NOLA Jazz & Heritage Fest Line Up Announced
By Alexandra on Jan 15 Filed In ACL, Events, Food & Beverage, Live Music, Sweet Consumers, Vacation 1 Comment
Stevie Wonder at Jazz Fest 2008.
What do you think about the lineup for this year’s NOLA Jazz Festival? The good news is if you missed Pearl Jam at ACL last year, they’re headlining. And if you missed Lionel Richie at any point over the last 30 years you can see him too. Austin’s own Marcia Ball will be performing the first weeekend as well as Simon and Garfunkel, My Morning Jacket and The Black Crowes. (I was able to see The Black Crowes at Rothbury last summer and they’re awesome live.)
The second weekend offers much more for my taste with Richie Havens, Elvis Costello, Band of Horses, Old Crow Medicine Show, Gipsy Kings, the list goes on and on. Click here to see the complete line up.
Let us know if you like the list and if you’ll be making the trip to the birthplace of jazz to see it for yourself.
Festival dates-
Weekend 1: April 23-25
Weekend 2: April 29-May 2
ACL Musings by a Granny Impersonator
By Guest on Oct 6 Filed In Intern, Live Music, Uncategorized Add a Comment
Post by Jon Edwards; Intern/Balloon-Launching Bad-Ass.
Hey there Sweet Leaf readers! It is now two days post ACL Fest 2009, and I think my body has finally recovered. What a weekend!
Just getting everything ready for ACL was a job in itself, but I learned a lot. I got to set up the booths and do some work in the VIP and artist lounges. We were cruising around in the only yellow golf cart to make it happen!
It’s great to see how many local businesses and people love and support SLT. I can’t even begin to guess how many people screamed out “Yeah! Sweet Leaf!” over the course of the weekend. Keep on sporting those SLT bandannas and thanks to all the people that let us tattoo you!
ACL, mud, legs, Sweet Leaf Tea branding.
“Impostor Granny” was a big hit. Thanks to all you guys for rocking out and taking pics with me in my Granny costume. It was a pretty close resemblance to the real Granny, besides my giant beard. If you caught me at the rock band booth, you may have had a taste of Granny’s sweet Pearl Jam voice. Not quite like Eddie Vedder but with just as much enthusiasm!
Jon sharing some gool ole Granny love w/SLT Fans!
If any of you were there, you probably saw some of our balloon launches! We launched giant balloons at about 15 different shows filled with confetti and glow sticks. That was a lot of fun because I’d get to stick around for a few songs and hang out. I got to see some of my favorites like Thievery Corporation, STS9, Girl Talk, Pearl Jam, and Ghostland Observatory. I even got backstage for Phoenix!
Balloon drop during Passion Pit at ACL Sunday.
It was great how the rain and mud didn’t slow people down but it was a shame about all that awesome new grass they planted in Zilker Park that got squished. I am hopeful that they’ll re-sod it. By the end the festival people were slip and sliding down hills and walking barefoot through the mud.
Thankfully, the festival went on rain or shine, just like they promised. For all of you that actually made it to the festival, congratulations on surviving! For all the rest of you that wish you could have been there, check out the Sweet Leaf Tea website soon for picture updates.
Thanks for reading and check back soon!
Mind Blowingly-Awesome Bands: ACL
By April on Oct 2 Filed In ACL, Austin, Texas, Live Music Add a Comment
This past weekend I spent cycling and gearing up mentally for the week that began today and won’t end until next Monday. What is happening in Austin this week, you ask? Austin City Limits Festival!!
This will be my first time to truly experience ACL. I was lucky enough to get to see The Raconteurs and Galactic last year on Sunday because I had some friends that went back to NYC and left their wrist bands loose, but it wasn’t the same as experiencing the whole three day extravaganza. The last actual festival I attended as a paying customer was Lollapalooza in Dallas, 1994. The festival world has changed dramatically since the early 90’s. I was lucky enough to see Pearl Jam at Lolla in 1992 and it was a scene! They encouraged the fans to rush the stage and WE DID. I jumped and ran over so many rows of seats and ended up on the front row thrashing about with the best of them. I made the mistake of drinking a “smart drink” and between the drink, endorphins and the heat, I ended up throwing up on this girl’s combat boots that I went to high school with. It was a bit embarrassing but that was how crazy the scene was at the front of the stage. PJ busted out their version of Baba O’Riley and it blew me away. I fell in love with them at that moment. I look forward to at least hearing them while working my closing shift Sunday night.
This year I have some bands that I am really looking forward to seeing, as well as letting my future husband, Jack White, know who I am. I can’t begin to tell you how he rocks my world! The Dead Weather are high on my list to see, but ironically enough, I’ll be slinging tea in the middle of their showcase and will begging, pleading, and bribing ALL of our volunteers to help a sister out!
Bands I will NOT miss:
Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9): If you have not seen these guys or even listened to them, back-up the bus, check yourself (yes, before you wreck yourself) because these guys will rock your face right off the bone. STS9 has a full band present on stage along with their computers, and they are literally up there playing their music and mixing/creating all at the same time. Watching the bass player play a riff and then hit a button on his computer and waiting to hear what he just created is mind-bending. Not going to ACL this year? Cool, hit them up at Stubb’s for a fantastic after-show. You won’t be able to stand by idling, you’ll be dancing!
Medeski Martin & Wood: I am not lying, (though music is subjective and opinion based) when I say that these three musicians are some of the most talented guys on the planet and I love that they found each other! John Medeski is a world-class pianist/organist and he can make those keys do things that most people didn’t even know was possible. Billy Martin can take a tiny, toy drum set and make it sound like 4 drum kits in 1! Chris Wood (also playing w/his brother as The Wood Brothers) is one bad-ass bass player-yes, as good as Les Claypool and that is a very high bar to reach! I have seen some of their shows where there were only the 3 of them onstage and I had to keep looking up, as I was sure they had like 10 people up there with them. Even if you’re not into free-jazz, I’d take sometime out and give them a listen. They are also playing at 9am Friday morn at Threadgills and yes, I will be there. I am not missing my chance to see them in such a small place. If anyone reading this knows of them playing any after-shows, please OH PLEASE, let me know!
Bassnectar/Thievery Corporation/Ghostland Observatory: I’ve never seen ANY of these bands play and I am stoked to see what they’ll bring to the table. Will it make me want to move my ass? I am sure of it. Will I walk away wanting more? Oh yeah!
Who are YOU the most excited to see this year?
Only the Coolest Moms go to ACL
By Gigi on Oct 1 Filed In ACL, Austin, Texas, Events, Live Music 1 Comment
First, let me preface this monologue with informing you that the only reason I can receive aforementioned title is due to my awesome job! Where else can you work hard and play A LOT? The answer is Sweet Leaf Tea East Booth during Austin City Limits Festival.
This year I am treating my two oldest boys, Garrett and Brenden, to 3 day passes to the “most EPIC event of the year” (teenage verbiage for Austin City Limits). I, myself, have had the privilege of attending and/or working at all but two ACL Festivals.
You may ask, what possessed you to take your kids to ACL? Who else is going to teach them that the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus are not music? Their first introduction to the real world of music has been Pearl Jam. On vinyl. (Oh! the thought of Eddie Vedder…I digress.) Back to reality. Here’s where the logistics of handling ACL Festival, located at Zilker Park just a mere 12 miles from our home, gets a little hairy.
Friday, I must get ALL four kids off to school (that’s the easy part). Go to work for a few hours. Dash back to Bowie High School and Bailey Middle School where my delinquents in training will have escaped the confines of their academic cells. All before 11 am. They will then join me in a bike ride along the beautiful shores of Lady Bird Lake to kickoff the weekend in style. A-town style. I must also make sure the two younger children have adult supervision for the remainder of the weekend. Cause that’s what mom’s do before they go off to party for the weekend. Let’s all cross our collective fingers that Grandma makes the trip in to fetch Hansel and Gretel.
Saturday and Sunday are easy, squeezy…as long as I don’t stay out to late! Fat chance that’s happening.
DISCLAIMER: Let it be know that I come from a long line of educators that do not advocate truancy, but how can you pass up this opportunity to listen to some of the greatest musicians in the world?
The Top 7 Things I’ve Learned about ACL while Working at Sweet Leaf Tea.
By Jacqui on Oct 1 Filed In ACL, Austin, Texas, Live Music Add a Comment
The Top 7 Things I’ve Learned About ACL While Working at Sweet Leaf Tea.
1. Do Not Tell Anyone This is Your First ACL. I’m pretty sure being an ACL veteran is a requirement for a position at Sweet Leaf. How I slipped through the cracks, I have no idea. I know, I know, it’s a sin since I’ve been living in Austin for almost four years. But I do have to admit, I think I saved the best lineup yet for my first trip.
2. Yeah Yeah Who? Word on the street, or at least at the office Sweet Leaf cooler, the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s are the band to see Friday. Even if you don’t know who they are, or if you’re just sick of hearing the Kings of Leon played on EVERY station, you will not regret seeing their show. Well, at least that’s what I’ve been told from the Lollapalooza 09 crowd.
3. H20, Titos, & Sweet Leaf. Stay hydrated with nothing else.
4. Morton’s Salt Girl- The New Fashion Figure. I bet you a Sweet Leaf commemorative cup you will not melt if it rains. Plus rain boots are SO Fall 2009. 
5. I Know Nothing About Music. Music lives in our office. From my boss threatening a pay cut if I do not learn new bands, to the fact we have more pairs of headphones in our office than we do employees, you can learn a new band every day from an employee at Sweet Leaf. This weekend is truly my crash course.
6. The New Meaning of Sunday Funday. PEARL JAM, Ben Harper, Arctic Monkeys, and the Toadies. Seriously?! That right there is worth the cost of your three day pass.
7. Chi-city, I Love You. My love for Pearl Jam and Dave Matthew’s Band has come from the countless concerts I have seen at the World Music Theater, and Soldier Field. Not to mention the fact Pearl Jam oozed out of the walls at my best friend Paul’s college apartments. Even after listening to all of the bands on the ACL website http://2009.aclfestival.com/band/pearl-jam, I am still the most pumped to see DMB for the hundredth time, and rock out to Pearl Jam. But don’t get me wrong, even though I’m most excited to see bands that dominated my old cd collection (yes, I said cd’s) I can’t wait to add to the long list of music that I will forever associate with Austin.
