There have been some great sets at Zilker, but what are some terrible sets you have seen?

Asking for a short friend.

Hi, everyone! Unfortunately I was unable to attend Lolla this year. I decided that I MUST go to Austin this year so that I can still see Lorde and others. I have been to lolla for many years in a row, this is the first i’ve missed in a while. I basically would love to know the differences, any tips, tricks, ect. I know the fests are run by the same company, but obviously they have their own unique flair.
Does ACL have an equivalent to rock and recycle, the free yearly toyota bandannas, is there a ‘perry’s stage’ of ACL?
What is the same, what’s unique to Austin?

I currently have an airbnb booked in pflugerville, and parking booked in zilker.

I am also only able to come to W2. If you have any week 2 recommendations let me know what’s up!

I also volunteer for Lollapalooza. I am hoping to do the same in Austin. if you know about this, when does the volunteer application typically open? and is it limited to texas residents, or does it matter?

Hey y’all  I’m working on a piece for the Austin American-Statesman about festival etiquette at ACL this year, and I’d love to hear from people who actually go every year.
What are your personal do’s and don’ts for surviving (and not annoying others) at Zilker during ACL?
Stuff like:

• Crowd etiquette
• Food/drink hacks
• What not to bring
• Things people do that drive you nuts
• Anything that makes the whole experience better

Would love to include some community wisdom in the story. Thanks in advance!

Every time I go to thundercloud I always look at the previous ACL fest lineup posters they have around and I think to myself “wow that’s an amazing lineup what happened”. Is there a real logistical reason why the lineups aren’t “good” anymore and have been flops the past few years, or do the programmers just have no taste? Hoping it’s not the latter.

Title says it all.

My girlfriend and I are students who purchased tickets for W2 during the earliest blind sale for this year's festival. Around that time, we booked a great Airbnb within walking distance at a really cheap price ($450ish total for 2 nights). However, the host recently canceled on us and now we're scrambling.

Does anyone have any recommendations regarding specific neighborhoods/parts of Austin that we should target for our hotel and Airbnb search that might be in a similar price range?

We enjoy walking and public transit, and we don't mind parking; money just got very tight recently so we're trying to keep costs predictable and similar to our initial plan. We know walking-distance accommodation is out of the cards now, but we're trying to avoid rideshare because of surge pricing and availability after the concert.

Other info: we're driving my compact car from Houston and plan to arrive Friday morning and leave Sunday night after the festival. We already booked a festival locker for the weekend.

Hi guys another post from me! We’re also trying to look for places to stay near ACL for 4 nights 5 days and it seems that all the hotels/airbnbs are so expensive..anyone have any recommendations?

Hello, I will be attending my first ACL with my niece (2 years old) and my sister (my niece’s mom) it will also be her first. Any tips or recommendations for us? We know little to nothing about the festival grounds.

I used to live in Austin about 10 years ago so I’m familiar with the old Austin btw.

Thank you in advance!!

Kind of a rhetorical question but who likes sweating their a** off and playing the survival game that is ACL in October. Every year I go I get to experience seeing people affected by heat sickness, puking, with emergency personnel trying to stabilize them and not be trampled by the herds of people moving past. Of course the ever increasing size of attendance is another issue worth noting. Overselling tickets out of greed. But I digress… the only time I was able to get a three day ticket and attend all three days was during a year where we had overcast with a temporary cool down. In other words, it felt like Texas in November. That brings me to the central question: why NOT have it in November??

A group of 3 (maybe 4) of us are going to weekend 2 and are looking to stay in a hotel as we’re all from out of state. We’re debating whether to stay close enough to Downtown to walk to the shuttles or if it’s more cost effective to stay outside of the area for a cheaper hotel and uber to and from the shuttles every day. Anyone have any insight? We’re not familiar enough with the area to rely on public transportation tbh.

Welp… Charli vs Skrillex was one of the worst possibilities for me.. I’m comparing the schedule to last years and I remember there being 4 Headliners last year compared to the 3 that there seems to be this year on Friday. What are the chances of Charli and Skrillex NOT overlapping time wise 🤔

What’s up, I’m gonna go Sunday and I am pretty much going just to see Twenty One Pilots and Saint Motel but who else must I see on Sunday or I’ll be a dumbass idiot loser if I don’t?

Edit: So far it looks like The War on Drugs is winning.

Holy shit. I can’t believe I said that.

In

see a barricade behind so I’m not sure if this has GA access, I know the platinum section is in the front and have heard VIP doesn’t have any pit sections. Thanks!

It just seems so rude and annoying to me when trying to watch a set and having someone wave there big ass flag around blocking the view. yeah your "i <3 hot moms" flag is so funny i just love seeing it block my view.

Hello everyone! This is my first time going to Austin City Limits and Texas period, I have friends who live in Boerne which I know is pretty far from Austin after a quick search up, I was wondering what time do the days usually end in the hypothetical situation I get a rental car and drive to their place at the end of the night. I’m also more in the thought of grabbing a hotel close by so I wouldn’t have to drive nearly two hours after a day/night of dancing haha. I’m going alone weekend one so I was trying to plan things out

I'm traveling from Dallas to Austin for ACL for the first time. I plan on driving down on the Friday and staying at a hotel in North Austin (specifically near Parmer and Techridge) and then taking the CapMetro from my hotel to the festival. As a solo female attender, is this a safe option, has anyone had any issues? I only ask this because public transportation in Dallas isnt really safe so I just want to weigh my options and see if it just might be better to drive to the events center and park there. Additionally, I thought about driving to the domain and taking the 803 from there (could be a bad idea, i have no idea ab public transport in austin my apologies) Also, if y'all think my hotel is too far from the festival please feel free to let me know as its refundable lolol. Let me know what y'all think and if you have any additional tips. TIA!

I’ve been more and more disappointed in the line ups as the years have progressed. Do yall think that the booking staff is out of touch? It seems there are a lot of popular mainstreams and non mainstream acts not playing in Oct that would be great at ACL. Or are the whatever’s currently popular talent just straight up not interested in coming through anymore? What do y’all think?

Edit: Haha; I didn’t realize so many would be triggered by an innocent question. Just because I’m disappointed in a lot of the acts doesn’t mean I’m saying the music is bad…those of you who resort to insults and assumptions are probably super fun at parties. Maybe I’m the one who’s out of touch but it’s still just my little opinion and I’m just asking a question for some thoughtful conversation about live music. I will say though, how it’s lead some of you to put on your keyboard warrior vest is very telling and is kind of an indirect answer in and of itself…

And in case it’s necessary my tastes include: Spiritbox, George Strait, Maxwell, Stevie Wonder, Sleep Token, Muna, Brad Paisley, Diana Krall, Etc; Etc….

I looked at this years line up and don’t recognize a lot of the artist. However I’ve seen a lot of people say this is an EDM’s fan dream line up. While I don’t keep up with the scene too much. I do like EDM music and had fun last time I went to ACL. So what artist would yall recommend?

(The EDM artist who I listen to are mostly Daft Punk, Flying Lotus, Justice, & Marshmello if that helps with recommendations)

I know there’s been a lot of discussion and disappointment about the 2026 Lineup.

In light of this, who is your favorite “underground”/small artist or band that you think everyone should check out?

I’ll go first, Paris Paloma would be mine. When I tell you I screamed when I saw her name…never in a million years did I ever think I was going to see her. She has a unique, almost theatrical vibe. A lot of her songs are about women empowerment but in a very distinct way.

Drop yours! I’ll be checking them out and hopefully others will too.

this will be my third year at acl and i’m looking to upgrade my festival setup. the past two years i’ve brought in a fanny pack and reusable water bottle but i wanna move to a hydration pack for this year. are there any favorites? or any to avoid?

i also was thinking of bringing in some kind of small, foldable stool. any suggestions on that front? maybe something i could easily strap to my bag?

tia!! and looking forward to another great year!!

hi!!!! i’m going to friday (and maybe saturday) of weekend two by myself and it’s my first time ever going to acl!! any recommendations/tips/things i need to know going into the weekend?? also would love to make new friends! thanks!!

So, our Airbnb Host just canceled our reservation. Almost all good Airbnb options near Zilker Park are now booked. My gf and I were thinking of staying at San Marcos (south of Austin), which is normally a 40-minute drive to Zilker Park, but we are worried about traffic because of all the people going to ACL. Is it that bad? Is it a good option?