[UPDATE 10/12/21]: Austin City Limits Music Festival has publicly apologized to Phoebe Bridgers after her sound was cut at the end of her Saturday afternoon set.
“Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication on stage by ACL Festival personnel, the sound on the final song of (the) Phoebe Bridgers set was cut off during her ACL Fest weekend two performance,” read a statement to Austin360. “We wish this had not happened and extend our apologies to Phoebe. After positive conversations between festival organizers and the artist about the situation, ACL Fest has made a donation to Texas Abortion Funds to show our support for Phoebe and an organization close to her heart.”
Bridgers also acknowledged the resolution on Twitter, tweeting out “Thank you” as news of the festival’s response broke.
Thank you. https://t.co/f2CjZpkzjX
— traitor joe (@phoebe_bridgers) October 11, 2021
[10/11/21] Phoebe Bridgers performed at Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival on Saturday, which saw a strict stage manager cut her sound during the performance’s last song.
Right around her set’s scheduled end time, 5:20 p.m. CT, Bridgers started into her set closing “I Know The End”, from her 2020 album, Punisher. A fitting ending for the singer-songwriter’s ACL set, one might think. As the song progressed towards its climax, however, her sound suddenly cut out, much to the disdain of the Austin crowd.
Well, Phoebe took that personally.
Shortly after her performance’s abrupt ending, Bridgers took to Twitter to express her dissatisfaction with the events that transpired. Her tweet was short, “sweet”, and to the point. “lol f*ck acl”, she wrote, which saw her met with a flood of support from fans, many of whom reported that she had only gone one single minute over her allotted time. Read that tweet, here.
In a video shared to Twitter by user @fearlesslyandy, the crowd can be heard booing incessantly as Phoebe and her band play the song without the help of a PA.
THE AUDACITY TO CUT IT OUT AT THE BEST PART pic.twitter.com/cmJ1gIHjYa
— anroo || Red TV out 11/12 (@fearlesslyandy) October 10, 2021
Bridgers’ good friend Margo Price chimed in with support, tweeting her surprise and affirming that she “would have taken a piss on the stage” if it had happened to her. Check out that exchange here.
Austin City Limits aside, Phoebe Bridgers will take her talents westward to Berkeley and Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre later this month. She will perform in Berkeley on October 16th before two shows in LA on October 21st–22nd. Head here for tickets, more information, and additional tour dates.