Did You Feel the Earth Move? That Was Just Tyler, the Creator Shaking Up ACL

Oh, honey, did you feel that tremor? That wasn’t just the bass rumbling the Great Lawn at Zilker Party—that was the collective ecstatic heartbeats of the woke masses at Austin City Limits Music Festival. Tyler, the Creator brought the EARFQUAKE on day three, and we’re still recovering. Here’s the rundown of the 7 best things that went down on Sunday.

Chappell Roan

Yee-haw! White and red rhinestone chaps. The Great Migration of liberal Austin showed up in a pink pony parade to see Chappell Roan. Pink cowboy hats galore, y'all. She teased a new song, everyone did the “HOT TO GO!” dance, and it was a full-blown “femininomenon.” — Mars Salazar

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Sturgill Simpson

Oh, right, Sturgill Simpson’s the real guitar hero at ACL. Ditto his sidekick, slide-guitar maestro Laur Joamets. They showed up and showed out, delivering craft blues rock that boiled with emotion. Even his cover of ‘80s hit “The Promise” was a standout. Meanwhile, other indie stars were just pandering to this overrated city with fashion shows. — Ramon Ramirez

Tyler, the Creator

All gas, no brakes for Tyler, the Creator’s booty-shaking set at the American Express stage. Landing on an enormous desert plateau set, Tyler rolled through his hardcore rap hits with precision. The vibe flipped from Chappell Roan's pink pony paradise to straight rap nastiness when the demons came out at night. — Mars Salazar

Kehlani

Real talk: I was worried about Kehlani. She was up against supernova Chappell Roan and Tyler, the Creator. An hour before her set, only a few fans were lingering. But halfway through Chappell’s set, a steady stream of woke fest-goers arrived for some steamy R&B. The dance team brought acrobatic flair and suggestive moves. Even this weathered journo blushed. But it wasn't just about the sexy dancing. Kehlani’s live band rocked hard. There was a guitar vs. keytar duel. She’s clearly matured into a late night act. — Deborah Sengupta Stith

That Mexican OT

Among a sea of country and pop at ACL 2024, Houston rapper That Mexican OT stood out. Rocking green Crocs, a mullet, and wild tats, OT spit an ocean of word soup on the T-Mobile stage. "I’ve been rapping since I was 4 years old. At this point I’m 25. I live and breathe this," he said. Chants of “O! T!” filled the air as he freestyled over classic rap beats. No one represented harder. — Ramon Ramirez

Orville Peck

“He almost sounds like Johnny Cash. He’s got it down,” a shirtless dude said, and he’s right. Orville Peck’s golden baritone had us all tearing up. “What’s a boy to do? Hit the road with a dollar or two? Haunted by what he knows he can’t do?” he sang on “No Glory In the West.” We took him up on his invitation to cry. — Ramon Ramirez

Empress Of

“I see we got the Pink Pony Club here,” Lorely Rodriguez, aka Empress Of, observed. She’s a Honduran-American singer and a longtime electro-pop fave. She sang thumping club bangers and owned the catwalk with gender-neutral anthems. “I want a Latine person to cook for me and take me to the movies,” she sang on “Femenine.” Consider the Chappell stans won over. — Ramon Ramirez