This year marks the 17th Austin City Limits Music Festival. Per usual, renowned artists from across the globe will descend upon Zilker Park for consecutive weekends of good music, even better food and lots and lots of heat. Conveniently, ORANGE Magazine is here to help you sift through that lengthy lineup and get to know a few featured artists more personally before they hit the stage at the festival.

Story by Onaje McDowelle

Day Wave is an indie-pop act based out of Los Angeles, made up of the sole instrumentalist and vocalist Jackson Phillips. This year, Day Wave released his debut album, “The Days We Had,” which has since amassed over 10 million plays on Spotify.

ORANGE got in touch with emerging indie act Phillips to talk about his tour, debut album and how he plans on spending his time in Austin.

You seem to be touring quite a bit recently.  How has the response been on tour? Any cool new venues or musical cities we need to know about?

Day Wave: This tour with The Shins has been awesome, the response has been great. I think it’s rare to have such a good pairing, and their fans have been super nice to us.

What would be in a survival kit for a tour like the one you are on now?

Day Wave: A pillow, almond butter, and Emergen-C.

And what’s currently playing in the tour van?

Day Wave: The new LCD Soundsystem!

“The Days we Had” is your debut album of material after a series of EPs and singles. Is it a daunting task to put out an entire album or was it an easy thing for you?  Are you happy with the way things turned out?

Day Wave: It didn’t seem too daunting at the time, but the process was a little more strenuous than my EP’s. I’m happy with it, but will probably always love my first songs more.

Who did you recruit to help out with the recording of the album?  

Day Wave: I recorded it with Jonny Bell at JazzCats studio in Long Beach. Later down the line it was mixed by Mark Rankin in Laurel Canyon. It was awesome to work with these guys, but I have to say I enjoyed working alone more.

Is it a freeing, liberating thing to make decisions on your own without having to discuss things with two to four band members?  

Day Wave: Yes! Band members can be difficult, I definitely thought about that when starting this project.

When you head into Austin for ACL, what are some things you look forward to doing in town?  Anyone on the bill you’re excited about seeing?

Day Wave: I think we get into town on the last day of the second weekend, so unfortunately I’ll be missing most of the festival. But I hope to stick around for a couple days afterwards, get some BBQ and explore the city a bit. I haven’t been in a while.