ACL Weekend One

I am a very proud Austinite, I like to keep Austin weird and I don’t LOVE tourist. I am a huge supporter of the saying “yeah Austin’s great…don’t move here”! When a huge tourist event comes to town, you can usually find me hiding in my house and avoiding the city. I’m not trying to sound like a snob, or even like a scrooge…but you would just have to live here to understand. With all of that being said; I will always make an exception for Austin City Limits Music Festival. I will go downtown- smile at all the tourist and even dance next to them. I love ACL. All the great bands that come in, the even big headliners, and you can see them all in one weekend. Need I say more? Yes, the lines are long. The price of beer/food is outrageous but where else will you see Lorde, Sam Smith, Iggy, Lana Del Ray, The Replacements, and Eminem (to name few) all in one place during one weekend? Exactly! It’s incredible and I love every minute of ACL festival! You can find more information about ACL (here)

A few quick tips

1. Drink a lot of water

2. Bring a large blanket

3. If you’re with a huge group- make a tall flag and designate someone to always have this flag. Why you ask? Well chances are you’re all going to want to see different artists at different times. The flag helps everyone find each other at the end of the night.

4. If you want to see a big headliner- see the artist on the same stage right before the headliner. That way when the artist ends their set, the people seeing that artist leave and you can move closer to the front. This is WAY less annoying and more promising than trying to push through the crowd once your favorite artist is on.

5. Eat

6. Dress comfortably. This shouldn't need an explanation. You’re at a music festival. You’re going to walk a lot and sit on the ground.

7. Take it all in

8. Be prepared for a long commute to and from the festival. They seem to have ACL pretty streamlined with shuttles and transportation options, however- it still took us an hour to get down to the festival- and an hour to leave.

9. Sunscreen

10. Did I mention it is EXTREMELY ANNOYING when you push through a crowd of people who may have been standing there to see their favorite artist for hours? Because, it is.

Big Love,

-C