Austin City Limits Music Festival
Austin City Limits 'Music Festival' is an annual music festival that takes place in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas, on two consecutive three-day weekends and is inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series Austin City Limits. The festival is produced by Austin-based company C3 Presents, which also produces Chicago’s Lollapalooza.
The ACL Music Festival has eight stages where musical groups from genres including rock, indie, country, folk, electronic, and hip hop perform. The concert starts at 11am and ends 10pm on each day during the festival at various stages spread out in the park. Approximately 450,000 people attend the festival each year. In addition to the music performances, there are food and drinks, an art market, a kids area for families and other activities for attendees.
History
Founded in 2002, the festival began as a one-weekend event and remained as such through until 2012. On August 16, 2012, Austin City Council members voted unanimously to allow the Austin City Limits Music Festival to expand to two consecutive weekends beginning in 2013. Artists who have played at the festival include Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Weeknd, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Arctic Monkeys, Guns N' Roses, Tame Impala, Robyn, Arcade Fire, Muse, The Strokes, Vampire Weekend, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Paul McCartney, Oasis, Austin native Gary Clark Jr., Willie Nelson, Kendrick Lamar, and more.In July 2020, the festival was called off due to the COVID-19 crisis.
In May 2022, it was announced that Hulu will exclusively stream the festival, as well as Bonnaroo Music Festival and Lollapalooza.
Vendors
The Festival's food court, called Austin Eats, is modeled after the Jazz Fest in New Orleans. Austin Eats features vendors from local Austin restaurants.The Festival’s art market features numerous art vendors located in the centre of Zilker Park and is open throughout the duration of the festival.