Noga Erez Plays Sold-Out, Scaled-Down ACL FEST NIGHTS at Historic Scoot Inn
Over the past two weekends, Austin celebrated ACL Festival's 25th anniversary in Zilker Park. Festival-goers could choose from over a hundred artists across nine stages during the 3 days. But with 75,000 participants per day, the grounds are crowded, and seeing a favorite artist up close is nearly impossible. Multi-day festivals can also be taxing; they are crowded, parking is a challenge, and food is expensive. That is why many locals stick to the ACL Fest Nights series to see festival artists perform in smaller venues across Austin. The series includes more intimate performances from both major and emerging artists. Noga Erez, an Israeli singer-songwriter, rapper, and producer, played on the Sunday lineup at ACL on both weekends. She also gave a sold-out ACL Nights show on the outdoor courtyard stage at the Historic Scoot Inn on the second Friday.
People often call Erez a rapper or hip-hop artist, but her music mixes electropop, hip hop, 80s pop, and some soul. She usually performs with backup dancers, but for the smaller ACL Nights show, she brought a three-piece band: herself on vocals, Ori Rousso (vocals, sampler, synthesizer, guitar), and Ran Jacobovitz (electronic drums, percussion). She took to the stage with the stunning, cinematic new song “Duck Season”. Although it was unreleased, the crowd was no less enthusiastic for the performance. And perhaps because it’s not a known song, the slow build commanded full attention. It took me a moment to notice she was wearing her own merch, an oversized, pink “I Love You” T-shirt, which ties back to her latest release “I LOVE YOU.” She said the shirts had just arrived, and she had to put one on right away. I checked out the merch earlier and planned to buy a shirt before I left, but the next time I walked by, they were, unsurprisingly, all sold out.
Erez is working on a new album and has shared sneak peeks on social media, plus performed new songs at festivals. At the show, she played a few of these new tracks alongside older favorites from her 2021 album Kids (like End of the Road and Views), hits from her 2024 Vandalist album (Vandalist, Dumb, A+), and recent releases (I Love You, Bubbling). Even without backup dancers, on a small stage and in an oversized merch shirt, she was captivating. She switched from rapid-fire rap verses and hypewoman to a pop star with catchy hooks in each song. The crowd was diverse, with people of all ages, from teens at the front to older folks matching her lyrics line for line.
Last year, on her Vandalist tour, she played two sold-out Austin shows at a smaller downtown venue. This year, she played early-evening shows each weekend on one of the smaller stages at ACL Festival. However, when she returns to Austin, she’s certain to headline an arena show or ACL Festival next time.