After a whirlwind two years of sold out stadium and arena tours worldwide, as well as headlining some of the biggest festivals like Coachella , Reading and Leeds and Lollopalooza , blink-182 closed out its busy renaissance by headlining night 1 / weekend 1 of Austin City Limits.
Austin is a city long known for its music scene, and festivals, especially with the yearly South By Southwest Event. Blink-182 first played a festival in the city in 1997 at the MTV Sports & Music, which was a Warped Tour-like event with skateboarding and BMX. Headlining action sports epic event X-Games Austin in 2016 was the last festival blink played in the city. WATCH an interview Mike Damante did with blink-182 at X-Games Austin.
Festivals are usually hit or miss- the miss generally being crowds, and setlists usually being geared towards casual fans, but blink’s set was its satisfying “One More Time” tour, which pulled from band’s chart topping singles like “All The Small Things” to newer songs like “Dance With Me.” Highlights also included “Down,” “Can’t Go Back,” and “Anthem Part 3.”
In a festival mostly dominated by indie and pop acts, blink’s brand of punk rock stood out, and showed the band’s staying power and modern relevance continues.
By MIKE DAMANTE
If you are a fan of pop-punk, Mike Damante’s book “Hey Suburbia: A guide to the emo/pop-punk rise” is out now, and features exclusive interviews with blink-182, New Found Glory, Alkaline Trio, Descendents, and others.
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