ACL 2023: Everything You Need to Know Before Attending Austin City Limits

ACL 2023: what you need to know before you go

Where is ACL 2023? The festival is located at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas where attendees will come together for two consecutive weekends on October 6-8 and October 13-15. The festival provides free shuttles to and from Zilker Park and will run from Republic Square at the corner of Fourth and San Antonio streets starting at 12 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday each weekend. The shuttle will drop attendees off outside the west entrance.

If you plan on driving to the festival, just know that this is arguably one of the most stressful ways to enter the festival due to limited spots that book up quickly, as there is no official public parking for the festival. An ACL parking pass can be purchased with the “Y’all Experience,” but for those with tickets already – we suggest you reserve a spot with Pavemint. Pavemint partners with ACL to provide parking for attendees, and the closest parking option available is Austin High School, which is just across the Roberta Crenshaw Bridge.

The official lineup poster above acts like a map for attendees to know which artists are playing. The artists with [W1] after the names mean they will only be performing Weekend 1, while [W2] means they will only be performing Weekend 2. All the other artists whose names do not have those marks, will be playing at the festival both weekends. The ACL Weekend 1 schedule includes EDM artists like Above & Beyond, BLOND:ISH, Bob Moses, Odesza, SIDEPIECE, and Becky Hill.

The artists performing at the festival range from genres in Country to Hip-Hop to EDM – so there will be a variety of Austin City Limits outfits. Most of the attendees wear comfortable shoes like sneakers or Tivas, but since the festival is held in Texas, you will also see lots of cowboy boots. The Texas sun will be beaming down on the grounds, so short sleeves may be the best choice to avoid overheating. See the video below to get inspo on what attendees wore last year!

Here are 10 things that you should know before going to ACL 2023:

1. Allow yourself a little extra time to get into the festival – entrance lines were long last year

2. If you are not familiar with the stages – give yourself 30 minutes before the first set you want to see to get familiar with the layout

3. Be aware of phone thieves – make sure to keep your phone in sight and out of your back pocket.

4. Bringing a film or digital camera is always a fun alternative

5. The cell service at ACL is super spotty – make sure to stick with your friends

6. If you want to get merch, go on the first day so it’s not all sold out. Most people love to get the hats at the merch tent each year

7. There’s no time between most sets – so if you really want to see an artist, make sure to leave 5-10 minutes early from the set before

8. The beer tent is a fun place to cool off and hang if there’s a break in your schedule

9. Check out the after parties! They are at cool venues in Austin, such as Stubbs, Superstition, Moody Ampitheathre, and more!

10. STAY HYDRATED AND HAVE FUN!