Austin City Limits is the weekend I look forward to most each fall (even though it feels like summer in October in Texas). The fact that I can walk to a music festival from my house and enjoy food from all the local restaurants while dancing away in Zilker Park (where I frequent regularly) is just so fun and exhilarating! You don’t have to drive far out to get there or deal with any crazy travel if you are flying in to the fest since it’s just right downtown in the center of the city. The energy, smiles, and all day freedom out in the park feels like you are on vacation and in a state of bliss with so many great bands that you can be-bop around to. In 2019, I managed to go to the festival both weekends (the lineups are always pretty similar each weekend with a few different headliners and such), and while I can’t believe my body was able to handle 6 days of a music festival, it really makes you feel so good and full of life.
The Return of Austin City Limits 2021
To be honest, this year I didn’t even look at the lineup until the day before! While some people boo and hiss about a festival lineup, for me it’s all about being outside in the sun with friends, feeling the rhythm, running into people I know, and just having a good time out there on our precious park land. I went the second weekend with my good friend from high school, Maggie, who just moved to Austin which made it all the more thrilling. It’s always faster to enter the park on the north west entrance right by Mopac (just set your uber to Austin High School and walk across the bridge). You barely wait in line and then just swiped our three-day wristbands and entered into the arena. I also love that you can load your credit card onto these things so that when you buy food or drinks, you just tap, tap, tap-aroo and don’t have to deal with taking out your wallet or what not. I always discover a band I hadn’t heard of, a restaurant, or a beverage I haven’t had. This year, the most exciting *new* to me part, was chilling in the Tito’s Lounge which was connected to their smaller stage. This way you could go on in, sip on free flowing Tito’s + Soda, even a yummy Espresso Tini, enjoy clean bathrooms, a shaded area to rest, an Essentials Station with sour patch kids (obviously), mints, some other treats, a glam bar, and even TV’s for the Texas OU game. This was one of my favorite parts of the weekend not only because I love Tito’s Vodka, but it was just so much fun to run into so many friends and people I work with that I hadn’t seen since before COVID. It felt like our own private bar that at one point, we realized that we needed to get ourselves out of there and to the music! We did, however, take advantage of the access to their stage and see Lane 8 DJ. He really got the crowd riled up and feeling slick. It was such a joy to feel the beats, even though I missed Austin’s very own Black Pumas at the same time, like I said for me ACL, is all about who you are with. I got to jump up and down along side the musician right on the stage and that energy is exactly what I’m looking for on these kind of days. Then we scurried over to Jon Pardi ( I was clearly with my country loving friends). At the T-Mobile stage, you are in the center of Zilker and can see all the stages at either end along with the iconic ACL flags waving away in the center. That cotton candy sunset with a slew of caramel sliding in distracted me away from the music. It was SO gorgeous and as we popped our cans of Vizzy Hard Seltzer, which I’d also never had, it just felt like the best place to be listening to, again, another band I wouldn’t have gone to see. For the record, the Pineapple Mango flavor is awesome! John Pardi revved up the crowd and made me miss the days where I listened to country music in elementary school. It was at this concert, we decided we needed to make it to Shania Twain’s residency in Vegas this next year.
We then skipped over to our gal Miley. Man, is her stage presence powerful. She just screams “determined and powerful woman” to me dressed in her red sequined body suit, big silver belt buckle and deep voice. I feel like her words in between songs are so intentional, and she just loved being on stage entertaining us. We moseyed on over to see (King) George Straight before the evening ended— we are in Texas after all. We surprised ourselves and ended the evening in the Silent Disco next to you guessed it, the Tito’s Lounge. We were definitely addicted to their hospitality as you can see. I have to admit, while I did miss Bleachers and Erykah Badu that day, the silent disco cracked me out of my body dancing with strangers like never before. It was such a treat after COVID to move myself and also flip through between three different DJ’s on stage. I will never judge a silent disco at a music festival again. It was a blast and finished out the lesson of the day that what makes the festival is not always the bands you were planning on seeing, but the experiences and the people that you didn’t expect to meet.
Day 2 we got a late start after Future Islands as my best friend, CeCe, flew in from Houston last minute to join our crew for Saturday. We obviously started at the Tito’s Lounge and then heard some Doja Cat and Modest Mouse before entering the ACL Eats area. Wow! It’s so cool that there are SO many different booths of every kind of food you can imagine and all local Austin restaurant outposts. We had Taco Bronco (new vendor this year) Chopped and Que’d Brisket Taco, Micklethwait Barbecue’s Pulled Pork Green Chili Mac with crispy jalapenos and ranch, Burro Cheese Kitchen Grilled Cheese with banana peppers; Bananarchy Oreo Coated Frozen Banana; and my favorite all time dessert every year, Skull & Cakebones Edible Cookie Dough with some chocolate sauce. I know why would you want a frozen chocolate banana or cookie dough at a festival after you’ve been drinking vodka soda and seltzers? Well, I don’t have a better answer than it’s THE BEST thing there.
Rufus Du Sol was definitely my favorite show of the weekend. I have been listening to them for the last several months, and I think their sound is so unique and whenever you hear it, you know it’s them. It’s soothing yet dancy, calming yet upbeat. It was a perfect headliner once the night sky went dark. We also caught most of Billie Eilish’s show. Now that is a gal that is just so proud and grateful to be up there performing for her fans. As if these full two days weren’t enough, I dragged us to a late night show at Empire Control Room & Garage for HeartByrne, the Talking Heads cover band. I really got into this band a couple years ago (yes, late I know), but the tunes are so catchy and this local band puts on a great act. ACL makes you feel high all weekend, no I’m not talking about that kind of high. I’m talking about the gust of energy you receive from all the people in Zilker there to have a good find, cheers some drinks, eat some great food, and sweat in the sun until it goes down and the beats really drop. I love walking 7-10 miles each day through our city with a full smile ear to ear for three days straight. I’ll go every year no matter how old I am and who is playing because at the end of the day, it’s all about the memories we create with our friends and the discovery that lands in our lap at the festival. Each year C3 brings on more and more exciting pieces whether it be a Melody Dancefit energizer class or a chat with THE Brene Brown on the Bonus Tracks Stage. Can’t wait to see what we get next year!!!
Rufus Du Sol was definitely my favorite show of the weekend. I have been listening to them for the last several months, and I think their sound is so unique and whenever you hear it, you know it’s them. It’s soothing yet dancy, calming yet upbeat. It was a perfect headliner once the night sky went dark. We also caught most of Billie Eilish’s show. Now that is a gal that is just so proud and grateful to be up there performing for her fans. As if these full two days weren’t enough, I dragged us to a late night show at Empire Control Room & Garage for HeartByrne, the Talking Heads cover band. I really got into this band a couple years ago (yes, late I know), but the tunes are so catchy and this local band puts on a great act.
ACL makes you feel high all weekend, no I’m not talking about that kind of high. I’m talking about the gust of energy you receive from all the people in Zilker there to have a good find, cheers some drinks, eat some great food, and sweat in the sun until it goes down and the beats really drop. I love walking 7-10 miles each day through our city with a full smile ear to ear for three days straight. I’ll go every year no matter how old I am and no matter who is playing because at the end of the day, it’s all about the memories we create with our friends and the discovery that lands in our lap at the festival. Each year C3 brings on more and more exciting pieces whether it be a Melody Dancefit energizer class or a chat with THE Brene Brown on the Bonus Tracks Stage. Can’t wait to see what we get next year!!!