The Austin City Limits Festival celebrated 25 years at Zilker Park for two music-packed weekends, and I attended as media with a three-day weekend wristband for weekend two.
I like to call ACL “home,” having attended four times now. As a concert and festival lover this is my dream festival to work at, and I always joke after festival experiences that I could “write an essay about it.”
Months prior I had learned that through my credentials as Editor-in-Chief of the Foghorn News, I could apply for a media pass.
So, at the beginning of September I sent out my application and hoped for the best. Either way I was going to attend — I had already bought a general admission wristband.
On Sept. 18, I received the email. My application was approved, and I was going to experience the festival in a different way. I could now write that “essay” that shared my experience.
Upon walking through the Barton Springs West entrance, I stopped at the box office next door and picked up my media wristband. I then went through security where they checked my equipment, my fanny pack and I walked through the metal detector.
After a “mud fest” during weekend one, weekend two was hot and dry and the festival came prepared, greeting us with free bandanas to prepare us for our dust-filled weekend.
I gathered my camera, microphones, and notepad and found the press lounge to prepare for my artist interviews scheduled in a few hours. As I entered the lounge located by the Miller Lite Stage, I was met with a hydration station, nicer restrooms and multiple radio station tents.
I found my locker for the weekend and picked up a free snack before I went and enjoyed the festival until I needed to come back for my first interview.
I first interviewed Austin-based artists Almost Heaven, made up of producer Stefan Barraza and drummer Jaelyn Valero. This indie-electronic, dance, pop duo made their ACL debut on Oct. 9 at the Tito’s Stage. The duo played new music and celebrated eight months of their newest EP “Raw Cranium.”
“To have shared it for the first time in its full form…we feel so special about live for the first time at our first ACL with all of our family and friends and community was so awesome,” Barraza said.
Next, I interviewed another Austin-based artist, Bo Staloch, who also had his ACL debut Friday.
Before our interview, I got to see the beginning of his set at the Tito’s Stage where his folk-inspired music pulled me in. When I spoke to Staloch, he described his music as “human, honest and real,” which his performance captured within just the first song, opening with “Your Eyes Tell Stories.”
Following my interviews I was able to watch some of the artists pulling in the evening crowd.
I caught the performances by Turnstile, Chainsmokers and Charli XCX that night, and connected with attendees as I interviewed them about their experiences.
The community, festival culture and love I always felt at previous ACLs was echoed by many of the attendees I interviewed.
“People here are so nice to each other and they make you feel so welcome and loved,” third-year attendee Amberly Alvarez said.
Days two and three I focused on connecting with the attendees and their festival experience. Even when I would come as a regular attendee, connecting with people here is something that always happens naturally. Every person I interviewed expressed excitement, immediately agreeing to be in a video for our social media and newspaper.
One of the biggest changes in experiencing this festival as media was the press lounge perks.
As a college student, I’m trying to do this festival as budget friendly as possible and getting to have the option for free water and a happy hour every day were very beneficial to my experience.
Each day during happy hour organizers provided a meal option from a vendor at the festival along with a free alcoholic beverage, and earlierin the day, free coffee and matcha.
On the second day I fueled up on a corn dog and introduced myself to two women around my own age to try to meet new people since I was in the press lounge on my own. Then I went off to enjoy the headliner, Lorde.
As we waited for her performance, I spoke to many women around me who also expressed their anticipation and excitement, knowing many people around my age also grew up on her music.
For my final day, I tried to capture more photos of the festival experience and connected with a group of cousins who captured that community feeling. As they attempted to build a human pyramid, I approached them and asked what ACL meant to them.
“I come for the best vibe, and to hang out with my cousins, and we have an awesome time,” said Keith Miller of Los Angeles, California. The cousins meet up every year at ACL as a family tradition.
Later as I waited deep in the crowd for Blood Orange, I witnessed a fight between a middle-aged woman and a 20-year-old, which is the other end of the festival culture. While many do express that love for one another, pit fights happen.
The result is everyone coming together to kick the instigator out, which is what happened before we all enjoyed the performance together.
Finally, I lay flat on my back in the grass in front of the Patrón Lounge and heard Twenty-One Pilots from afar as I watched attendees dance, skip and take photos as they made their way out of the festival.
Navigating my experience as media just amplified my desire to connect with the community at ACL — to talk with artists, especially those who debut here, and learn why music lovers return year after year.
