Austin City Limits, slated to hit Zilker Park for weekend one 10/3-10/5, and the second weekend 10/10-10/12, just recently announced the ridiculous catalog of acts hitting the festival this year. The fest's lineup is inarguably similar to Chicago's Lollapalooza lineup (rightfully so, based on the shared concert promoter), but the fest may have a bigger bang for your buck than one may imagine. Let's take a look at why you should save your cash and take a road trip down to ACL next fall.
- The Lineup - This one is simple. The festival is set to host a nearly identical lineup to that of Grant Park's annual festivities, trading out a few acts here and there for the huge acts that we've seen Pitchfork outbid C3 for in the last couple of years (namely Beck, Belle & Sebastian, Tune-Yards, and St. Vincent). On top of that, you have the Lolla big hitters like Outkast and Eminem, plus unrepresented acts in The Windy City festivals this summer like Pearl Jam, the reunited Replacements, and the music-press-adored Mac DeMarco. With over 100 acts (not including the unannounced aftershows), this is the place to be.
- The Time - ACL closes out the coveted festival season, as a mild-weathered cap to your summer fun. But the timing is so ideal because, besides escaping the heat, most of these bands have spent the summer honing their festival craft at the hundreds of others that have popped up all over the country. Unless your like...Black Sabbath or something...you will likely be playing multiple festival gigs at a time. Come October, the acts will be so on top of their live show that it will be second nature for them to blow you away.
- The Convenience - In Coachella fashion, Austin City Limits is covering two weekends this year that, barring Lorde and a relatively short list of early afternoon undercard acts, have the same bands appearing for each of. Can't get work off on Friday, the 3rd? Have your pesky cousin's wedding on Sunday, the 12th? Don't worry about it, because you have a second chance.
- The Non-Music Festival - ACL takes after its Chicago sister-fest with the incredible list of things to do and see if you are sick of watching bands. Art shows, places for your little children that really don't belong at a festival, and good eats are just a sample of non-music activities going on in Zilker Park during the shows.
- The Tickets - When Lollapalooza tickets sold out in a matter of minutes, ACL has two weekend's worth of sets of 3-day passes that go for less money and are still available from the actual festival. Also, new lovers of the festival that plan on making a habit of hitting it in years to come can sign up for an email list that will entitle them to a chance to grab Early Bird passes before the general public. No word on single day passes yet, but the festival's site claims they'll be here soon.
For more info on Austin City Limits you can check out their website, and for you lazy people who have already clicked on ONE TOO MANY LINKS TODAY, here's the lineup, courtesy of Consequence of Sound:
