2024 Austin City Limits

By Jesus G.

Photos By: Jesus G. (@Guerraxhype)

So after always dreaming of attending SXSW, we heard talks about ACL a few years back making it a festival we needed to attend. It quickly made our list and we had to find a way to get there. After a few years we finally made our way out to the Austin Texas based festival and were swept away by the performances and vibes of what we thought was a well curated festival. As someone who has attended other festivals of large scale, I think ACL hits the sweet spot when it comes to festivals. It provides a range of artist which we found was a great balance and truly an experience for all. While many voiced their opinions of the lineup we thought it was actually a well stacked line up which you couldn't be mad at.

For this year, ACL brought out Chris Stapleton, Dua Lipa and Tyler, the Creater providing what I think every music festival should have. An artist for a different genre to showcase to the world a mix and diversity. Now for this piece we will do something a bit different as we attended the festival as attendees and not as media (we hope we can attend as media one year). So I will be talking about the festival as someone who has never been and what to expect when attending ACL.

Back some nice walking shoes, sunscreen and a water bottle. Yes, these are essential in any festival but even more so for ACL. Now when I say nice walking shoes I do not mean those new and fresh New Balances you just bought. We mean shoes that are comfortable as you will be doing a lot of walking and shoes you don't mind getting dirty as dust, mud and people stepping on them will occur often. To get to the festival, which takes place in Zilker Metropolitan Park, you have to do quite a bit walking prior to getting in. Yes you can uber and lyft but that will only take you ever so far. We decided to got by bus and after getting dropped of we had a 30 minute walk just to get to the entrance. 30 minutes may seem rough but as we made our way through we felt as if it was much more quicker as we had lots to see. Restaurants, liquor stores and vendors lined up the street trying to sell or offer some of their products for free. We had some gummy bear, vitamin water and even some protein drink given to us for free as we made our way to the festival. Little tip as you approach the entrance, make a left and walk a little more and you will get to some shorter lines.

Eventually when you do make it inside, we suggest to quickly get some water or fill up at the many stations located through the festival. Now when I say it is hot out there, I mean it is hot. The heat will burn you and if you are like me who sweats profusely, water alone may not quickly hydrate you. So make sure to take in some electrolytes and if you drink, try to balance some non alcoholic liquids in your system so you do not pass out. I made several trips to the water stations which I appreciate having.

Sunscreen. Oh how this has recently become an essential item. Trust me, use it. You do not want to end up looking like a red lobster especially if you plan on being there early and standing in the sun. While the festival had many shady areas, most stages are out in the baking sun and caring for your skin should be considered. Also, great place to get your tan on.

Or if you like me, go sit under some of the trees and tents to get a bit of r&r.

So now that we got all the items that you should know about lets get into the festival. It's great and while yes, the festivals gets packed I think you still have room to move about. One of the cool things which I have not seen in too many place is that ACL lets you bring in chairs. You could set up camp and just chill as the day goes by. Honestly, after so much walking I envied those who had comfy chairs to sit on and then quickly put away prior to a performance.

ACL also had so much to show that we are only briefly covering such as the famous colorful flags that made an instagram worthy post. Like I said we wish we can cover the event in it's entirety one day but for now attending as a attendee was great. Normally when we attend festivals as media, we tend to miss some stuff as we go from set to set and mis the endings of most unless we are specifically covering the artist. So here are some of the moments we would have missed if we were running around as media.

We got to see all of Kevin Abstract's performance which was incredible. Full of energy and robust fans, some of which Kevin invited up on stage. One of these fans not only got Kevin to sign his vinyl record but also be on stage as he performed a few songs. Towards the end some of the fans were given set lists of the songs performed that day. Seeing their face light up made you remember why you love coming to these events and sticking around for your favoorite artist as you just never know what will happen.

We also got to catch Amira Elfeky perform to another energetic crowd and at the end have a quick interaction with her fans. One band member handing out the set list to one fan and a guitar pick to another. That's one of the things that I actually saw quite a bit. The artist going out and interacting with their fans for brief moments which honestly is such a fun and exciting thing to see. It made this festival seem so welcoming which we are fans of.

So what did we think of ACL aside from it being hot? We loved it and it has lived up to our expectation. We can say that this festival has made the list as one of the best there is. It is not Coachella, it is it's own special thing and reminds me of how Coachella was in 2014. I don't want to compare but the vibes made me go back to that time as I attended my first music festival. The nostalgia it brought warmed my heart and I loved it for that. I think the selection of artists was great. They had great headliners, special guest like Willie Nelson and a mix of well known and up and coming artists. I think Austin has a pretty good thing going with this festival and we will more than likely be attending again in the future. It has ended but we are simply excited for 2025 now.