By: Shayla Lee
It is widely known that female representation in the music industry can be scarce. One place where this divide is extremely prevalent is on music festival lineups. On some festival lineups, female artists are nearly impossible to spot on the first half of the bill which grows extremely tiresome considering the amazing and diverse female talent that is out there right now. ACL Festival is a leader in the festival world and strives to work towards closing the gender gap. From female headliners Billie Eilish and Robyn to incredible undercards like The Beaches, Caroline Rose, and The Aces, ACL delivered a well-rounded lineup featuring badass women. This year at ACL we wanted to showcase some of our favorite artists who performed at the festival through portraits shot exclusively for Femme Riot. Here are some of our favorites who gave awe-inspiring performances at Zilker Park!
The Beaches
The Beaches is a Canadian all female rock band composed of sisters Jordan and Kylie Miller, Eliza Enman McDaniel, and Leandra Earl. The girls have toured with artists like The Glorious Sons and Death From Above and even opened for the Foo Fighters in Toronto. Their music fits beautifully on the “Fierce Femmes” Spotify playlist and is a beautiful blend of rock and pop elements with driving rhythms. The Beaches gave an energetic performance on the coldest day of ACL Weekend Two on the American Express Stage.
Misterwives
Indie pop band Misterwives create eclectic, colorful, and lively music which can most likely be attributed to the group’s six members. Energetic queen Mandy Lee is the lead singer/keyboardist of the crew and has a beautiful and confident stage presence. The band just released two new singles “whywhywhy” and “the end” which feature Mandy’s soaring voice shining through on both tracks. Misterwives performed ACL Weekend 1 on the VRBO Stage and also performed an ACL Late Night Show at Scoot Inn.
Mallrat
Creating music about growing up, Australian musician and producer Mallrat first burst onto the scene in 2015 when she began uploading her DIY-style tracks online. The artist quickly gained attention and has gone on to release three EPs. Her latest, “Driving Music,” was released in September and includes the heartfelt single “Charlie,” a track she wrote for her sister called “When I Get My Braces Off,” and a collaboration with Fossa Beats on “Circles.” The Brisbane-born musician performed on the VRBO Stage on the final day of ACL Weekend Two.
The Aces
Hailing from Provo, Utah, The Aces is an indie pop band consisting of Cristal Ramirez, Katie Henderson, McKenna Petty, and Alisa Ramirez. Last year the band released their debut album “When My Heart Felt Volcanic” which was met by huge accolades from music critics and bloggers alike. From 80s dream pop to alternative rock, The Aces are influenced from a variety of sounds spanning decades. The band performed on the coldest day of the festival, Friday ACL Weekend Two, on the American Express stage.
Ley Line
Exploring different sounds from folk, blues, jazz, soul, and more, Ley Line places no limits on the music they create. The multilingual band is composed of four women; Kate Robberson, Madeleine Froncek, Emilie Basez, and Lydia Froncek. The Austin-based group has played everything from local shows in Austin to embarking on a self-managed tour in Brazil travelling the span of 3,000 miles across the country performing. Ley Line played the final day of ACL Weekend Two in the Tito’s Handmade Vodka Tent.
K. Flay
K. Flay is a badass genre-bending musician whose music fuses together electronic, hip-hop, pop, and alternative rock with honest songwriting to create hard hitting music with a meaning. The artist released her album “Solutions” in July and it is overflowing with everything from bangers like “I Like Myself (Most Of The Time)” and “Good News” to emotional ballads like “Nervous.” K. Flay delivered two incredibly energetic performances in opposite weather conditions at both weekends of ACL on the VRBO Stage.
ACL is a leader in the festival world and I look forward to seeing next years lineup. More information on the festival can be found here.
FEMME RIOT 