The Return of Live Music
The lineup for Octobers Austin City Limits Music Festival, headlined by George Strait, Billie Eilish, Duran Duran, and Megan Thee Stallion, is impressive—but ACL would’ve sold out both weekends in record time no matter who was booked.
That’s how starved for live music we were in May, when all three-day wristbands to the 75,000-capacity event sold out in just under three hours. ACL Fest has been held at Zilker Park every autumn since 2002, except one. The resounding silence of 2020 made this year’s festival the place to be more than ever before.
The return of live music to Texas stages has been as gradual and deliberate as a first encounter with Zilker Park’s frigid Barton Springs Pool. Mask-required socially distanced shows, sometimes with audiences in cars, were the toe in the water. And while everyone’s eager for the big, here-goes-nothing plunge and shriek, the delta variant has required venues, artists, and promoters to continue to approach with caution. In August, ACL Fest promoter C3 Presents announced attendees would be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test before entering the fest.
Sure, we’ve had music streaming on demand every minute of the day, but what we’ve missed is the sense of camaraderie among concertgoers. Here, four Texas music fans share which venues they can’t wait to get back to.
RAILROAD BLUES, ALPINE
Railroad Blues in Alpine bills itself as the “World Famous Beer and Wine Tourist Trap.” But
