“I’m so glad to be back for a second weekend,” Bakar said to his Sunday ACL audience. “This week versus last week, I’m trying to see who wins that battle.”
The indie rock artist delivered a brief but captivating 10-song set, wearing a black cowboy hat and brown shades to combat the sun. Bakar appeared on the T-Mobile stage at 3:47 p.m. and jumped straight into “All In” from his 2018 Badkid album.
“My name’s Bakar, I came here from London Town, England, United Kingdom and I’m so happy to be in Austin, Texas,” Bakar said before singing his popular single “1st Time.” “Let’s do this.”
The singer concluded the song with an impromptu cover of “Dancing in the Moonlight” by Boffalongo. Bakar remained center stage for the first two songs, before getting comfortable and jumping around for “Right Here, for Now.”
The energy emitted from the crowd proved powerful as Bakar finished singing a more recent song, “All Night.” “I haven’t played that song a whole lot, so I’m a bit rusty but thank you,” Bakar said.
Phones were lowered and hands raised as the English singer performed “The Mission” and “NW3.” With the sun at its peak and the dust all around, Bakar entranced the audience with his mellow vocals and calm stage presence.
“ACL are you still alive or what?” Bakar said, attempting to liven the crowd again, before singing “Alive!” “I need a little bit more energy, ACL. Some of you have come to see me. (For) some (of you), your friend told you that I’m good. It’s my job to convince you … let me try my best.”
Fans swayed side-to-side as Bakar sang “Small Town Girl,” and began to wrap his set up. “Can you guess what the next song is?” Bakar said before playing his Billboard Hot 100 song “Hell N Back.”
The audience screamed along as the song slowly concluded when Bakar interrupted and stopped the track.
“Hold on, I still got time. I’m gonna play that song one more time, you guys mind?” Bakar said before his encore of “Hell N Back.” “I’m in a good mood Austin.”
Louder than ever, fans sang along and reveled in the moment. When the music came to that familiar harmonious end, Bakar threw his hat into the crowd and bid farewell to ACL.
