Austin always treats us well. It’s always nice to have a nice cold Lone Star in your hand watching some of today’s best bands tear it up under the Texas sun. Yesterday was the first day of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, and marked our second time at the festival after taking last year off. The ultimate highlight of the day was seeing David Byrne. David and his band exceed all my expectations, blending their hour-long set with Talking Heads favorites as well as new material from his recent Eno collaboration, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.

Coming in second was Jamie Lidell. Always a great live act, Jamie had the crowd in his hand by the time he launched into a funk-heavy extended version of his song “Multiply.” The biggest surprise of the day was probably day one closer Manu Chao, who’s mix of reggae, punk, and world sound, was both high energy and easy to convert a bunch of first-timers. Other highlights include a horn-infused set from Bobby Bare Jr, catching the lovely Jenny Lewis in a packed tent, and watching Alejandro Escovedo and his band play the festival for the first time in his home state. Rodney Crowell, who started out our day was also a welcomed first listen, and the biggest regret was missing both Hot Chip and Lost Highway’s Ryan Bingham, who all my crew caught and said was fantastic. Also, Chuck Woolery is around. WTF?

Yeasayer

Jakob Dylan & The Gold Mountain Rebels

Jamie Lidell

Bobby Bare Jr

Jenny Lewis

David Byrne

Manu Chao

Discuss: Have you been to ACL before? Who should I not miss over the rest of the festival? What are your favorite Austin hotspots?

Madison let out a collective sigh of disappointment when Alejandro Escovedo was forced to cancel his performance at the Madison Roots Musical Festival earlier this month due to medical reasons. His Real Animal is one of my favorite records of the year.

Luckily, Alejandro is feeling much better and hasn’t forgotten all his Madison music fans. He’ll play the High Noon Saloon in Madison on Thursday, October 16th.

Tickets: $18 Advance / $20 Day of Show / 21+

Update: Alejandro will open for Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming Milwaukee show on August 30th for the Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary celebration.

Myspace: Alejandro Escovedo
MP3: Alejandro Escovedo – “Always A Friend”

+Bookmark our Wisconsin and Chicago shows pages for all your concert announcements+

Many were looking forward to Alejandro Escovedo unleashing his Real Animal at this weekend’s Madison Roots Festival. Sadly, due to medical restrictions, Alejandro had to withdraw from his performance. We wish him a speedy recovery and since we’re on the subject, Alejandro’s got the video blog thing going. Check it out.

Thanks to Steve for the info!

Myspace: Alejandro Escovedo
MP3: Alejandro Escovedo – “Always A Friend”

Each Tuesday stop by Muzzle of Bees for our recommended purchases for the week. Here are the albums we suggest for the release date of June 24th:

Artist: Alejandro Escovedo
Album: Real Animal
Label: Back Porch
Myspace: Alejandro Escovedo
MP3: Alejandro Escovedo – “Always A Friend”
Video: Alejandro Escovedo – “Always A Friend” (w/Bruce Springsteen)
Upcoming: 7/3 – Summerfest, Milwaukee, 8/2 – Willow Island, Madison
MoB: Alejandro’s best work to date, period. Following the ups and downs of personal illness only to emerge with such a powerful and timeless record is just about all you can ask for. This will easily find a place on my favorites of the year list. We’re fortunate to have Alejandro through our state a couple times this summer, don’t miss your chance to see him live.

Artist: Sigur Rós
Album: Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
Label: Beggars
Myspace: Sigur Rós
MP3: Sigur Ros – “Gobbledigook”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Hoppipolla”
Upcoming: 9/24 – The Chicago Theatre
MoB: Another brilliant offering from the Icelandic wonders. Always combining lush sounds building into something much larger – and beautiful all the way through. A great late night record.

Artist: Hercules & Love Affair
Album: Hercules & Love Affair
Label: Mute
Myspace: Hercules & Love Affair
MP3: Hercules & Love Affair – “Hercules Theme”>
Video: Hercules and Love Affair – “Blind”
Upcoming: 9/14 – Monolith Music Festival, Red Rocks
MoB: Combining electronic and wold music elements into an album sure to appease fans of both genres, making them one of the most talked about and anticipated artists of the year. Their live shows will be the talk of the summer.

Find MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic