Since the first humans walked the Earth, it’s no secret that one thing we inherently love to do is debate. What came first, the chicken or the egg? Are dogs or cats the better pet? Who’s the greatest basketball player ever, Jordan or LeBron? From Asia to Africa to the US and anywhere in between, humans will argue, fight, and create countless disputes over nearly everything.
However, it seems that specifically when Austinites pick arguments to debate, they don’t usually look to sports, morality, or restaurants, but rather the pinnacle of human intellect: Is ACL Weekend One or Two better? So, I took the time to go to not 1, 2, 3, or 4, but 5 days of Austin City Limits, spanning across 2 weekends, to give the inside scoop, the good and bad, and anything else you missed from this year’s festival!
One thing you can’t ignore from both ACL weekends is that the music absolutely rocked! Pop icons like Lorde and Charli XCX gave back-to-back dazzling headlining sets, playing their well-respected hits such as “Royals” and “360,” and The Chainsmokers lit up the Snapchat stage not once, but twice! However, one striking difference between Weekend One and Weekend Two this year was Friday’s headliners. Weekend One’s Skrillex closed out the T-Mobile stage with a 47-song setlist that turned the Lone Star State’s capital into a total rave! Nevertheless, Weekend Two was equally as special… Kings of Leon “set Zilker on fire” with their cover of George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning” and perfectly balanced their radio hits with deep cuts like “Black Thumbnail” and “Cold Desert.”
Yes, although we all know ACL is a music festival, that doesn’t mean other factors aren’t at play in this danceable, overcrowded math equation. That’s because the terrain of Zilker Park had quite the influence, for better or for worse, depending on which weekend fans attended. Weekend One was coined by fans as “Austin Muddy Limits.” Any grass was replaced by thick, brown, swampy dirt, making walking between food lines, stages, and merch stands extra difficult. Still, many loved the lack of sun and the slip-and-slide sensation beneath their feet. After all, it’s not every day we see Austin in a cool, hydrated state! Eleventh grader Xander Peck even said, “I think the mud brought Austinites together. I made friends from that festival that I’ll never forget!”
As for Weekend Two, even though most bands stayed the same, everyone’s favorite metropolitan park was right back to its scorching-hot, dusty roots! Nonetheless, the festival’s event staff did an outstanding job providing free, multicolored bandanas and water, as well as extra fans and shaded areas to protect Austinites from the Texas sun!
ACL also came equipped with extra Easter eggs, such as Mr. Patrick Terry himself selling $6 burgers to fans all across ACL, a surprise James Talarico cameo at both Bleachers’ and Turnstile’s sets, and surprise guest appearances onstage, such as longtime Replacements and Guns N’ Roses bassist Tommy Stinson joining Finn Wolfhard onstage!