Recap by Christian Hernandez
Aerial by Charles Reagan for Austin City Limits Festival
In the days leading up to Weekend One of the 2026 Austin City Limits Music Festival, heavy rain threatened to hit the city. Various posts flooded subreddits and online communities, some insisting the rain’s going to miss Austin, others warning of a direct hit. Thursday came around and… it hit. Hard. Relentlessly pouring down, videos began surfacing of the crew still setting up through the rain. Austinites and visitors nationwide had one question on their mind, “How the hell is the festival going to work with mud everywhere?!” Well, with my brand new waterproof hiking boots that got delivered the day before I was to drive up to Austin, I was set on answering that question.
Day 1
Driving up to Austin Friday afternoon, I came prepared with not only knowledge and experience from my time last year at my first ACL, but for anything the weather was going to potentially hit me with. Armed with my new boots and a poncho, I landed at the titular Zilker Park to get my 3 day weekend bender started in the best way possible, with
Turnstile. This being my second time getting to experience the punk-rock band that’s been on an energetic festival run, I knew to expect lots of moshes and high energy. You would think that the mud would deter or falter the crowd from moshing, but as the first synths hit of their song ‘Birds”, the muddy grounds at Ziker shook underneath everyone's rain boots.The unmatched eruption of modern hardcore didn’t let up once, setting the stage for how iconic Weekend One was going to be.
Sloshing through the mud to take a lap around the park was surprisingly a lot of fun. If you stand still too long, you start sinking in, but taking big steps in the mud and feeling it squish and squash under your boots was incredibly satisfying. I also took note of just how well everyone’s outfits adapted to the weather. You always see people posting their outfits or outfit guides leading up to the festival, but this year it was amusing seeing everyone shifting to making their outfit look good with rain boots on. Austin is nothing but resilient, everyone looking their absolute best, tens all around from me.
Surprised how well my boots were holding up, I landed at the Beatbox stage. At the recommendation of one of my friends, I decided to check out Molly Santana! Even with a smaller crowd at this stage, Santana brought an energy to the Beatbox stage that was infectious. Everyone around me was bouncing up and down to every song. The set felt like one where you could let loose and do whatever felt right for you, not having to worry about what anyone else would be thinking.
With her set drawing to a close, I started making my way over to the Snapchat stage. Er, I should say I attempted to make my way over to the Snapchat Stage. I severely underestimated the amount of people that would show up for The Chainsmokers, who were the headliners of that stage. The crowd was packed, I’m talking shoulder-to-shoulder, sardines. And yet, everyone was all smiles. As their reign of hits played over Zilker, you could feel this wave of nostalgia wash over everyone, turning the muddy grounds into a muddy dance floor. Hearing “Roses” as dusk hit over the park, shot me right back to middle school when I was in a huge EDM phase and The Chainsmokers were in heavy rotation. The set was the perfect blend of nostalgia and creating new memories with the strangers at ACL.
The Chainsmokers by Nathan Zucker for Austin City Limits Festival
Wanting to get a decent spot for Charli XCX, Friday’s American Express stage headliner, I dipped a little earlier to make my way over. Maneuvering through the crowd gave me PTSD from last year’s Sabrina crowd, as I took baby steps trying to make way. Once I was through the thick of it, I planted myself firmly by some trees and lovely old ladies who had lawn chairs set up who let me hangout next to them.
The sharp synths of “Rock Music” cut through the air, the crowd erupting into cheers. As she took the stage, the giant screens on the stage lit up, the camera’s displaying in black and white, matching the aesthetics of her latest album, “Music, Fashion, Film”. Her performance was a commanding presence, truly showing how she’s grown from the success of “BRAT”. Her stage, the outfits, the dancers, they all had this industrial feel, with the speakers distorting with the intensity of the bass and synths of her music, the camera violently shaking and thrown around throughout the set.
Charli XCX by Henry Redcliffe for Austin City Limits Festival
After a brutal and intense performance of “House” we were treated with the presence of none other than Troye Sivan. With his album “She’s the Best” on the horizon, he gave us the live debuts of “Le Boy” and “Party”, which were infectious and kept the energy going as Charli took some time off stage to get ready for the second half of the show. When she came back, we were taken back to the Brat era, as we heard songs like “Club classics”, “360” and “Von Dutch”. It was the send off that the first day of ACL deserved. Shout out Tiff Treat’s for the delicious ice cream and cookie I ate as I walked back to the shuttles.
Day 2
The one time I wake up bright and early I find out that ACL will be opening their doors at 2PM. No one was really surprised though, the grounds after Friday were a muddy mess, and videos showed the crew and volunteers hard at work getting the grounds ready for Day Two. With some free time, I got to try some iconic Austin BBQ and got to the grounds just as Rochelle Jordan was set to take the Snapchat stage. I was very relieved that her set wasn’t one of the ones that were unfortunately cut, and what a shame it would have been! Her rich R&B grooves and intoxicating house rhythms were exactly what we all needed to see past the gloom of the clouds over us and get our energy all the way back up.
Rochelle Jordan by Ashley Osborn for Austin City Limits Festival
I danced my way over to the Tito’s Stage, once again surprised by the atmosphere this stage had. As the only stage under a tent and with a disco ball hanging overhead, every performance here feels much more intimate. That was made all the more true when Don West took the stage. Accompanied by his live band, the performance made up for missing out last year, delivering a cozy and uplifting energy that the midday needed. His warm vocals and 70s rock swagger had everyone dancing from side to side, being transported back in time.
Don West by Anna Downs for Austin City Limits Festival
The already re-muddy grounds of Zilker couldn’t stop me from making my trek to the opposite side of the festival to catch another set that thankfully wasn’t cancelled due to the delayed start, Night Tapes. I was so thankful that their set was pushed back rather than canceled, as they were a band I recently got into and needed to experience. With such unique vocals from their lead singer Iiris, they brought the feeling of listening to music at night to a cloudy 4:30PM crowd over at Beatbox. Their sound is captivating and just scratches your brain in the right way.
Young Miko by Charles Reagan for Austin City Limits Festival
No better way to follow up than with some Young Miko immediately after. Taking the American Express stage, she ignited the stage and the audience. The crowd was full of excited fans either dancing or going bar for bar with her. I didn’t know that she had dancers with her on stage, so that was a very welcomed surprise. She has such an energy to her that’s hard to describe. In simple terms, she’s just really freaking cool.
Taking a much needed break, I grabbed a drink from one of the stands, and an ice cream cone, and planted myself by the trees as I waited for Snow Strippers. I never would have anticipated the crowd they drew over at Beatbox. The crowd went all the way back to where the merch stands were, taking up any and all available space. What was even crazier was how unshakeable this crowd was, completely unfazed by how many people were around them, only focused on the hyper energy Snow Strippers delivered.
Snow Strippers by Roger Ho for ACL Music Festival
Closing out my Day Two, I made the decision to run between both headliners, Lorde and RUFUS DU SOL. Two iconic acts booked at the same time is so unfair, and I couldn’t afford to miss one out entirely. I started with RUFUS, being taken on an otherworldly visual and acoustic journey, with basslines riveting over the crowd, and beams dowsing over the American Express crowd.
Rufus Du Sol by Nathan Zucker for Austin City Limits
Running over to Lorde at T-Mobile, I was met with a deeply intimate and important performance from her. Even from way back in the crowd, I could feel how cathartic the music was for not only her but the people around me as well. Tears were shed at both stages, thanks to an all timer performance of “Ribs” by Lorde and “Innerbloom” by RUFUS DU SOL. I couldn’t believe I still had another day to go.
Lorde by Ashley Osborn for ACL Music Festival
Day 3
By day three, I could really feel the tiredness hitting me, and luckily I wasn’t the only one. As I got ready to hit the park again, I saw a lot of videos of people wanting to stay in bed because of how tired they were. As amusing as it was, we all knew we couldn’t miss out on the last day of what has already been an amazing weekend.
To kickstart my day and really wake me up, I caught Villanelle over at the American Express stage, which was a great substitute for a morning coffee. As they played through their music, the gritty guitar and pounding drums were definitely the right call to make to wake me up.
I made my way to the Beatbox stage where I’d be spending the majority of my day. I caught Flight by Nothing, a band I wasn’t familiar with at all but grew to love by the end of it. Based in Austin, TX, the indie rock band gave one hell of a performance, surprising everyone with their sound and their vocals. What made it all the more better was when it began raining, which seemed to amplify both their energy and the energy from the crowd. Raincoats came off during an incredible rendition of “Baby Come Back”, which cemented it as one of my favorite sets of the festival.
underscores with Danny Brown by Roger Ho for ACL Music Festival
After grabbing some merch and some grub, I planted myself at the barricade for my second most anticipated set of the whole festival, underscores. As soon as she took the stage, it was a whirlwind. I was so lucky to be surrounded by a ton of fans, many of which were catching her for the first time. Hearing them lose it during “Do It” and “Tell Me (U Want It), made coming to Austin worth it. I want to formally apologize to everyone around me when she brought out Danny Brown, because I truly could not have guessed that she would have brought anyone out. We were treated to “Copycats” and “Baby” off of Danny’s “Stardust” album. As a huge Danny Brown fan, this was the coolest thing of the whole weekend. Closing out with “Wish U Well” and “Music”, I was buzzing. The only way that this could be topped was by seeing my most anticipated act of the weekend, Blood Orange.
After getting rained out at a previous festival, I was nervous all weekend that this would be a repeat of what happened. The music gods were on my side because it wasn’t long until he and his band took over to headline the Beatbox stage. As the first notes of “Somewhere in Between” blessed my ears, the night was off. His rich vocals, the band’s luscious instrumentation, the back-up singers belting out the music, it was a masterclass of soul. You could feel the soothing warmth of the music, with songs like “Wish”, “Bad Girls” and “Charcoal Baby” receiving huge reception from the crowd. Everyone around me sang along to each song, which surprised me but made me glad that I finally got to experience this sound live.
Blood Orange by Nathan Zucker for Austin City Limits Music Festival
I closed out the night and the weekend with a sublime performance by The XX. The music is so fine-tuned, so refined, it felt like the necessary final moments to this unique and one of a kind weekend at ACL. I’ll stand by it, I’ll take the mud over the dust any day of the week. My boots are dry now, ready for what’s to come.
