MUSIC TO OUR EARS

ACL Music Festival releases anticipated 2021 lineup and 3-day tickets

Austin City Limits Festival ACL Fest 2017 Weekend Two Flags

Three-day tickets go on sale May 20 for the in-person event.

Photo by Shelley Neuman

UPDATE: On August 10, Stevie Nicks announced via Twitter she will cancel all five of her remaining 2021 shows, including her planned headlining performance at Austin City Limits Music Festival this October. Citing CVOID-19 concerns, particularly the recent rise in cases, Nicks says her “primary goal is to keep healthy so I can continue singing for the next decade or longer.” The festival announced Wednesday, August 11 that English rockers and 1980s faves Duran Duran will replace Nicks, with the band performing Sunday night on both weekends. We’ll share more ACL Fest news as it becomes available.

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Live music takes to the stage at Zilker Park this fall as the Austin City Limits Music Festival returns to full capacity with its 20th anniversary music celebration, featuring a spectacular lineup of diverse artists ranging from George Strait to Stevie Nicks, Billie Eilish, and Megan Thee Stallion.

On Thursday, May 20, ACL Fest announced the lineup for the fall festival, which will take place in person across eight live music stages at Zilker Park over two weekends: October 1-3 and October 8-10. Three-day tickets go on sale May 20 at noon. Three-day GA+ tickets, three-day VIP and platinum tickets, as well as hotel packages are also available. One-day general admission tickets, one-day GA+ tickets, one-day VIP tickets, and one-day platinum tickets will be available in the coming months.

This year’s festival, headlined by legendary artists George Strait, Billie Eilish, Stevie Nicks, Miley Cyrus, Rufus Du Sol, DaBaby, and Erykah Badu, will also include standout talent like Modest Mouse, Phoebe Bridgers, Jack Harlow, Jon Pardi, Finneas, Chet Faker, Dermot Kennedy, Tierra Whack, Tanya Tucker, Omar Apollo, Trixie Mattel, and many more.

As one of Austin’s premiere music events, ACL Fest will also feature a wealth of local and Texas artists, including Black Pumas, St. Vincent, Marc Rebillet, Surfaces, Dayglow, Missio, Charley Crockett, Heartless Bastards, Asleep at the Wheel, Nané, Riders Against the Storm, Mike Melinoe, Deezie Brown, and more.

ACL Fest plans to announce additional acts soon. And not all artists will play both weekends, so it’s best to check the full lineup and performance dates on the festival website.

New this year to ACL Fest: VIP ticket holders can access two private lounges with viewing decks offering sight lines of the two main stages. Platinum ticket holders can snag seats with exclusive viewing at six stages. A full list of tickets amenities is available here. Kids 10 and younger get free admission when accompanied by a ticketed adult.

The return of the live festival, which was canceled last year in favor of an all-virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic, is being approached with caution and much safety prep by city and health officials and ACL Fest organizers.

“Music is coming back strong to the Live Music Capital of the World,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler says about the festival in a release. “The return of Austin City Limits as an in-person festival celebrates that our efforts as a community to become vaccinated are working. Health and safety remain our top priority, and we will work closely with the organizers and Austin Public Health to ensure ACL Fest is in line with our health standards. We must continue to get everyone vaccinated and keep up our success.”

As the festival weekends approach, ACL Fest patrons will get regular updates with info about the event’s safety policies and procedures, which will also be shared at aclfestival.com and on social media. ACL Fest will partner with the City of Austin and Austin Public Health to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations in the months prior to the festival.

“Austin City Limits 2021 is a result of successful vaccine efforts and more than a year’s worth of protection measures,” says Dr. Mark Escott, Austin-Travis County interim health authority. “Taking the shot is our shot at getting things back to normal and we envision this happening before October if we stay the course as a community. Thank you to all those who have done their part and took the vaccine and to ACL, who will utilize their broad voice to encourage vaccination in the months leading to their monumental event.”

Zilker Park has been the home of the Austin City Limits Music Festival for two decades. Since 2006, ACL Festival, in partnership with Austin Parks Foundation, has generated more than $41 million for improvements to Zilker Park and parks throughout Austin. In 2019, ticket sales helped contribute $6 million to improving Austin’s public parks, trails, and green spaces. And even in 2020, the Austin Parks Foundation was able to employ ACL Fest funds to help complete 13 park-improvement projects.

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A New Light

Wildflower Center's Luminations light show debuts new features in 2024

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Luminations

Photo by Theresa DiMenno

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is bringing back Luminations with some new elements.

A South Austin holiday tradition is sprouting a little differently this year at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Luminations, an immersive light installation, is bringing new art and adding access to a separate installation to keep things growing fresh year after year.

The 2024 show runs from November 22, 2024, to January 5, 2025. The family-friendly exhibition will show off work by local designers alongside food truck vendors and three full-service bars.

Austinites who haven't been to Luminations may still recognize it from social media photos. The glowing O-shaped swings are hands-down the most popular exhibit to photograph since they are interactive, but other popular ones include an array of color-changing discs to step on and a herd of rainbow, origami-like deer.

A few elements are new this year.

A new location
No sane event organizer would leave the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; actually, the installation is now even closer, taking place in the main gardens. According to a release, this was to make the path more walkable, which in turn allows guests to feel more immersed. It already was a walking exhibit last year, but it was spread out across nearly two miles. Neither the website nor the release offer an updated distance estimate, but the website does show a map.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Luminations map Here's where Luminations is held now.wildflower.org

New art
The release promises "interactive opportunities and never-before-seen light installations." Of course, it doesn't give it all away before people get to see it. But potential visitors can get an idea by of what's in store by checking out other work by the six designers who contributed this year: APM Designs, ASA Designs, Cicada Designs, Dada Labs, Holiday Lighting Designs and Ion Art Designs.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Luminations These swings are always a big hit, and they appear to be on the map again this year.Photo by Ann Alva Wieding

“We work closely with local Austin designers to make our light show special, and there’s something surprising and different every year,” said the Wildflower Center's director of hospitality, Erika Tucker, in the release.

A trip to Fortlandia
Another one of the Wildflower Center's interactive projects, Fortlandia, is now right next to Luminations. For Fortlandia, local designers — including one that crosses over with Luminations, Ion Art — designed children's playscapes that push traditional playground boundaries. These modern forts aren't just beautiful to look at, but extra fun to play in thanks to the novelty.

This fun fort is part of Fortlandia.Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center/Instagram

Since it will be dark out during the light show, Fortlandia will also have its own lighting. Additionally, keeping kids entertained at Fortlandia might give parents a bit more time to appreciate the art in Luminations.

The goal is the same
Although some aspects of Luminations are new this year, it fills the darker days of winter, gets people to visit the Wildflower Center in the off-season, and it benefits the center's conservation work.

Throughout the year, the center conducts research on protecting native ecosystems, cultivates rare plants, maintains a seed bank, educates Texans on how to foster native plant life, and even helps plan eco-friendly projects for outside clients using its own findings.

Last month, the center announced planned updates to its 284 acres of gardens.

Tickets to Luminations ( $28 for adults, $18 for youth) are required for entry. Reserved parking is available at an additional cost. The entrance to the exhibit is located at 4801 LaCrosse Ave.

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