Over fall break, I went to my first musical festival: Austin City Limits. I’m from Dallas and many of my high school friends praise ACL—the environment, the performers, and the city. I wanted to see what the hype was all about and decide for myself how I feel about music festivals. Below is a list of 5 things I wish I knew before going to ACL.
1. Make a schedule: plan what performers you want to see and make sure you know where they are performing. ACL had multiple different stages and we did not know which one was which. Make sure to look the stages up on a map!
2. Arrive to the performance early: odds are whoever you want to see is who thousands of other people want to see. We got to Billie Eilish over an hour early and there was already a large crowd of people. Plan accordingly!
3. Try the food: the food at music festivals is normally unique to the city. ACL had a wide assortment of barbecue, chicken, and ice cream famous to Austin. Don’t forget to check the food stands out!
4. Figure out transportation before: Although there was a section dedicated to Uber, trying to leave ACL was incredibly hectic. We ended up walking 2 miles to the apartment. See if you can reserve a form of transportation beforehand!
5. Get off your phone: I saw countless people staring at their phones during the entire performance attempting to get the best camera angle. Odds are someone else is recording it too and you can watch it on YouTube. Put your phone down. Enjoy the moment!