Dear Festival Veterans, or Aspiring Festival Goers,
Well we all know festival season is coming to an end *insert tears*, but I shall grace you all with the splendiferousness that was Austin City Limits Weekend 2 to liven your spirits.
Day 1: I didn't attend day one because I decided to attend class instead because I knew that would be the last academic task I did for the entire weekend. But after my six hour drive, I made it to Austin, hungout with some old friends and then mentally and physically prepared for what would soon be one of the best weekends of my life.
Day 2: If you've ever gone to a festival, you know the hardest part is deciding what to wear. Everyone at a festival (for the most part) always looks BE-U-TEE-FUL, and of course representing Louisiana, I couldn't disappoint. So, after finding my perfect festival 'fit', I was ready! As the saying goes, "keep Austin weird", we had to contribute. One of my best friends decides that she wants to chop off half the hair on her head to change her outward appearance...so she did. And you know "a woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life".
After this life altering change, it was time to head to the festival. We had a few main acts that we wanted to see that happened to be at opposing times, so my group of four split up, but decided to meet up later. I don't know where they were for some performances, but I had to see certain artists and be as close as possible. The artists I saw (Alessia Cara, Bassnectar, and Drake) were PHENOMENAL! Bassnectar, got my blood pumping. I'm pretty sure I didn't stop dancing throughout their entire set. Let me paint a visual: Imagine closing your eyes, feeling every single reverberation, and beat flow through your body and letting the music takeover... that was me. At some points I'm pretty sure that I forgot I was in public because I was in such a music induced trance. P.S. that was my first time ever hearing Bassnectar and I'm pretty sure I'm already addicted. And if you've heard about weekend two, we all know who was next...
I'M PRETTY SURE THAT I GAVE MY LIFE TO DRAKE DURING HIS PERFORMANCE. I'm not one to steal someone's shine, but I doubt there was a single word that I didn't rap along with Mr. Degrassi himself. The thoughts of the people beside me were probably "shut up boy, this isn't your concert!", but I didn't care! When he rapped his part to My Way in Fetty Wap's song, I'm pretty sure I hit about four people because I was getting dooooooown, and that's currently my favorite song. On top of Drake performing his new album, he surprised us with a special guest... J. Cole. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Drake, but I LIVE for J. Cole. J. Cole has a rather difficult verse in Planes by Jeremiah, but guess who knows EVERY. SINGLE. WORD? You guessed it ;). Once again, there I go attempting to be a world renown performer... After that performance by those two, I was spiritually drained because I gave them ALL I HAD. But that didn't stop us from going to Sixth Street.
Day 3: Day three had it's fair share of artist, but of course ACL saved the best two for the end-- the Weeknd and Florence + the Machine. The Weeknd's performance almost seemed fake. Not fake in a derogatory sense, but it was almost TOO PERFECT (if there is such a thing). His voice was flawless and at one point I'm pretty sure I sang so hard that I couldn't feel my face... But the was just the warm-up for what was the best performance of my life; Florence. Now I've heard that Florence is a performer, but I didn't know what I was getting myself into. When she performed "Dog Days" not only did she give us the performance that we'll never forget but she gave the audience something she'll never forget... a kiss. Feeling her performance high, Florence ran off of the stage, and kissed a member of the mash pit. YES, kissed! Aside from getting the crowd pumped through all her dancing, turns, rolls, and luxurious vocals, that kiss solidified Florence as my all time favorite performer with that display of affection for her unwavering fans. At one point in time, I came to the realization that my shirt was taken off and was being swung around my head because Queen Florence asked us to get crazy and of course I obeyed! From this point on I have promised myself, I will make an effort to see FLorence as many times as possible before I'm too old for the festival scene (which will be never).
ACL was the best time of my entire life and if you've never been to a festival before, I strongly urge, no mandate, that you go to one before you die and give your life to some amazing artists.
Sincerely,
The No-Longer Festival Virgin and until next time,
Kaymin (aka Drake and J. Cole's back-up singer)
P.S. That was my first festival to ever attend, and I'm not sure it will ever be topped, but I'm looking forward to trying.
P.S.S That festival has changed my life so much, that I haven't stopped dressing like I'm at festival since I left, and I'm pretty sure I'm adapting that as my new style.
