Paolo Nutini woos the crowd at ACL

Photo gallery of day two

The music today at ACL shows why this festival is so much fun. Highlights from Paolo Nutini, Sara Hickman, Trent Summar, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Arcade Fire and Muse demonstrated the strength and diversity of music available currently, and, at least for one day, accessible all in one place.

Walking by a set by Back Door Slam, it became obvious that the guitar greatness of Stevie Ray Vaughn washed far beyond the shores of Austin's Town Lake to the shores of the Isle of Man, an island in the Irish Sea. Other influences for these guys are Ray Charles and Jimi Hendrix. Rock on kids.

Paolo Nutini, the Scottish singer with an Italian name, showed why he is the new James Blunt of sensitive guy music. Singing from the heart, he woos the girls and makes the guys jealous. Early in his set he did an unexpected cover of Moby's Natural Blues, but pulled it off gracefully, moving back afterwards to his own material. At first it seemed he was continuing last year's trend of covering Gnarls Barkley, then the realization that his version was a cover came. With the beer company supplied fans in full flutter due to the heat, Nutini finished his set sounding sometimes like an old man with no teeth singing, but I mean that is a charming way.

Proving you can be a serious artist AND do kids' music was Sara Hickman, tearing up the stage with I'm just an optimistic fool, a protest song of sorts of someone who knows they are idealistic but refuses to back down. Her Torture is Wrong bumper sticker showed she wears her politics on her sleeve, but she can also do traditional singer-songwriter material as she introduced a song she described as written as the eighth song of 38 written after a breakup.

SoCal local boys, Cold War Kids, from Fullerton, turned in some great indie rock, including the emotionally wrenching We Used to Vacation, a painful look at the effects of alcoholism. After this song they had their hooks into those in the crowd that might have been unfamiliar with their work.

Those familiar with Polyphonic Spree will probably recognize St. Vincent, also known as Annie Clark. Her style is a bit Bjork like, without the annoying edge. (to some) An excellent singer, she also has a great guitar style, even busting out a bit of Jimi Hendrix flavored Star Spangled Banner. Check out Paris is Burning or Not Now, two of her best. You'll definitely be hearing from her and you can catch her in LA opening for The National Sept. 28 at the Wiltern.

Describing his music as "Farm Rock", Trent Summar could show some rock outfits a thing or two about performance energy as he kicked it up a notch or five during his set. The red-headed country boy from Tennessee likens his style to "that intersection where Chuck Berry rock and George Jones country converge." He had his cowboy hat flying off, climbed the sides of the stage, slung mike stands around, spitting out some outrageously good country sounds while supported by his excellent band, The New Mob. Anyone who thinks country is slow or boring needs to check out his record Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.

Next up for me was Kelly Willis, who some say would be chose Austin's homecoming queen if there ever was an election. Her sweet voice could melt teflon off a frying pan, and she showed why she is one of Texas' favorite songbirds. This year's Translated from Love has the unexpected cover of Iggy Pop's Success on it, showing her versatility and willingness to take chances.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah put out some engaging indie sounds, with a singer whose voice entrances some, but repels others. They are very good live, which explains why they have three sold out shows at the Troubadour Tuesday through Thursday. Providing some quirky pop, like Satan Said Dance, they verge on Talking Heads territory.

Headliners closing out the night were Arcade Fire, who recently had a greatly anticipated show at the Greek, and Muse, who played one of the smaller stages here last year but received the headlining spot Saturday after the White Stripes canceled. Both bands turned in excellent shows, with visuals on top of visuals and music to match. Muse does the arena rock thing with a lot of intelligence and the Fire also bring something more than ordinary to the table. Overall, another great day in Austin.