Concert Review: Suki Waterhouse at ACL Weekend 1
Suki Waterhouse just made it cool to fall in love. Her Saturday ACL performance set a new standard for lovergirls everywhere: romance can be dramatic, messy, and unapologetically badass.
Written by Caroline McConnico
Photos courtesy of Dasana Karam
When planning to go to the Austin City Limits Music Festival, picking out an outfit is usually at the top of the priority list, especially for a rainy, muddy festival weekend like this one. For a frantic Suki Waterhouse, however, getting dressed was a group experience, as she hurriedly grabbed at clothes and the crowd watched from the giant monitors flanking the T-Mobile stage.
When she was finally dressed — in a leopard-printed leotard and ringmaster vest — she sprinted to the front of the stage before dramatically declaring, “Welcome to Loveland, ACL!”
As the opening guitar riff of “Supersad” strung out, Waterhouse looked like an ‘80s femme fatale who had wandered into a circus. Her makeup, loose hair, and theatrical movements only heightened the effect, starting her fierce, hour-long set with a bang. She immediately established herself as ACL’s resident lovergirl, committed to the bittersweet mood that runs through her sound.
“OMG” followed, pairing her breathy vocals with the kind of dreamy, lovesick energy that became her signature. Afterward, Waterhouse looked out at the crowd as if it were a sea of past lovers. She asked if the audience was “ready to fall back in love?” as she strutted around in her ripped tights. The crowd screamed enthusiastically as the band started playing “Back In Love,” and Waterhouse danced across the stage.
Waterhouse then leaned fully into her romantic persona with a cover of Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield.” The 1983 hit felt almost tailor-made for the world she had created onstage: dramatic, romantic, and just a little bit unhinged. Waterhouse traded Benatar’s hard-rocking intensity for her own gentle delivery, turning the song into something softer without losing its sense of desperation. By that point, “Loveland” felt less like a joke and more like a place Waterhouse had actually built. Not only did she look like an old-school heroine who had escaped from a fever dream, but she was also expertly performing a cover that gave the character a soundtrack.
“My Fun” brought in the playful cheekiness Waterhouse so often articulates onstage. The song’s youthful confidence gave her a chance to lean into her theatrical persona, trading some of the set’s romantic yearning for a little more swagger. She seemed completely at home in the song, turning its flirtatious energy into one of the set’s most infectious moments.
“Moves” shifted the set into a dreamier, more hypnotic territory. Built around a steady groove and hazy synths, the song has a soft, almost woozy quality that contrasts with the theatricality of Waterhouse’s performance. Her airy vocals floated over the production, and into “Notting Hill,” giving the tracks a weightless quality while the rhythm kept it moving.
Before launching into her well-known song “Good Looking,” Waterhouse held up a rose and asked the audience if they would accept it. The crowd enthusiastically agreed. She then attempted to toss the rose into the audience, but it fell comically short, landing nowhere near its intended destination. Waterhouse could only laugh at herself before asking: Did Austin have any “good-looking boys?” Apparently, the answer was yes. The crowd erupted as Waterhouse launched into her viral hit.
“Dream Woman” brought the set back into its hazy, romantic world, with Waterhouse leaning into the song’s dreamy softness. She followed it with “Model, Actress, Whatever,” a sharper, more tongue-in-cheek track that let her poke fun at the expectations surrounding her while keeping the set’s playful confidence intact. She commanded the listener to “Fuck what you've heard / I'm being my worst / The bridges I've burned / Call me a model, an actress, whatever.”
As her set came to a close, Waterhouse turned to “Weirdo,” bringing out her slightly more vulnerable side and trading some of the set’s larger dramatics for a song that feels more intimate and self-aware. She closed with “To Love,” a fitting finale for a set that had spent the afternoon embracing romance in all of its chaotic glory.