For festivalgoers who spent their weekend incessantly swatting away Zilker pests, We Don’t Ride Llamas has a reassuring message for you.
“We’re gonna kill the flies.”
A noon ACL audience gathered around the Miller Lite stage to witness the genre-defying sound of the sibling quartet. The LA-born Austin transplants donned cowboy attire and black-studded chockers.
Kit and Chase stand on either side of the stage – the bassists and guitarists have an electric connection formed through years of practice on stage and in GarageBand. At center stage stands lead vocalist Max, wearing a Planned Parenthood shirt.
“We support Planned Parenthood, and we want to remind everyone that abortion is health care,” Max screamed to adoring fans.
Angry and restless lyrics are personified through the band's more punk-forward tracks, but as fast and relentless as WDRL dives into a song, they can quickly change to funk-forward fusion instrumentals. The group's ability to jump back and forth between different styles and tempos is anchored by their dedication to delivering a message.
“This song is dedicated to the survivors of Winter Storm Uri.”
“This song is about how minorities work 10x harder than their white counterparts.”
“This song is about how white supremacy destroys the family structure… it fucking rocks”
Spoken word lyrics give way to kick-ass metal drum lines, a band born out of a deep appreciation of ‘90’s culture wears its influences on their sleeve and on their setlist. A cover of MTV’s Daria’s iconic opening and Serial Experiments Lain theme cut to the rebellious heart of teens and the teenage soul of the older ACL.
The young sibling superstars made the most of their biggest stage to date, delivering a musical manifesto and leaving ACL a little more left than before.
