Benson Boone ignites passions at ACL Fest on Saturday
Back-flipping off his piano in a red jumpsuit that read “Austin” across the back, buzz-worthy pop star Benson Boone was in prove-it mode from the jump. The 22-year-Mormon-adjacent singer who studied at BYU ignited passions Saturday at ACL.
His message was clear: I am “so legit,” as Taylor Swift said. (Boone opened for her at Wembley.) I am a real boy. And sure my pop songs are viral on TikTok but they also are polished and built to last.
You can’t say he hasn’t done the work.
He used scissors to cut out his his jumpsuit and go shirtless prior to “What Do You Want.”
“Drunk In My Mind” featured distinct, high-register vocals. Boone did the nice-guy “drink some water” banter that ACL performers make when they observe that yes, it’s October but also, it’s hot. He sometimes played the piano that he jumped off; and on one of those cringe-worthy, earnest Gen-Z ballads about girls with green eyes that get chip-tuned into a viral snippet. He nailed the Freddy Mercury arena, call-and-response “Day Oh” bit.
So there’s no doubt that my boy Benson is a ringer. He did a free-standing backflip too. And he went the full hour, closing with omnipresent single “Beautiful Things.”
The catalog is not his fault — the acceleration ratio on his fame is wildly sudden. Eras Tour, VMAs, “American Idol.”
But he got an enthused “I love this song” from an adult standing behind me before “Cry.” Think the pace, crunchy strumming of “Just What I Needed” by the Cars.
His music combines Lumineers balladry, Imagine Dragons breakdowns, and the grandiose falsetto of the dude from Fun.
“He’s so hot. Oh my God,” someone said in line for the bar mid-set.
It sure seemed like a nod to his virality to use a background screen of three vertical panels, the way blog editors screengrab Reels and TikToks for social art on stories.
Boone also said that what makes us human is that our loved ones die and “that sucks.” He asked us to put our phones in our pockets and focus on that sentiment. Maybe call a loved one too, he said.
“Have you ever been scared of something?” he likewise asked Zilker. Come to think of it, yes.
“He’s better than I thought,” my 41-year-old buddy from college, Clint, said upon bumping into me in the Honda stage crowd.
Clint’s right.