If you listen to KVRX, it’s safe to say that you know Farmer’s Wife. This alt-rock grunge group has graced our stage before and were just as magnetic for their first ever ACL performance on Friday. The group opened with “Boheme,” a dark dreamscape of a track and carried that momentum through their set.
Molly, vocalist and siren, served up grungy realness while sweeping across stage in her distressed sleeves. Guitarists Jude and Derek were laid back, creating a wall of deep melodies that paired nicely with Molly’s mournful voice. Drummer Jaelyn held down rhythms in tandem with Jacob on bass. The brother-sister duo, Molly and Jacob, were clearly having a good time: both could occasionally be seen sharing barely-contained smiles.
About halfway through the set, the group jumped into “Greg Abbott’s Maxi Pad,” the 2022 track that put Farmer’s Wife on our grunge map. While the band strummed an opening, Molly encouraged the crowd to “jump!” despite the 1 p.m. heat. Ever obliging, ACL saw its first – and possibly only – mosh of the afternoon. Dirt flew, bodies jumbled around, and the members of Farmer’s Wife loved every second of it. Jude let out a few screams into the mic at the end of the rack, finishing out an energetic few minutes.
Two standouts from the set were the gnarly siren-song “Seethe” and the pining “Pool Song.” The echo worked overtime in “Seethe,” giving it a floaty macabre edge. For “Pool Song,” the bubble machine was the one working overtime, adding a sweetness to the otherwise pleading romantic song.
For their closer, Molly showed off her flair for performance as she dropped to her knees to sing parts of the song. The live setting took all the whimsical grit of the group’s recordings and amplified the feeling – these guys are great, but their ACL set proved live and loud is how Farmer’s Wife is meant to be heard.