Early Friday evening, Austin rock band Grocery Bag took to the BMI stage to perform around a dozen songs from its discography with a ferocity that emphasized why they are one of Austin’s hottest new bands.
Formed in 2022 by singer Isabella Martinez, guitarists Dillon Aitala and Logan Kerman and drummer Jimmy Mercado, the band has progressively made its way up Austin’s music scene. Their ACL debut marked a major milestone.
The band started its set strong with “Stop Calling Me Out,” which featured melting guitar riffs and drums so loud, audience members felt the bass pulsing through their bodies, a phenomenon that drew many passersby to join the crowd.
They then transitioned to their song “Last Draw” with Aitala shouting, “Let’s go!” at the audience, hyping up the crowd. Aitala stood out as a natural live performer, treating his guitar as a fifth performer, raising it into the air towards the microphone to let the chords ring out and jumping around the stage during songs.
The band also debuted two songs slated to appear on their upcoming record, with the highlight being “Wrong Direction,” a love song that featured strong emotional vocals from Martinez, who carried a head-bopping melody throughout.
Rainy, muddy conditions made it hard for the crowd to match the band’s energy. After “Wrong Direction,” Martinez repeatedly asked the crowd to get low to the ground to participate in the next song’s build. However, most of the crowd was reluctant to get low, possibly due to the mud on the ground, which resulted in a lot of awkward half-squats.
The band was not dissuaded by that moment, however, and bounced back with a strong performance of one of their most popular songs, “Lies,” as Martinez switched to a bright red guitar and the band proudly strummed along.
“This is such a special moment for us,” Martinez said to cheers from the crowd. “Thanks for having us.”
Grocery Bag gave an emphatic closer with one of their recent singles, “Deadvolt.” The song built to a climactic chorus with a guitar riff as the crowd got increasingly amped and the guitars got louder, culminating in a fantastic finish that left the crowd dancing in circles, even in the mud.
