Who needs tickets to the Austin City Limits Music Festival when you can hear the music just fine hanging out along Lady Bird Lake?

Sure, you don't get to see the bands (minor detail) but you can still jam out to their music while enjoying a nice stroll, kayak or ride along the trail. In fact, if you're at the right place at the right time, the music is pretty darn clear. While hanging out near one of the pedestrian bridges north of the park I could hear the Futurebirds knocking out a folk-rock set Friday morning on the Google + stage.

There are other perks to this unconventional approach to the festival. For one, you don't have to dish out any money or deal with the crowds. Plus, you won't wake up Monday morning feeling five pounds heavier, hungover and bloated from all the beer and food you consumed. In fact, you could feasibly lose weight tackling ACL this way. Imagine all the calories you'll burn kayaking your way through the music.

There's one major glitch to this plan: it doesn't always work. There's this band to stage ratio (I'm sure there's a science to this) that makes it hard to make out the music.

The good news is, the headliners don't have much competition so if you're a fan of Arcade Fire, Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, or Coldplay it might be worth your while to grab a friend, rent a kayak and mosey on down the lake for an evening of free music.