Zilker Park

ACL 2012: Sunday's 10 Best & Funniest Moments at Zilker

The rains came early on Sunday morning, but by the time the ACL opened up for business before noon, there was hardly a cloud in the sky, making for an extremely warm and muddy day. The biggest acts of the day -- Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iggy & the Stooges, Crystal Castles, and the Avett Brothers -- he ... More >>

The Nine Best and Funniest Moments from Saturday at ACL 2012

The return of terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad rain made Saturday a muddy but fun mess. Thankfully, the downpours didn't dampen the spirits of the crowd on day two of ACL, but it did seem to thin out the herds. Aside from remembering how to walk in inches-deep goop like we did back at the Dillo ... More >>

ACL 2012: Friday's 12 Best and Funniest Moments at Zilker

In the interest of being tidy and not boring you with minute details of the three-day exercise in sweaty and human endurance underway in Zilker Park this weekend, Rocks Off is giving you a break. Our team on the ground at the Austin City Limits Music Festival -- Brittanie Shey, Craig Hlavaty and Mar ... More >>

Austin City Limits Will Be Two Weekends in 2013

See also: The 20 Most Memorable Fans of Austin City Limits Good news, everyone! Earlier today, The Statesman broke down Austin City Limits Music Fest's new, extra special bonus deal with C3 Presents (the ACL producers): starting in fall 2013, the festival will have an extra special additional weeke ... More >>

Keep Austin Fun Fun Fun

Austin's little fest has grown big and sponsored--and that's fine by us

Ruby Jane Gets Inspired

Young the Giant Grows Into Its Name

Austin City Limits Goes Mainstream

No, Kanye West Wasn't Joking When He Eulogized The Black Eyed Peas at ACL.

Pete FreedmanKanye West at his ACL '11 performance. Swag?​ Gotta admit it: We just thought he was being confident and awesome when he said it. Turns out, though, there may have been something of merit behind Kanye West's out-of-nowhere banter about the Black Eyed Peas from Friday night at the ... More >>

Last Night At ACL: The Arcade Fire Bids the Crowd Farewell "For a Couple of Years"?

Arcade Fire Austin City Limits Music Festival September 18, 2011 Better than: having to sit through an Eagles set at the end of ACL. James BrickerArcade Fire at ACL​​On Sunday Night at Zilker Park, the largest crowd of the weekend converged on the Bud Light stage, where Arcade Fire wa ... More >>

Night Three of Austin City Limits '11: If You're Gonna Go Out, You Better Go Out With a Bang.

Pete FreedmanArcade Fire played a familiar set to end Austin City Limits 2011. But it was still thrilling.​ The hot sun from the morning of Day Three at the 2011 Austin City Limits Music Festival persisted well into the afternoon and evening at Zilker Park. But with the festival end looming and pl ... More >>

ACL Night Two (With Pics!): The Calm of Stevie Wonder Meets The Storm of My Morning Jacket

Pete FreedmanTV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, possibly among those disappointed in what would later happen with Stevie Wonder's set. Kind of an awkward second night at the 2011 Austin City Limits Music last night. The worst part: It could've been great. Alas, in the end, not so much. But, sure enou ... More >>

Day Three of Austin City Limits '11: Dallas-Born Ruby Jane Kicks Thing Off and The Sun is Back

Pete FreedmanDallas-born 16-year-old Ruby jane kicked off Saturday's proceedings in fine fashion.​ After a lackluster Saturday, things are already heating up on Sunday afternoon at Zilker Park. Actually, they were plenty hot in the morning, too: Temperatures soared into the '90s, but, more importa ... More >>

ACL Capsule Reviews: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., The Walkmen, Broken Social Scene, and Elbow

Elbow brought the Manchester rain on Sunday.​And just like that, the heat returned. The hot sun beat down on the wet grass, creating an inescapable humidity in Zilker Park on Sunday. As such, the people came prepared to sweat it out. The same guys hawking ponchos yesterday now had packets of ... More >>

Last Night at ACL: Coldplay Plays All the Hits and The Others, Too.

Coldplay AMD Stage -- Austin City LimitsSeptember 16, 2011 Better than: waiting for Coldplay to release a Greatest Hits album. Coldplay​It would be a pretty hipster thing to say that the Coldplay show at Austin City Limits Music Festival on Friday was cheesy and overly sincere. But you won't actu ... More >>

ACL Capsule Reviews: Young the Giant, Tyler Morris & The Hearts of Worship, Alexander, Daniel Lanois' Black Dub and Iron & Wine

​It's tough to complain too much about the sporadic rain that's literally watering down the second afternoon of the 2011 Austin City Limits Music Festival. Texas needs to drink, y'all.  No, it's not all bad. Another upside: The wet ground makes you feel like less of a jerk for sparking up. So ... More >>

Austin City Limits Music Festival Day Two: Kind of a Downer

Marco TorresHangin' with the bros at ACL!​As the performances began at Zilker Park, they were accompanied by a much needed downpour as venders, outside and in the festival, struggled for their piece of the poncho market share. On the plus side, and it's a very plus side, the rain brought relief to ... More >>

Welcome to ACL '11: Zilker Warms Up For A Big First Night; It's Already Buzz-Thirty, Dudes.

Pete FreedmanCold War Kids tear down that first-day ACL wall.​Off in the distance, the song of the summer, Foster the People's can't-stop-won't-stop "Pumped Up Kicks," is blasting away over Zilker Park, blaring from the P.A. over at the Google (nee Dell) Stage. There's a marvelous tag-team effort ... More >>

Austin City Limit Day One: Kurt Vile's Small Reception Makes for a Brilliant Performance

Kurt Vile​The first day of Austin City Limits Music Festival was a surprise to say the least. Having never been to one of these outdoor music festivals, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had a hunch that getting close the stage at any act I wanted to see would be tough. For the most part, I was ... More >>

Ten Things You Can Expect to See At Austin City Limits 2011

How Many North Texans Are Playing ACL '11?

​Over on the Star-Telegram's music blog this afternoon, music critic Preston Jones posted a nice little Q&A with Hudson Moore, the Fort Worth-based country singer-songwriter who has been tapped to be the very first performer at this year's Austin City Limits Music Festival. It's either an awes ... More >>

Tomorrow, ACL Announces Its 2011 Lineup. Today, We Share Our Best Guess On The Bill.

​Tomorrow, we've been promised, the folks behind the Austin City Limits Music Festival will unveil the lineup of bands playing their 2011 offering, which, this year, for its 10th anniversary, will take place in Austin's Zilker Park on the third weekend of September.And credit where it's due: The o ... More >>

A Blow-by-Blow Field Report From Austin City Limits 2010.

ACL '10, Night Three: Dad-Rockers Square Off Against Artsy Fartsy Types, And We All Win?

Caity ColvardThe Eagles' Glenn Frey. You may also remember him from Jerry Maguire.​ Well, we saw it coming, but, no matter, the third day Austin City Limits went out with a whimper. Actually, though, it was kind of an enjoyable whimper. See, three-day fests like this are killers on your little pig ... More >>

ACl Day Two: Zilker Park Is Heating Up...

Patrick MichelsLots of tough choices to make today--like Bear in Heaven (above) or Pete Yorn early on.​ A busy afternoon session in Austin had heads spinning on Saturday afternoon--and that much is still the case, as The XX finishes up its set against the Temper Trap, leading into a three-way deat ... More >>

Austin City Limits Announces 2010 Lineup...

​It's that time of year, again. The Austin City Limits Festival line-up was unveiled early this morning via the fest's official website. There isn't any question: This year's docket will have people gabbing--whether it's vitriolic hate or nostalgic, warm-fuzzies. Sure, for many, bashing on the cho ... More >>

Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights Readies Its Major Label Debut

Fun Fun Fun Fest Day 2: Astronautalis, Metallagher, Broadcast, HEALTH, Crystal Castles, GZA, Of Montreal

Patrick Michels​Some people attribute weather changes, fortunate or otherwise, to God. The Riverboat Gamblers' Mike Wiebe thought someone else was responsible for the all-day drizzle and showers that turned Waterloo Park into Mudderloo Park. "Someone said, 'It was sunny yesterday, I'm surprised it ... More >>

Fun Fun Fun Fest Day 1: Crystal Antlers, Shonen Knife, Russian Circles, Death, Neon Indian, Jesus Lizard

All photos by Patrick MichelsDeath singer Bobby Hackney​Choosing Fun Fun Fun over the Austin City Limits festival this year was a no-brainer decision, and I have not regretted the decision to pass on Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam and Ben Harper for a nanosecond. Sitting on the soft grass and turning aw ... More >>

Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights Made the Best of a Rainy Saturday at ACL.

ACL '09 in Photos: Festival Recap with Passion Pit, Girl Talk and Ben Harper

Photos by Patrick MichelsPassion Pit's passionate pit.​With ACL wrapped up and the bands, festival-goers and fields at Zilker Park on their road to recovery, it's time for one last look at the bands that braved the mud on the festival's last day.First, for an overall recap of the best shots from t ... More >>

ACL '09: A Muddy, Beautiful Mess On Day Three

Photos by Patrick MichelsTwo mud enthusiasts scrap it out as their friend Kenny Chesney cheers them on.​The rains from Day Two at ACL may have held off on Day Three, yeah. But, make no mistake, the repercussions off dropping that much water onto a confined space? Those were definitely still felt b ... More >>

ACL '09: The Toadies Come From The Water

Photos by Patrick Michels​Surely, it was with their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks that the members of the Toadies opened their 4 p.m. set at the festival's main stage on Sunday with longtime Rubberneck favorite "I Come From The Water."But, a funny thing about the Toadies' set on Sunday af ... More >>

ACL '09: Pearl Jam Regains Its Rightful Place Atop The Rock World

Photos by Patrick Michels​It had been 15 years--according, at least, to one of Eddie Vedder's asides during the closing set of this weekend's Austin City Limits Music Festival--since Pearl jam had played what he called "The Live Music Capital of the Nation." And, as such, Vedder promised the mud-c ... More >>

ACL '09: Grizzly Bear Offers Sunshine On A Dreary Day

​Banter is not Grizzly Bear's strong suit--not in the slightest. Rather this is a band propelled by meticulous instrumentation and harmonies. And though the band failed in the first count, its moot apologies to the crowd for putting up with the rain falling flat, the band succeeded glorious o ... More >>

ACL '09: The Rain's Stopped (For Now) As Crowds Wait For Pearl Jam--And Maybe The Toadies?

​The early outlook here on the Day Three of the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival isn't too bad. The sun has peeked out from behind the clouds here and there, and, for the time being, the rain has held off. Forecasts appear to indicate more rain as the day continues, though, and, surely ... More >>

ACL '09: Phoenix Draws The Fest's First Way-Too-Big-For-Comfort Crowd

Patrick Michels Phoenix's Thomas Mars.​Like a black hole located at the far west end of Zilker Park, it seemed that just about everything at ACL was being drawn to Phoenix's set yesterday in the four o'clock hour. Unruly crowds tussled about the outer realms of the masses that extended som ... More >>

ACL '09 in Photos: The Avett Brothers, Andrew Bird, Dr. Dog and More from Friday Onstage

Photos by Patrick MichelsThe Avett Brothers share a family moment Friday afternoon.​Along with Pete's takes on some of Friday's biggest sets here at ACL, we already brought you shots of Phoenix, Raphael Saadiq and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- so before we head on out for another day in the front row (fo ... More >>

ACL '09: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Sparkle Our Imaginations And Karen O Gets Crazy.

Photos by Patrick Michels Almost as magical as when Merle Haggard spits onstage.​Dressed like a character belonging more to Pan's Labyrinth than anything of the natural world, Karen O led the Yeah Yeah Yeahs through a fantastical, epic performance at Zilker Park last night.And it was all th ... More >>

ACL '09: So Can We Get This Party Going Already, Or...?

​Pretty sure I'm in Austin right now--seems it at least; there's a whole bunch of young people running around acting like there's something going on. I dunno, this is a pretty early wake-up call for me. But I digress: I'll be here all weekend long, along with Observer Web editor and photogra ... More >>

Self-important Faces in the ACL Crowd

Photos: The Raconteurs at ACL

ACL Day One: More band photos

ACL Is Underway, Rootsy Early On

Setting the Scene

Austin City Limits: You Read It Here First

Rain or Shine

We drove to the Austin City Limits Music Festival in ponchos, but we left wearing surgeon's masks

Odds & Ends

Sara Radle's off to L.A.; LM5 calling it quits; Rubber Gloves gets anew look

Making Waves

Denton's Midlake inks record deal, prepares debut LP

Busy Schedule

NextStage has a full dance card