any culpability).  Of course, this isn’t a very scientific formula, as it doesn’t account for the hundreds of fans who don’t use concert schedules, but again, that’s the fun part.  Feel free to disagree with the list entirely.

Also worth mentioning: we have no doubt that the Beastie Boys would have grabbed a spot on the list, but due to the unfortunate announcement that Adam “MCA” Yauch was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor, they’ve since pulled out of the festival. We wish him a full recovery and hope the Boys can get back to music making as soon as possible.

Mos Def photo courtesy of Rollingstone.com 

Number ten will be revealed later this week. Until then, let’s take a look at five other performers worth mentioning:

Notable Omissions

The B-52’s- We know what you’re thinking, and the answer is: yeah, those B-52’s. The same new wave rock group that blessed the world with such nonsensical hits as ‘Rock Lobster’ and ‘Love Shack,’ will be playing on the third and final day of the festival. Some of you may be surprised to hear that the B-52’s are still making records- in fact, they released one last year entitled Funplex, which reached number one on the Billboard charts. Sure, they’re a little older now, but you can expect a throwback to 1978 when then get on stage. No word on whether they wear their hair the same way.

Citizen Cope- Real name Clarence Greenwood, Citizen Cope has made a name for himself as a sort of musical jack of all trades. Many were first introduced to Cope on Carlos Santana’s 2002 release Shaman, where he was the lead vocalist on the track ‘Sideways.’ Though he isn’t necessarily the most prolific artist when it comes to recording- his last album, Every Waking Moment, was released in 2006- he is nevertheless a dynamic performer to witness live. Standout tracks include ‘Son’s Gonna Rise’ and ‘Bullet and a Target.’ 

John Legend- The R&B sensation paid his dues as a songwriter and pianist for hire long before he became known as an entertainer (in fact, he’s already a member of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame). He was recording his keys for Lauryn Hill back when she was making her magnum opus, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and he’s now three albums deep into his own solo career. Legend continues to carry the torch for old school R&B; in a world where every new singer has to choreograph a new dance routine, John Legend reminds us that sometimes, it’s okay to just sit back and listen.

Lily Allen- Lily is the product of a new era of musical promotion- she got her start through Myspace. Rather than push her demos the traditional studio route, she decided to publish them herself on the popular networking site, and it paid off; she landed a record deal in 2005. Although most notable for her hit single ‘Smile,’ Allen herself admits that she doesn’t care for her earlier work, claiming she sounds “like an over-excitable teenager.” She pushed for a more grown-up sound on her latest project It’s Not Me, It’s You, and this is the Lily Allen to expect at ACL this year.

Thievery Corporation- There are only two things you need to know about Thievery Corporation. One, they’re a couple of Washington DC based DJ’s who mix everything and anything into their music. We’re talking acid jazz, Mediterranean rhythms, reggae, hip hop, Indian sitars- nothing is off limits. Two, they’re about as anti-corporate as it gets, in spite of their name. Their newest album, last year’s Radio Retaliation, is perhaps their most politically charged project to date, though they don’t do much of the protesting themselves- they leave that to a slew of guest stars that litter their projects.

Make that three; their music is amazing.  And now, on to the countdown:

1. Kings of Leon

2. Pearl Jam

3. Dave Matthews Band

4. Ghostland Observatory

5. Ben Harper (with Relentless7)

6. The Decemberists

7. Toadies

8. Arctic Monkeys

9. Mos Def

10.  Sonic Youth