In a summer that signified to many that large music festivals have truly come back, the first Friday of this year’s Austin City Limits festival marked the end of a successful summer across the board in live entertainment. The overcast in Austin that day could not put a damper on the crowd’s spirits as thousands upon thousands rushed in early to celebrate the first weekend of the most monumental musical occasion of the year in the Lone Star State.

Day Three of Austin City Limits brought limitless potential from the moment all walked through the gates. One last day to take the fun in before the circus packed up and left town for another year.

Day two of Austin City Limits brought just as much energy as the first. Audiences gathered in Zilker park early to take in as much as they could from the music to the atmosphere. On a day where both the Houston Astros were competing in the playoffs and the Longhorns were playing their rival game against Oklahoma, many chose to take a break from the music to sit by the TVs and show their support for Texas. The Lone-Star spirit was abundant and not a soul in the crowd was not ready for the day to come.

After two grueling years since Zilker park was last closed for the festival, Austin City Limits returned spectacularly for not one, not three, but two incredible weekends to make up for the lost time. Fans flocked from all over the world to see artists from across all genres, young and old, and celebrate not only the return of live music, but the return of our sanity as hundreds of thousands came through the gates to blow off a little steam and resume business as usual.

Austin City Limits, television’s longest-running music program, is proud to announce a pair of highly anticipated tapings showcasing acclaimed artists who blur the lines between soul, gospel, folk and blues. On November 1, 2020, a local treasure returns, as Ruthie Foster tapes her second episode.

All of the greats were ahead of their time; Archimedes, Nikola Tesla, The Beatles. The Grateful Dead meshed string band music and rhythm & blues to create an entirely new scene and the Rolling Stones carried a rock and roll torch into stadiums and onto television screens worldwide, but in the world of Americana music and Texas’s cosmic outlaw country, there was one group telling old stories and rallying new fans well before those genres even had a name—Asleep at the Wheel.

October came quickly this year, and with it so did ACL Music Festival. There’s something special about the first of the two-weekend music festival.  It was hot. It was sweaty. It was exhausting. But that is to be expected. We, the people, prevailed. Fun was had, regardless of weather by tourists and locals alike. 

About two months ago, the lineup for Austin’s music festival, ACL, was announced to the eagerly awaiting music fans from near and far. ACL makes Austin a popular destination during both weekends of the two-weekend festival.  When there are names like Guns N’ Roses, Mumford & Sons, Tame Impala, and Robyn, amongst many, many more, on the lineup, you’re sure to attract locals and tourists alike.

Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) is a fixture in every Austinite’s schedule. Whether it be to leave town and avoid the influx of people and traffic, or to attend the festival either weekend, you can tell when the weekends are coming. Having gone to college in Austin, and attended the festival several times throughout college and after, I’ve found it to be a popular activity with friends, year after year.

About 750 attendees, many fresh off a hot day at the ACL Festival, were treated to an evening of musical and political conversation at the Austin, TX club Emo's last night, highlighted by Jim James, Kam Franklin of The Suffers, and appearances by seven different candidates for office including Austin Mayor Steve Adler.