Austin City Limits weekend one has come and gone and wow, what a weekend. The team behind C3 and Live Nation did it again with another perfectly executed festival, complete with a diverse lineup to boot. Weekend 1 saw 3-days of amazing music including performances from headliners Guns N’ Roses, Mumford & Sons, The Cure, Cardi B, Childish Gambino, Billie Eilish, and Tame Impala. For next weekend, Cardi B will not be performing (weekend 1 only) and instead, Robyn will take her place.
And as the festival prepares to do it all again this weekend, here’s the River Beats recap about our experiences during W1.
Written by Rasharie B., River Beats team member:
“On behalf of River Beats in New Orleans, this year at ACL was a 1st for me. I’ve been to many festivals before but, this one was well executed and detailed. Many of my favorite highlights from the festival included: enjoying the American Express Card Member’s lounge and activities (I got an airbrush tattoo + loved their refreshing juice bar while watching 21 Savage perform on Saturday). As a T-Mobile customer I enjoyed their activation and also the Uber Rewards pop-up was a perfect place to win prizes & cool down from the heat.
Childish Gambino was so perfect, I was very excited to see him this year especially after canceling previous shows due to his injury. Kali Uchis, Rosalía & Tame Impala delivered beautiful performances as well. But, a major music highlight was experiencing the crowd energy between Lizzo & Cardi B’s sets. Both performances were back to back between Miller Lite and Honda stage so, being in such a heavy crowd and hearing the fans and singing the songs was my favorite music experience I’d had in a long time.”
“Overall, AUSTIN CITY LIMITS was a beautiful time. Even with the unbearable heat, it was all worth it and will definitely be back in 2020.”
Written by Lauren P., River Beats team member:
“As a Texas native, it may be quite was even more shocking that I had waited this long to attend such an awesome and amazing event. Having a history of attending mainly EDM driven festivals, I made an effort to reach beyond what I am used to this year. Billie Eilish has an incredible voice that sounds even more beautiful live. Judah & the Lion played one of the most uplifting, feel-good sets that I have ever seen. And my top favorite of the festival, Childish Gambino, performed the best set I have ever seen in my entire life. My favorite highlight of the festival was when he asked that everyone put their phones down at the beginning of his performance. He wanted this specific performance to be intimate, a show only for the people who attended. That specific set will hold a special place in my heart.
Currently living in Austin, Texas, I am familiar with Zilker Park. However, I was even more pleased to realize how much I underestimated its spaciousness.
I really appreciated how easy it was to get from stage to stage, and how the size of the crowd did not affect my personal space.
As a massive EDM fan, it is also surprising that I had never tried a silent disco, and again, even more surprising that I tried it at ACL. That was an incredibly fun experience, mutually agreed by many others also attending. I will definitely be returning next year, and probably many more years to come!”
Check out some of the photos from weekend 1 below and get excited for weekend 2!
Featured image by Roger Ho.