The eighth annual Austin City Limits Music Festival was apparently unlike any that preceded it, due to the dates being pushed back from September to early October. This meant that temperatures were not sweltering into triple digits. The lawn at Zilker Park had also received a fresh facelift of “golf course�-quality grass, to help cut down on dust complaints. This made for an idyllic first day of the festival, when the high temperature was just above 80 degrees. But persistent rain on the second day brought a new obstacle to deal with – mud, and lots of it. Much of the park was a mucky mess by the third day, even after the rain had stopped, although without the new grass the park probably would have been one giant mud pit. No one was really complaining about the rain though, since Texas has been suffering through its worst drought in 50 years. Neither rain nor mud nor fatigue would deter 70,000 music fans from getting their fill – this is, after all, the “live music capital of the world,� due to the fact that Austin hosts more music venues per capita than any other city.

The festival featured an incredibly diverse line-up, covering just about every genre under the sun. Those with the stamina and inclination could also check out after-show parties, featuring a number of festival bands playing late night shows at clubs around town. And in one of the greatest festival amenities of all time, ACL even had a football tent that made it possible, at certain times, to watch football and music at the same time! With eight stages (if you included the Austin Kiddie Limits stage), it was a weekend of tough choices – Ghostland Observatory vs. the Dave Matthews Band, Coheed and Cambria vs. Phoenix, Medeski Martin and Wood vs. the Avett Brothers, the Decemberists vs. Sound Tribe Sector 9, Ben Harper & Relentless7 vs. Dead Weather, etc. But having too many options is all part of the fun.

Friday, October 2
School of Seven Bells, Livestrong Stage
The combo of twins Ally and Claudia Deheza with former Secret Machines guitarist Benjamin Curtis makes for a trio that puts out a big sound despite taking the stage with just two guitars and a synthesizer. The Deheza sisters deliver dreamy harmonies that resonate in majestic fashion when mixed with a variety of synthesizers, mostly up-tempo beats and lots of echo and reverb. Their voices were occasionally in danger of getting obscured in the wet sound mix, but the overall effect was impressive in the way the sisters’ voices approximated an angelic choir.

Blitzen Trapper, Dell Stage
The Portland-based sextet has been building a strong buzz over the past couple years and this drew a big crowd to check out the band’s rootsy but still rocking sound. Some of the tunes were more acoustic-flavored, while others had an Americana blues rock flavor that recalled Ryan Adams & the Cardinals or Conor Oberst. The band’s melodic hooks and soulful vocals were a hit, with “Big Black Birdâ€� making a particular impression as electric guitar, harmonica and melodic vocals combined for one of the set’s catchiest tunes.

The Avett Brothers, AMD Stage
This was the second biggest stage and while the Avett Brothers’ unique brand of Americana, melodic pop and punk energy has made them a rising buzz band, their sound didn’t seem to translate so well to such a large venue. Playing to tens of thousands of people with just banjo, upright bass and acoustic guitar is definitely a challenge. I would have ventured closer to the North Carolina band to see if that made any difference, but I couldn’t help but feel pulled away to the Livestrong Stage.

Even those with half an ear wouldn’t mistake the Gourds for anything but a Texas band. From their sound, which is tough to describe since it has so many different elements (alt-country with creole and Tex-Mex seasoning? Hillbilly soul?), to their songwriting (with topics that run the typical Gourds subject matter weirdness: road trips, love, a guy named Thurman, unrequited love, fossils, love, Shreveport, women), this Austin-based five-piece is definitely of a place. Haymaker!, their ninth studio album, boasts more of a country sound than their last two albums, 2007’s Noble Creatures and 2006’s Heavy Ornamentals, but with the Gourds, country gets rightfully twisted to include soul, rock, swamp boogie, and a lot of the usual elements that listeners have come to expect from a Gourds album. Haymaker! thankfully is also a lot less ballad-heavy than Noble Creatures, so it naturally has a more playful feel. And while there’s nothing here as immediately stand-out as their cover of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice” – c’mon, that was 12 years ago, man! – there’s enough here for Haymaker! to be a contender for the best Gourds album yet. (Yep Roc 2009)

The Gourds MySpace page

They’ve never had a hit or sold a ton of records, but the Blind Boys of Alabama have been making beautiful music for 70 years and running, so in lieu of the sold-out week at Madison Square Garden they deserve, this DVD – filmed during an appearance at the legendary New Orleans institution Tipitina’s last spring – serves as a suitable tip of the hat to one of modern music’s most distinguished careers. Fittingly, the Blind Boys were on the road promoting a CD, Down in New Orleans, that paid tribute to the city, and the show’s location also enabled them to enlist a passel of the Crescent City’s musical finest, including Susan Tedeschi, Dr. John, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The production values aren’t the best you’ve ever seen, the sound mix occasionally wavers into muddy territory – and if you’ve ever been to Tipitina’s, you know that fitting all those performers on the club’s tiny stage requires some delicate balancing – but what Live in New Orleans lacks in polish, it more than makes up for with the performers’ obvious, bone-deep commitment to the music. There’s little showmanship here, just the performers’ decades of experience, but that’s more than enough for a damn fine show. Live showcases the Blind Boys doing what they do best, and functions as a nicely priced introduction for new converts, who will also enjoy the brief BET-branded documentary bonus feature. (Saguaro Road 2009)

Blind Boys of Alabama MySpace page

Michael Doucet’s bayou crew is still going strong after 30-plus years and 20-plus albums – as evidenced by this sprightly 13-song set of new songs, Cajun classics, and unlikely covers. BeauSoleil bills Alligator Purse as “the funkiest history lesson ever created,� and although that’s a pile of publicist hyperbole, this is still a typically strong set, bolstered by appearances from famous names both obviously complementary (Garth Hudson, Roswell Rudd, Bill Keith) and not (Natalie Merchant, John Sebastian). The popular knock on BeauSoleil has always been their willingness to tinker with the traditional Cajun formula, and the band’s detractors will find plenty to grouse about here; Alligator Purse maintains the spirit of freewheeling experimentation that has infused their music since the beginning. The band’s detractors are miserable sticks in the mud, though – every BeauSoleil record is the soundtrack to a party waiting to happen, and this is no exception. Highlights include a woozy take on the classic “Marie� and covers of Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ & Tumblin’� and J.J. Cale’s “The Problem� – not to mention Merchant’s saucy vocal cameo on “Little Darlin’� – but the whole set is stronger than any new album from an act that’s been around this long has a right to be. Never mind the purists – just turn this up and stay awhile. (Yep Roc 2008)

Official BeauSoleil site