Austin City Limits Festival is one of the city’s most important events, attracting half a million visitors, many of them from the LGBT community. It’s an annual festival of music, art and food from the live music capital of the world.
Austin City Limits takes place at Zilker Park over two weekends (Oct. 1-3 and Oct. 8-10). Headliners such as Billy Ellish, Miley Cyrus and Stevie Nicks intend to anchor the two weekends of the festival with other artists taking the stage for one weekend or both. Over the past few years, the festival has introduced more and more well-known and emerging gay artists.
Other headliners for the event range from Texas country legend George Straight to hip-hop artist DaBaby to Erica Badu and Rufus Du Sole. More than 130 performers will take the stage throughout the festival, including Megan T. Stallion, Dodge Kat, Modest Mouse, Phoebe Bridgers, Jack Harlow, Bleachers, Greta Van Fleet and Machine Gun Kelly, who are ready to perform both.
Top tips for an unforgettable experience
- Austin City Limits Festival always has a large lineup, so make sure you plan to see your favorite bands ahead of time. Take your entire lineup and plan your day based on which shows you absolutely must attend so you can get to those stages well before the show starts. Don’t forget to bring a blanket or folding chair (there are plenty of places away from the stage where you can take a break but still listen to the music).
- The festival takes place at the 350-acre Zilker Park. The ACL has 8 main stages with 125 teams performing over two weekends. The main stages feature headliners and other stages feature great music all day long. To get a seat next to the stage, you’ll need to walk up to the stage well before the performer you want to see. ACL is a general admission event, which means there are no reserved seats for fans.
- Parallel events include Austin Eats, where food vendors showcase local restaurants. An art market features the wares of dozens of local artisans, and the Austin Art Garage is a space for talented emerging artists.
- Want a chance to meet some of your favorite ACL artists at ACL? Waterloo Records has free autographs for various ACL artists every day of the festival!
How to get to the festival.
- The festival offers free shuttles to and from the festival from Republic Square, located at 4th Street and Guadalupe. Shuttles run from early morning until the end of the show each day of the festival. Republic Square Park is within walking distance of downtown hotels, restaurants and bars. There is also paid parking a few blocks away from Republic Square Park.
- The festival has a special drop-off and pick-up area for those who choose a ride-sharing program, such as Lyft and Uber. You can also take a yellow cab (cab) if you’re lucky enough to catch one in downtown Austin. Driving to the ACL Festival is not recommended, as there is no parking near Zilker Park.