Concert Review: Coca-Cola Sips & Sounds Music Festival 2026
- Claire Hookstra
- Mar 16
- 3 min read
The fourth Coca-Cola Sips & Sounds Music Festival was one for the books, highlighting emerging and established talent throughout the weekend at Auditorium Shores.
Written by Claire Hookstra
The 2026 edition of the Coca-Cola Sips & Sounds Music Festival was full of outstanding acts. Showcasing pop voices and indie rock legends, here are the stand-out sets from this year’s event.
FRIDAY
Aidan Bisset
At 3:15 p.m. under the warm Texas sun, Aidan Bisset took the Coca-Cola Stage in blue jeans and a black jacket. The band entered the stage and moved immediately into the opening lines of “reading into it,” as Bisset emerged, and fans screamed in excitement. Bright looping visuals with lyrics and symbols representing his discography played throughout the set, drawing in festivalgoers who were just getting to the grounds. As the set continued, Bisset worked through tracks from his latest record, shut up and love me, such as “ricochet” and “are we in love yet?” Commenting on his last Austin visit, which was for the Austin City Limits Music Festival, he declared he was happy to be back, despite the rather hot weather. Fans danced excitedly, full of that “beginning-of-a-music-festival energy,” and geared up for the artist’s biggest hit, “Tripping Over Air.” Moving down to the extended catwalk of the stage, Bisset enthusiastically sang “She likes boys that play guitar / tattooed arms and a beat up car / I know she’s gonna break my heart,” along with fans across the stage’s field. An upbeat way to start the festival, Aidan Bisset was only the beginning of the weekend’s stellar sets.
Grouplove
Grouplove closed out the SXSW Stage on Friday with a contagious energy that kept the audience dancing and moving throughout the whole set. As the sun set over the Austin skyline, Grouplove created a beautiful sonic scene of indie pop to create a picture-perfect Friday night. The five-piece commanded the stage, starting off the set with “Just What You Want” and “Deleter” as the GA area slowly filled up with stragglers from the last set. The band soon broke into “Back In The 90s,” the group’s iconic theme from BoJack Horseman, as audience members around me looked at one another in shock, unaware that Grouplove was the genius behind the track. Finally, the moment most of the crowd was waiting for, the iconic guitar riff of “Tongue Tied” boomed through the speakers over a sea of cheers. People hugged their friends close and sang at the top of their lungs, “Don’t take me tongue tied / Don’t wave no goodbye.” A cathartic moment, hearing the band’s hit live was definitely a standout moment of the night.
SATURDAY
The Runarounds
The Runarounds took the SXSW Stage at 5:45 on Friday with a set that exuded surf-rock joy. Working through their album from the Amazon Prime Original, The Runarounds, it was nearly impossible not to bop your head to the beat. After singing one of their most popular songs, “Ghosts,” William Lipton (vocals/guitar) announced to the crowd that this was their first official festival to ever play as a band. “15 Rootbeers” and “Shoelaces” were hits with the audience, as voices carried through the air singing along to the chorus of “Shoelaces,” “I guess I could forget about / How you tie your pants with your shoelaces.” A set full of bright percussion and spritely vocals, “Senior Year” was a standout moment, as Axel Ellis (vocals/guitar) dedicated it to high school and college seniors. Established and new fans alike danced away to the classic surf rock ballad, as the sun shone bright over Auditorium Shores.
Foster the People
Foster the People played the Coca-Cola Stage at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, bringing their indie rock excellence to the festival grounds. Breaking into “Helena Beat” at the start of their set, the audience danced away and didn’t stop until the group was off the stage. Keyboardist and founding member of the band Isom Innis showed off his skills in the 2011 hit, “Houdini.” The electronic-inspired style of Foster the People is something so sacred to the early 2000s era of indie music, and audiences today still yearn for it. People around me looked at one another in awe with every song they knew throughout the set, grooving to the bright synths that characterized the set. Closing with “Sit Next to Me” and “Pumped Up Kicks,” it felt as if the entire festival was singing back to the band, grinning from ear to ear.
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