The Ultimate ACL 2024 Survival Guide

In a little under a month Austin City Limits will be in full swing at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. From October 4-6 and 11-13, the city will be packed with musicians big and small and hundreds of thousands of fans ready to have a good time.

In order to prepare for this momentous occasion, which can feel a bit daunting for first -time festival goers (as I was last year), I have compiled a list of everything you need to know beforehand to ensure that you have a fun (and safe!) time at Austin City Limits!

Tickets and Wristbands

Austin City Limits is unique in that they send out wristbands for entry into the festival, instead of mobile tickets. Because of this, you have to plan ahead to make sure that you have a wristband on at entry. While you can buy from a reseller, it is best to go through ACL’s ticketing website or Ticketmaster’s Verified Resale website to ensure that you are getting a real wristband.

Your wristband can be loaded with money to spend on food, drinks, and merch at the festival, and grants you entry up to three times in one day.

Transportation

Since so many people attend the festival every year, parking near Zilker is extremely limited to lots across the Colorado River. However, there are plenty of options for transportation to and from Zilker Park!

It is highly recommended that you either use a ride share app, bike/scooter over, or take ACL’s complimentary shuttle service. The shuttle runs to and from Zilker Park from Downtown Austin, and is one of the most popular and efficient ways to get to the festival. I recommend leaving early for the festival and planning on arriving home late, as there is usually a lot of traffic around Zilker during the festival, regardless of your mode of transportation.

Policies

There are lots of policies that you need to know about before making your way down to Zilker!

The first is that there is a clear bag policy. If you bring a clear bag then it cannot be larger that 12″ x 6″ x 12″. If you decide to bring a non-clear bag, it cannot have more than one pocket and be larger than 6″ x 9″. If you do not need a bag, I personally recommend that you do not bring one, as it makes the entry and security process a lot smoother.

You also need to know which items are prohibited from the festival. Aerosol containers, coolers, professional cameras, audio, and video equipment, drones, outside food and beverages, carts, selfie sticks, and tents are just a few items that are not allowed onto festival grounds. Here is a full list detailing all prohibited items.

Items that are allowed into the festival include empty reusable water bottles and hydration packs, chairs, blankets, sheets, and towels, cameras, 3.4 oz or less containers of sunscreen, flags, and Narcan. Prescription medications are also allowed into the festival, however there it must be presented in a pharmacy-labeled container.

ACL also provides lockers that you can rent before you get there, which can be rented here.

Planning Your Schedule

My next tip is to plan your schedule ahead of time! While it can be fun to find new acts by wandering around the many stages, chances are you will miss out on a great performance if you do not plan ahead of time. Looking at the days’ schedule and deciding who you want to go see will make your festival experience go so much smoother so that you can focus on having fun! I recommend writing down every artist you want to see, the stage they’ll be at, and the time they’re performing in your notes app so that regardless of Wi-Fi you can keep your schedule with you. Keep in mind that you may have to get to some sets earlier if you want to be closer to the stage.

It is important to get to know the festival grounds, so that you can anticipate how long it will take you to go from stage to stage in between sets. While this years map has not been released yet, here is last years’.

What to Wear

ACL -like any music festival- is a great opportunity to dress up! One thing that I love to do is pick a theme for every day (usually based upon my favorite artist that is performing that day) and come up with a cute outfit that matches that vibe. Thrifting and repurposing clothes you currently own are fun ways to make affordable and sustainable outfits for the weekend. While this is by no means necessary, for me it adds to the fun, especially when going and matching with a group!

My one tip, though, is to dress comfortably. It is fun to dress cute, but with the amount of walking that is required at Austin City Limits, comfortable and reliable shoes are a must. Also, with how long the days are at the festival, you want to wear clothes that can work at day or night to make sure you won’t get too hot during the day or too cold at night. Aside from comfort, I encourage you to dress however makes you feel best and have fun with it!

ACL App

Each year, ACL releases an app to download on your phone that you can use while at the festival. This app includes a map, schedule, and other features to make your festival-going experience more convenient. The app is not available for this year yet, but keep an eye out for it if you are attending the festival!

ACL Fest Nights

Aside from hosting two weekends of live music at Zilker Park, Austin City Limits also hosts ACL Fest Nights from October 2-12. ACL Fest Nights are essentially ticketed after party concerts where you can catch sets from specific artists that are performing at ACL that weekend. Hosted at venues all around Austin, they are definitely something to look into if you have specific artists from the lineup that you want to see more of. The lineup and tickets can be found here.

Conclusion

ACL season is truly one of my favorite times of the year. I have been looking forward to going back to the festival since the moment I left last year, and am so excited that it is just upon us. I hope that these tips help to make your time at Zilker Park special!