The Lumineers brought nostalgia to ACL Fest, but not much else

How memorable were the Lumineers on weekend two of the Austin City Limits Music Festival? By the time we read the "Thanks y'all" sign on the way out of Zilker Park, we'd already forgotten about their headline set. When we did remember all we could think was, "Why were they headliners anyway?"

Lest you think we're being too mean, we do have nice things to say about the folk band: Their songs are lovely and made us wish we were falling in love at ACL Fest. We cried a nostalgic cry during old favorites from 2012 including "Dead Sea" and "Flowers in your Hair." (This writer paid to see them in 2013, OK? I'm an OG fan.) Countless fans twirled and swayed as they sang the words to "Ho Hey," the band's most famous song, and it made us thank the universe for live music.

But they were just fine. Which is fine, if you're not headlining ACL Fest. Headlining in Austin means you're big. Let's recount some past headliners: Jay Z, George Strait, Billie Eilish and Paul McCartney, all legends in their genres. The Lumineers aren't right for that top spot — they've quietly hummed along in the background the past 10 years instead of making a case for their longevity.

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So, how did the band make use of their top timeslot?

The Lumineers kicked off their 8:10 p.m. set at the Honda stage by walking out to a cover of Rihanna's "Desperado." Were they singing it live? No. Were they the ones on the recording, though? Unclear. Was Rihanna making a cameo? Definitely not.

Once the band made their appearance on stage, they sailed through "Cleopatra," "Flowers in your Hair," and "Ho Hey." The crowd will strongly disagree with our questioning of the Lumineers' first class ACL status — they screamed and freaked with every song.

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"Dead Sea" provided a romantic moment. Lyrics include: "You told me I was like the Dead Sea/ You'll never sink when you are with me." Lead vocalist Wesley Schultz suggested the song for weddings, instead of the common choice of "Ho Hey," which he called a break up song. We made a mental note for later.

As songs blurred into one another, we took in the cool temperatures and watched Schultz stomp on the stage just like he did 10 years ago at the band's Circuit of the Americas show. We wondered where they'd be 10 years from now. If they're headliners again, we hope they'll give us something to write home about.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: The Lumineers at ACL Fest: Nostalgia and not much else.