ACL 2021: Survival Tips

I've done this for a few years running, and people have told me it was useful, so here you go again.  There are some new rules about what you can bring in to the Park.  So even if you don't want to read this post, go check out the rules for what you can bring into the Fest.  It is definitely different. And you'd hate to get all the way to the front of the entry line and then have to throw away your stuff or go back to the car. 

This post is all about how to survive the weekend.  You may be an old hand, and know exactly how to manage your ACL like a boss.  But I know it helped me to get tips from those who had been before, so here are mine.

First things first, let it go.  WE GET TO SEE LIVE MUSIC AGAIN!  THIS IS AWESOME!  So, just relax, man.  You likely aren't going to get to see ALL the bands you want to see.  You probably won't get as close as you thought.  You are going to have to wait in line.  Someone is going to step on your toes.  You will be hot and sweaty. That dude next to you will smell.  The port-o-potties will be foul.  You will get smoke in your eyes.  Someone with a moronic Big Head of Michael Jordan crying with some witticism on it is going to block the stage during your favorite song.  There are going to be tens of thousands of people in your way for the next three days.  Don't panic.  The point of this whole thing is to have some fun.  Breathe.  Have some fun. 

Once you have that in mind, what to do next?  Here are a couple of pointers from me, with new observations first, for what they're worth:

• Food options.
• Transportation options.
• Drink Options.
• Vaccine/COVID Test.  Of course, this is the biggest change for this year.  You need to bring either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test given within the past 72 hours.  The website says twice that the negative test results must be "printed," so I'd make sure to bring it in paper form and not just on your phone.  The website doesn't make that "printed" qualification for the vaccine card, but I think it would be smart to print it out just in case.  You'll also need to bring a facemask - for the most part you don't have to wear one, but there are certain areas in the Park where the organizers claim you'll need a mask.  So just shove one in your pocket, just in case.
• Also, this year, you'd want to really think about your shoes.  If it is going to rain all weekend, then wearing nice shoes, light colored shoes, anything you care about?  Very bad idea.  I don't think I'd go so far as the full on mud boots or anything, but this is not the year to try to impress with the shoes.
• Backpacks/ bags.  New rules - You are not allowed to bring a real backpack or bag into the festival anymore.  It can either be: (1) clutch/fanny pack; (2) clear plastic, but small, bag, or an empty Camelback bag, but nothing with "multiple pockets."  You'll be pissed if you forget and have to go back to the car or throw away your sweet backpack.
• "Small clutch purses and fanny packs that are 4.5" x 5.5" or smaller do not need to be clear, but can have no more than one pocket.  All other bags must be fully clear and made up of clear plastic, vinyl, or pvc, and be no larger than 12" x 12" x 6" ONLY. Bags will be restricted to small purses, totes and drawstring bags only. Backpacks and bags with multiple pockets are prohibited."
• So, pretty much, don't bring a bag!
• Bag Free Line.  I had always evangelized for the bag free line - just leave the bag at home and roll past the lines, but it might not be as big a deal now that bags are going to be more restricted.  If they have the bag free line, use it and get in quicker.  No lines = more music action.  Also, the ACL people say that peak hours for entry are 3-5 pm, so probably avoid those times if you're in a rush...
• NO LIQUIDS THROUGH SECURITY.  This is another change from previous years.  You used to be able to bring in sealed liter bottles of water, but now you cannot bring any sort of liquid into the park.  Which kind of sucks.  
• Kids.   I'm sure you already know this, but kids ten and under get in for free.  Which is rad.  To the extent you are looking for any parenting advice from me, which is likely not the case, I find it a good idea to have a talk with the kids beforehand to explain that shit is going to be wild in the park.  There are going to be ladies wearing questionable clothing (or just painted boobs in one case).  AG Club is going to yell all of the bad words.  People will be drinking and smoking and lord knows what else.  Personally, I think preparing them for the storm is a good plan to increase your fun.  Also, I think it is a good idea to explain to them that they aren't going to know any of the bands, so they need to open their minds and experience some new stuff.
• PLUS - this year, there is no Kiddie Limits.  So, you cannot try to dump them off to get their face painted while you go smoke out and watch The Backseat Lovers.  You gotta keep them with you.
• Cell Phone Service. AT&T service is still terrible.  An illustrative anecdote from 2017 - the Texas v Kansas State game was playing as the crowds were massing up in between the Ice Cube show and the Chili Peppers show.  I am trying to get google to just tell me the score, and my phone won't send a text, won't access the web, won't pull up the ESPN app, nothing.  Meanwhile, a dude next to me is literally streaming the video of the Texas game, holding his phone up for the crowd to see.  I asked him who he used, he said Verizon, which caused the girl next to me to pipe up that she too was on Verizon and was sending text messages regularly.  I'm not going to switch from AT&T, because it works so well in my house and office, but just note that if you have AT&T, you are likely going to have no service at peak times in the park.
• You might also just consider switching to Airplane Mode after about 4pm - you aren't going to get texts anyway, so you can save the battery for the Lyft order later in the night.
• Be Friendly.  Tens of thousands of people are in the Park with you.  I think you can definitely have more fun if you are nice to those around you.  Smile and say hi to the people around you. You may meet someone cool, have a fun talk, score a tip about a new food choice or band, whatever. If you bump into someone, apologize and smile.  If you are standing up to watch a show and someone short is standing behind you, offer to let them get in front of you - you can see over them and they aren't just looking at your big dumb head.  My friend Jason is the king of that one.  Pick up your trash. Don't cut in line.  Don't muscle your way up to the front of a show because you were late. Help people look for something they dropped.  Be cool if someone just NEEDS to squeeze up three feet closer to see the sweat on Miley's brow.  Just be nice.  Sooner or later, you might need someone else to be nice to you.
• Sunscreen.  Dude, just put some on before you go, and take at least a little with you.  You are going to freaking fry, as there is no shade by any of the stages.  Maybe you can cozy up to one of the fences and snag 10 minutes of shade between shows, but just know you will be in pure sun all day, unless you go play video games or watch football all day like a weirdo.  And don't bring spray sunscreen, they'll take it away at the gates.
• Chairs.  In my opinion, don't waste your time.  If you need to sit, you have an ass for that.  Otherwise, you are having to schlep those damn things all over the place, and can't sit close to stages (they have chair-free zones close to the stages), and its just a whole thing.  Unless you plan to camp out all day in a special spot with your buddies and your flag, just leave them at home.  Also, a few years back, the big inflatable couch thingies became a whole thing, and people were pissed about them, and they were annoying. So, on the prohibited items list, "No inflatable furniture" is a new entry.  Two person chairs are also prohibited.
• Bathrooms.  My apologies to the ladies who need to sit in those foul port-o-potties, but for the dudes, they have added in a trough system that lets you unload the #1 in a quick and easy open air spot, which makes for few (if any) lines.  Good stuff.
• Booze.  Loyal readers, I know that you think I am super cool and never uncool, but when I used to sneak in a traveler of whiskey, I was so nervous.  I'm honestly shocked that the people at the gates don't spot me from Barton Springs and just preemptively toss me into the creek.  I must have checked my pockets for their bulginess about 3,000 times in between parking and the gate.  Meanwhile, I've also seen people with gallon ziplocs full of booze, fake-cell-phone flasks, and camelbacks that they somehow got in still full.  For a couple of years, I was able to take a re-sealed Aquafina bottle of vodka into the park with me, but with the stepped-up security in 2017, I got busted a few times and had to toss the vodka in the trash.  So, I'm just going to let it go and drink beer.  So lame.  Without the ability to bring liquids in, or backpacks with confusingly large numbers of pockets, not sure how people will get their booze in this year.  
• Booze II.  They have loads of bars selling beer and wine, and a big wine lounge over near the Kiddie Limits area, so you can get alcohol, you just can't get your hands on liquor unless you are in one of the special sponsored areas.
• Booze III.  Also, take it easy on the booze (or drugs).  Even if you are taking an Uber home and have no worries about driving at the end of the night, you will be dehydrated and tired and dumping a ton of alcohol into your system could end badly. Don't be the guy passed out and getting stepped over all day.  Don't make the people around you suffer through your drunken freakout while they are trying to enjoy their music.  Don't add barf to a crowd.  And for that matter, why get so drunk you forget the show?  You paid to go watch music - you could get hammered at the house for free. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some beverages throughout the day, but everyone else there will appreciate a touch of restraint before you get to blackout stage or street-fighting-man stage.
• Water.  You are NOT ALLOWED to bring water in anymore.  You can still bring empty camelback/Nalgene/YETI to fill at the water stations.  You need water, man.  Yes, even you 20 year olds.  You are going to be in Texas heat all day long.  We might have a slightly cooler time this year because of the thunderstorms, but you'll still be active all day wandering around and standing.  You will sweat it all out and need more.  Don't be dumb.  And buying the boxes of water for $2 is a little silly when the Fest will refill a container for free.
• Smoking.  The website says that smoking is not allowed at Austin City parks.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  This may be technically true, but know that everyone there is going to have a backpack of weed and American Spirits and they are going to smoke everywhere.  You will see three-year-old children rolling joints in the Kiddie Limits area.  You will smell cannabis smoke at the gospel show on Sunday morning.  Cops will see all of this and not care.  There will be a pack of 12 year olds passing around a 7 foot tall bong shaped like Yao Ming and passing out, and a cop will walk through their smoke cloud to ask you where you got your taco.  That being said, their website now says that all vaping and e-cig devices are banned.  I don't know if they will enforce this, but know that the website says it is prohibited.
• Gear.  You may need a stack of gear, but I am the type to just want to be free of encumbrances.  If you bring a bag, they are going to search you at the door and then that hot, heavy thing is going to be on your back all day long.  Just bring good shoes for standing all day (flip flops are a terrible idea - someone will stomp your toes immediately), a cool shirt that is going to breathe as you sweat through it for ten hours, your phone (with an extra battery if you have it), and a hat.  Otherwise, leave everything at home and life will be simpler.  Oh, and selfie sticks are banned, so leave that trash at home too.  Also, no coolers, no hammocks, no umbrellas, no drugs, no drones, no spiked jewelry (all the HU fans are going to be BUMMED!), and no bikes.  
• Earplugs?  I have yet to give in to the intelligent maneuver of protecting my hearing, and for the most part, even when I have been up close, the music has not been too terribly loud.  However, if you get stuck right in front of any of the speaker walls, you are going to wish you had something to shove in your ears, because that can be killer. Just food for thought here.  Also, the ACL website says that the information booth will give you some if you forget.
• ACL Cashless.  Do it.  They rolled this out a few years ago, it allows you to link a credit card to your wristband.  It is awesome.  Originally, I preached caution, and I still would, as you can rack up a million charges and not really be paying attention to your spending, but it is GREAT to not have to pay with cash.  Also, unless they streamline some since last year, know that it isn't terribly easy to do the scan and pay move.  After you scan your wristband, you still have to interact with a jenky iPad clone to navigate a tip/don't tip landmine screen, usually with your server standing there smiling at you over some huge cleavage and 850 people in line behind you.  High stress moment.  I was never entirely sure what I did at any given time - the screens seem to reflect all natural light directly into your pupils for maximum confusion factor.  Also, make sure you remember your PIN!
• Rendezvous point.  I have had a hell of a time getting text messages out once the late afternoon and evening roll around and the park fills up.  Also, your phone battery will likely be super taxed as it tries to hunt down a signal and/or re-send the 12 messages you sent your buddy about grabbing one more beer on his way back from the can.  So, plan ahead and just expect that your phone may die and you might need to meet back up with your friend or kid or ride at a certain predetermined spot in the park.  Be careful using the flags that people raise to mark their spots, as those move and they are also sometimes duplicated.  I had a super annoying conversation with someone via text one time where both of us were "just to the right!" of a pink flamingo. Too bad there were two pink flamingos on sticks at that show.  it is easy to get separated, so have a predetermined spot to meet.
• Sunday morning.  Now this is just entirely personal preference, but ever since my buddy Chad and I fired up the 2008 ACL weekend, I have enjoyed the relaxed process of waking up late on Sunday morning, hitting up brunch/lunch somewhere showing football, and then getting out to the Fest a little later.  By that third day, unless you are under 25, you are going to be freaking tired and sore.  A little relaxation will do your body good to go out strong on the last day.
• Getting Close.  I know that you may not care or you may want to be comfortable, but from experience, you are going to have a significantly more fun time if you are in the middle of people jamming the tunes rather than way in the back with the people who are dicking around on phones or talking instead of paying attention. Standing off to the back left of Chance the Rapper, very boring, but the huge crowd in the center of the stage were pumping their hands and jumping and appeared to be having a great time to the same music that was boring me.  I'm not saying you need to wait all day like the weirdos who camped out for the Weeknd a few years ago, but just know that there is real energy in a lot of those shows that you miss when you are a mile away.
• Thievery.  I have heard a lot of anecdotal stories about folks having stuff stolen at the Fest - especially girls having their cell phones pinched out of their back pockets while they are watching a show.  WHICH SUCKS.  Asshat thieves.  So, since fanny packs are allowed in this year, maybe a little fanny pack is a good idea to store the cell phone?

Looking forward to it!  If you spot me wandering around, holler at me!  Hope these are helpful and that you have fun!

ACL 2021: The Drinks!

Crud.  They used to provide some sort of listing of the beers you could get your hands on at the Fest.  No longer.  Eater Austin mentions a few changes to the menu, but they don't list the whole menu.  I guess I'll just provide you with last year's listing and discussion, add in the new ones listed on Eater, and hope they stayed pretty close to the same listing?

But first, shout out to my friend Pat for his ProTip about getting enough beer to properly forget that show you are about to go see.  

If you like cold beers and fewer trips to craft beer tent, the 36oz Yeti Rambler with the screw top lid is amazing – might even go so far as to call it life changing.  Rambler + carabiner + solid belt to hold pants and Rambler = 2 full cold craft beers in the magazine, 1 or 2 quickly-warming beers in the chamber and extended beer drinking and music enjoying time.  Still traveling light so no backpack needed.  Just show that it’s empty on your way in.  Yeti is totally overpriced and I got mine as a coaching gift, but based on festival experience last weekend, I’d buy one for ACL alone.  

Bam!  I like it - cold beer in the Yeti like having a pitcher with you!  Although it will sting when you load that sucker up and drop $40 right then...  I pulled this off last time, and other than it being kind of hard to walk with the Yeti trying to damage your thigh while full of beer, it worked like a champ.

If you want my recon work, mostly from 2018 by now, read on:

The years of trying to sneak booze into the park are over.  First, they started seriously hassling me a few years aback about the re-sealed Aquafina bottles and it was always just a pain in the ass to be all nervous about it.  Then they said no outside liquids at all.  And this year, the only bags you can bring in are either tiny (fanny pack, clutch) or small and clear plastic ones.  No more backpacks.    For real though, the security is going to be even harder this year, so I doubt anyone is sneaking in booze anymore.  (unless you animals have good ideas for how to make it happen?!?)

But I do plan on having a few beers to get me through the days out there in the sun.  In case you are new to this whole ACL thing, they have several ways to get booze into your system. First, you have the jenky yellow BAR kiosks all over the grounds.  Literally, there will be like 20 of these spread all over the place.  At that BAR kiosk, you can likely get Miller Lite, Coors Original, Sol, and Fireman's Four (or some derivation of those choices). These will be tallboy cans, and likely $9 unless the price has been jacked since last time.  This is your easy access beer choice.  You will have many of these.

There is also usually a wine choice as well.  A power move is to grab the carafe of red wine at the BAR and power through that while yelling that George Strait should STICK TO THE HITS!!!

For the real beer action, there is the Barton Springs Beer Hall, which will have some big screen TVs and a long bar full of taps of better beer choices.  Of note, unless they change things from the past, you are not getting a fresh pour of these beers.  The folks working this tent will have two or three cups of each beer sitting there ready for you to buy, so that you don't have to wait around for a pour.  However, if it is a million degrees, then your beer is not going to be cold.  I've never gotten a truly hot one either, but just know what you are getting.

On to the action!  According to prior experience and the Eater folks, these are (maybe) going to be your choices (along with commentary from me):

• Austin Eastciders Blood Orange; Austin Eastciders Original.  (5.0%).  Austin.  $12!  I have tried the original one, and it is pretty solid for a cider, but that is like saying V-8 is pretty solid for a tomato juice when you can't stand tomato juice.  So enjoy, if this is your thing, at least it is local!
• Bell’s Two Hearted IPA. (7.0%). Kalamazoo, Michigan.  What is with a Michigan beer?  I've had this several times (they had it in Colorado at lots of stores) and it is a good beer.  Pretty bitter, but strong.  Also, the label (kind of jenky, like the writing on Ghostface Killah's Twelves Reasons to Die, with a fish underneath) is boss.  Seven percent sounds good though...
• Appears to be independent.
• Whitestone Long Gone Blonde. (5.2%).  Cedar Park, Texas  Hey, that's almost local!  Never heard of this brewery, but a blonde ale is usually a pretty good style to make me happy.  I'd give it a shot.
• Independent.
• Celis Pale Bock.  (4.9%).  Austin, Texas.  I've enjoyed the new Celis beers that I've had around town, and this is my favorite.  The Pale Bock is great, heavy malt sweetness, but a very welcome break from the overly hoppy IPAs.  Give it a shot.
• Celis went into bankruptcy a few years ago, but appears to be plugging along anyway.  Hopefully they are doing well!
• Celis White. (4.9%). Austin, Texas.  Yeah, I liked this one back in the day when Celis was first around, and have enjoyed it at a few bars since it came back to life.  This is a wheat beer, so its a little sweet, a little cloudy, and would be refreshing on a hot day, although I find wheat beers to be worse when they get warm, so you gotta go fast with this one.
• Independence Brewing Company Native Texan.  (5.2%). Austin, Texas.  German pilsner.  Never tried this one before, but I think a good pilsner is a great hot weather beer, and this one being over 5% sounds sweet.  I'll go for at least one.
• Owned in part by Lagunitas, which is owned by Heineken.
• Karbach Big & Bright IPA. (6.7%). Houston, Texas.  Of course, now that the evil empire has purchased Karbach, it becomes the biggest "craft beer" offering here and they cut Real Ale out entirely.  I don't like it at all.  I haven't tried this one, I've had a bunch of the Karbachs and they are fine.  
• AB InBev owned.  And here is some Class A shade from the awesome dudes over at Austin Beerworks, calling bullshit on ACL listing Karbach as "craft."  I love their message - Karbach is good beer and I'm glad people enjoy it, but understand that beers brewed by AB InBev shouldn't be misleadingly labeled as "craft."
• Karbach Lemon Ginger Radler and Blood Orange Radler (3.5%). Houston, Texas.  God, I bet this is horrible.  First, you are getting about the same amount of alcohol as hand sanitizer.  Second, you are getting a beer flavored with ginger.  Ginger is a cool hair color, but not an acceptable beer flavoring device.  Finally, you are paying like $10 for this honor.  I would not do this.  Just go get a water instead.
• Karbach Hopadillo. (6.6%). Houston, Texas.  This is a pretty solid beer.  Not too crazy hopped in my recollection, but still pretty bitter.  Again, though, give me the ones at 7.0% instead of this less powerful business.  Damn mega breweries screwing me on a few percentage points of booze.
• Karbach Love Street. (4.9%). Houston, Texas.  This is a pretty damn tasty Kolsch, real light and a little bit fruity.  I got our firm to carry it in the beer fridges and I have it with some regularity.  The Fest says they are offering the regular serving as well as the "Taller Boy Can," which I had the other night at Bass Concert Hall, which is a 19 ounce can.  I'm sure we'll all pay and extra $3 for that 3 ounce addition...
• Karbach Weekday Warrior. (4.5%). Houston, Texas.  An American IPA, I've never seen nor heard of this one before.  Not sure why I'd go with a full point less of alcohol than the Weekend Warrior...
• Karbach Weekend Warrior. (5.5%). Houston, Texas.  My favorite of the Karbach offerings, this one is an American Pale, so it refuses to listen to medical experts without doing its own research.  Hoppy, but nothing nearly as brutal as many of the full IPAs.
• Karbach Staycation. (4.8%). Houston, Texas.  Oh yeah, actually this might be my favorite of the Karbach beers.  This one is a very good, smooth American Pale that is easy to drink.
• Kona Big Wave.  (4.4%).  Hawaii.  American Blonde Ale.  I had a few different Kona beers the other day at someone else's house, and while I'm not sure I had the blonde, I liked all three that I had.  Too bad that the alcohol content is so low, I'd like to have this one but doubt I'd waste the money.
• Just because I'm a beer nerd, I was curious what the deal is with Kona.  Here is what I found online: "While you may not be intimately familiar with the name Craft Brew Alliance, you’re probably familiar with its brands – Kona, Redhook, Widmer and the gluten-free Omission. Despite its name, the brewer isn’t considered “craft” under Brewers Association standards because a third of the company is owned by AB InBev, essentially so Craft Brew Alliance [CBA] can utilize AB InBev’s monstrous distribution network."  So this brand is also part of the AB InBev world, same as Karbach.
• New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA. (7.5%).  Colorado.  Damn, Gina - 7.5 is legit.  I just bought a twelve of the regular Voodoo Ranger for the house the other day and enjoyed it while smoking some ribs on Labor Day.  Good beer, not too bitter but well hopped.
• New Belgium is apparently employee owned.  So hell yeah.
• Twisted X McConauhaze. (6.5%). Austin, Texas.  This beer is really yummy.  In the past, I haven't loved the Twisted X offerings, but I've bought this at home a good number of times and really enjoyed it.  Obviously a hazy IPA that tries to get clout by making you think of the movie star.
• Pinthouse Pizza's Electric Jellyfish. (6.5%). Austin, Texas.  The rockstar of all Austin beer.  This is the one that people ask for all over town, and pay freaking $18 for a four-pack of in the grocery store.  It's a damn good IPA.  Not sure it is the best beer in Austin, but it very well probably is.  Eater thinks this will be $12 per beer.  Which is outrageous.

I know, each year I bitch and moan about not having any local options, but they've been making that better each year.  In 2016, we had two local brews (an Oasis and an Adelberts) and then the Real Ale options from nearby, but a ton of brews from far away.  2017 had an almost even mix, with 13 non-Austin beers and 10 Austin beers and ciders.  This year you get seven Austin beers and ciders, eight more from Texas, and only three from out of state.  Vast improvement in my opinion.  I'd still love to have Austin Beerworks and 512 and Hops & Grain and Zilker in there, but a little progress is good.  Also, they dropped Zeigenbock, which is a major victory, as that stuff sucks on toast.  

2018 WINNERS:

Actual best beer Category:  Of a relatively mediocre field, I think I'd go with the Electric Jellyfish.  Very easy to drink and quite tasty.  Winner. 

Beer on the list I'd like to try Category: Whitestone's Long Gone Blonde.  

Best bang for your buck Category:  Voodoo Ranger - 7.5% booze.  You'll lose your tastebuds for the next hour or so, but you'll get into party mode a touch quicker.  Assuming the Juicy Haze is as good as the regular one, then this is a winner.  More bang for your buck and a good brew.  And independently owned by employees, so that is tight.  I recall a beer there in 2019 called Elysium, that was super duper strong.  So, yes you can be smart with saving some bang for your buck, but use caution!

Curious about the BAR beers, but no way to know what will be carried there.  I expect we'll still get the usual stuff at the BAR.  Just for comparison's sake, the alcoholic content of the BAR beers that I expect to see:

• Miller Lite: 4.2%
• Coors Heavy: 5.0%
• Sol: 4.5%
• Fireman's Four: 5.1% (winner!)

They'll likely have a craft-ish beer too, like those extra tall Love Street cans (4.9%).  If those extra three ounce cans are the same price as the others, then I'll be drinking that Love Street all day long!

ACL 2021: Transportation

How in the world do 80,000 people all get to Zilker Park, a landlocked zone bordered by a river, a highway, a creek, and a road that is closed down for the Festival?  I've tried all sorts of ways to get in and out over the years, so I'm back to provide a report.

For many years, I had the smug superiority of being able to park at my Mom's house, which was right up above the Park, and then walk down without any hassle or trouble.  It was amazing.  Although, if I'm honest, walking back up that hill at the end of the night could sometimes be a major bitch.  But mom sold her house, and I now lost my free parking space, and have to join the unwashed masses in a hunt for transportation.

The ACL Website used to provides several options, but that doesn't exist anymore.  Jerks.  If you have other ideas, please hit me up - comment here, DM me on Twitter, whatever - I want this to be as easy as humanly possible for me (and everyone else).

1. Drive your own car.  There are places you can park (even though there is zero official parking by the Park).  On Azle Morton Road (formerly Robert E. Lee, which runs between Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Zilker) there are a few houses with big yards or driveways that will have cardboard signs up offering parking for $40 per day.  Just know that you should not randomly park on the streets in Zilker/Barton Hills/Tarrytown/Bouldin, etc.  The neighbors will have that ass towed unless the signs there allow for event parking.  
• City Hall, Palmer Events Center, and One Texas Center have allowed for Fest parking in the past, at more like $15 a day, but that is a much longer walk (and getting out of parking garages after an event sucks).  
• I have also parked in the garages near MoPac off of Bee Caves Road, and those work pretty well.  Can't recall the cost.  
• Also, usually, the Austin High Band does a fundraiser where you can park in the AHS parking lot for a fee.
• This website lists paid parking locations with their distance from the Park: https://www.premiumparking.com/city/austin/acl-music-festival
2. Free Shuttle from Downtown.  In my post from 2018, I declared that this option sounded like hell.  My reasoning was that you still have to find a place to park in downtown, and then you have to ride back with 80,000 people at the end of the night when everyone smells like death and is crowding into the buses.  However, I tried it, and it actually works really well.  You board the bus at Republic Square Park (about 5th and Guad), and then it takes you directly to the Barton Springs West entrance.  When I did it last time, they had loads of buses queued up and ready to go, and we didn't have to wait very long at all on either end.  Was clean, easy, and best of all FREE.
• Know that you'll need a mask for this - one of the few places they are demanding masks is on the busses.
3. Uber/Lyft.  The website says that pickup locations are either Lamar/Barton Springs or under the Mopac bridge by Austin High.  The first of those sounds like a long ass walk, and then you'll be mired in the McDonald's parking lot waiting with a million high school kids for their moms to roll up in the minivan. 
• I worry a little bit about Uber as an option this year, as I would imagine that many Uber/Lyft drivers are reluctant to let muddy, wet, concertgoers into their cars.  Since we can expect a muddy time this year, you may have trouble with getting a car.
• In 2019, we tried a slightly different maneuver and walked from the Fest to a local bar, had a beer or three while we waited for surge pricing to go down, and then scored a reasonably priced Lyft to get us home.  Worked pretty well.  Still it cost $54 in total (because we took one to a lunch spot, then lunch spot to Zilker, then bar to home).  So, not cheap, but better than being unsafe, right?
4. CapMetro.  No thanks.  Rode this in February for the first time ever.  I suspect that the ride, and stops, and bus switches, required for me to get home would take so long that I might as well just sleep in the Park.
5. Just sleep in the Port-o-Potty and never leave.  YES.  This is the best plan.
6. Biking.  Hahahahahaha!  My old lazy ass is never going to bike to the Festival.  I know some young, hip dudes who ride all the time can probably crush this, but come on.  For those of you considering it, they have a ton of bike racks where you can lock it up, but know that if you get wasted on Sunday night and leave your bike behind, ACL threatens the bike could be impounded.  The racks are at Stratford Dr. or Azie Morton Road.
7. Walking.  I mean, this might be the right call.  The problem is that parking in the surrounding neighborhoods is very much verboten, and they will tow your car if you aren't in the right spots, so where are you actually going to park that you can reasonably walk plus not get towed?  I need more friends.
8. Electric Scooters (Bird, Lime, etc.).  I have been eyeballing this option for a while, thinking it might allow me to park somewhere further away - my office, a friend's house in central Austin, Randall's parking lot - and ride a scooter to and from my car.  I don't know how they would enforce this, but the ACL website says that there will be two drop off locations for dockless scooters, one by Chuys, one on Azle Morton Road.  So you'll have to come at the park from the east?  That seems like a pain.  And then also, the problem would be coming out of the park at 10pm and realizing that there are no scooters to be had, and now your car is 5 miles away.  
• This is exactly what happened to me in 2018 on the last night.  My buddy had left earlier to drive on home to Dallas, and I figured I would find a scooter by Austin High.  That was not in the cards, and I ended up walking all the way back downtown by myself, which was not optimal.
9. Get dropped off by your mom.  Damn, I wish this was still an option.  My wife would roll her eyes so hard they'd get freaking stuck on her shoulder blades if I asked her for a ride.
• Although a friend's wife dropped us off in like 2017, and we spilled bourbon all over the back of her car, and she is my hero now!  Should out to Mandy!
10. Other weird options: There are pedi-cabs, but I have a feeling those will be pricey.  And I always feel guilt for those dudes carrying my fat ass around.  Motorcyles/scooters (like, gas ones) - parking for those is available at the corner of Sterzing Drive and Toomey Road (Toomey is that road behind Chuy's and Uncle Billy's).  Uh, like roller blades?  They don't have a dock, so you can't canoe...

From my experiences last year, I think the free shuttle to downtown is the best option.  Now it will probably be really miserable or something because of COVID, but it worked really well last year.  I'll probably do the plan of walking to a bar for some post-Fest beers and waiting for a later night Uber/Lyft.

ACL 2021: The Eats!

Totally underrated part of this Festival.  And now the organizers get it, releasing a poster for the Eats.

Although what I really want is for them to release a list of what each booth will sell.  Hard to know how pumped I might be about East Side King, when they could fire up some Por Qui Buns, or they might fire out some weird noodle thing.  You never know!

You will eat well at this festival.  They do an awesome job of bringing legit local food folks out there to offer a wildly diverse menu, from pizza and burgers to ethnic and back to BBQ. I know for most of you, it is no longer a big deal to see legit food available at a festival, but I'm old enough to have suffered through Willie's Picnic at the big field beside Luckenbach, where your choices were like cold, stringy turkey legs and cheese whiz nachos.  It ain't cheap, but you can probably do two meals for about $30 total (plus $800 in beer) for a good day at Zilker.  Or you can bring your kids and watch them blow through $300 in food and yet refuse to finish any of it because it "tastes funny."  Whatever!  Wheeee!

The original Eats zone is still over there between the Tito's tent and the Barton Springs beer hall (on the river side of the park), and then the smaller Eats space is still over by that new VRBO stage that is across Barton Springs Drive from the rest of the park.    

The food booths obviously take cash, but the easiest thing to do is to connect your credit card to your wristband and just pay with a PIN all weekend.

Unfortunately, they stopped showing you the actual menu items with prices.  So even though a place might sell a great burger in their brick and mortar, they may only bring tacos to the festival booth.  So I'm making guesses on the costs and selection, based on prior years.  The selection will allow you to try several iconic Austin places or just get some food in your belly. The choice is yours.  Here are some eats that I remember from the past few years.

Actually, before I get to that, I have to note that they screwed us all since the past years.  The absolute best deal in the park used to be the P. Terry's burger.  You could get a very good burger for $4, in a line that hauled ass because they already have the burgers ready to hand out.  So it was quick, good, cheap, and easy.  The best thing to just nab while trying to haul ass between shows.  But its gone again.  That sucks.  Wholly Cow is on the menu still, but in my opinion that joint is overpriced and overrated.

Awesome Things:

• East Side King's Poor Qui Buns.  $8.  So stinkin' good.  I love those soft, steamed buns, and the pork and seasoning going on in this was great.  They also do fried chicken thigh chunks that are awesome (but sometimes overly crunchy, like they were cooked 8 hours ago and then just kept warm).
• Mighty Cone!  $7.  I had a freakout just now, because that Eats menu is alphabetical, and they listed Mighty Cone under "The Mighty Cone."  If it had been gone, I would have been deeply sad.  These things are awesome.  They have a chicken and a shrimp, and I recall destroying several a year ago.  Great crunch on the fried protein, plus a tasty sauce, some slaw, and a bad, hard tortilla.  Yummo.
• Burro Cheese Kitchen.  I've eaten these things several times and they are freaking good.  Those little King's hawaiian rolls with cheese melted inside are mighty tasty!
• Torchy's is awesome, but I'm not going to wait in line for this stuff.  They always have a long line, and I can get it anytime at home.
• Taco Deli!  I know a lot of taco nerd purists from San Antonio think this place is jenky, but they are dumb.  If they bring the Frontera Fundido tacos up in there, get like 5.  SO GOOD.
• Flyrite Chicken.  Haven't tried them at the Fest before, but their fried chicken sammies are good stuff. 
• Pizza Rolls from Austin's pizza.  Easy, greasy, and good.

Not Awesome Things:

• Chi'Lantro Kimchi Fries.  $8.  This trailer used to be right across the street from my office and it was awesome.  They pretty much serve that one kind of meat 7 or 8 different ways.  The burger, with a fried egg on it, is so fantastic.  But that wasn't an option here, so I went with the fries.  I recall them being less than warm, and kind of sad and soggy underneath the yummy kimchi.  Mediocre.
• Also had their chicken taco last year, and the meat was pretty cold.  Kinda nasty.
• Mmmpanadas green chile chicken empanada.  $8.  My recollection of this is that this was a poor choice.  I thought it would be a good change of pace, but I recall it being kind of waxy and dry.  And pretty sure I pooped green afterwards.
• Lonesome Dove Austin.  I can't recall what I ordered, but I remember thinking that there was no line at that booth for a reason.

No more Stubb's, which is jenky, because it was my other go to easy meal in the park. Their chopped beef sandwich comes with chips for $8.  But they aren't listed on the website anymore.  Crap, and Salt Lick is gone too!  They used to have great, huge, messy nachos.  You can also get Micklethwait Barbeque, which has some great food.  I ate at their festival-style booth at a golf tournament once and it was excellent.  The brisket was well cooked and flavorful and all the nerdy nerd things that BBQ snobs demand now out of anything they eat.  I recall a pickle or something too.  Anyway, you should try this.

Assuming I can tear myself away from East Side Kings and Mighty Cone, here are some things that I want to seek out to try:

• I love Easy Tiger in its normal habitat.  I wonder what they will dial up at the Park?  if it involves their pastrami, then you should get it for sure.  The New York board they used to serve at the downtown location was one of my favorite plates of food in the City.
• Homie Fries?  May be good, if it is like a pile of good meat dumped onto french fries?
• Taco Bronco.  This is a taco trailer by the Micklethwaits folks.  Smoked meats in a taco?  Bring it to me.
• Wing Dady (apparently spelled that way becauise it's the chef's last name, this was not a typo of "daddy") - chicken wings, crispy wings, and hummus/Buffalo cauliflower.  The thought of eating chicken wings and getting my fingers all foul at the Fest is not especially appealing, but we'll see.
• Wicky's Walkup.  I remember reading something good about this on Eater, that it was a New Orleans thing.  I'd eat a Muffuletta!

As for actual eating, know that it is a grind to get the best stuff during the usual eating times. If you want to get Torchy's at noon, expect to wait for it.  The word is out and the tourists want to eat the tacos.  This is one of the reasons I used to just go with the burger - for ease - they have them ready and you just snag, pay, and roll along.  And on hot days, the sno-cones and popsicles and whatnot are going to have insane lines.  

Also, regardless of how tired you are of standing, you likely are not going to get a spot to sit in the shade by the food stands unless it is an off time.  Usually, every seat in the big eating tent is occupied by some large group of bored-looking college kids who are texting each other and fanning themselves with their hip, straw fedoras.  They aren't eating, but when you glance around with food in hand, hopefully scanning for a spot to sit, they do not move, or offer their seat, they just continue to chew their gum and stare.  I love the youth.  

The new food area by the Barton Springs stage did not have any seating or tents in which to eat, it was just a place to buy the food and shove it into your gullet.

There are a handful of other weird things you can get, like Amy's ice cream or snocones or cake pops or bananas covered in stuff or juice or popsicles, but I'm not about that stuff.  I want fuel to get me to the next show and soak up my beers.  I AIN'T GOT TIME FOR THE BULLHONKEY BANANA COATED IN PEANUT DUST!  GIMME MEATS AND CHEESES WRAPPED IN CARBS!

ACL 2021: Rainy Days Ahead?

Come on, man.

We have the entirety of last year's Fest cancelled for the COVID, and now we have big ass storms to deal with?  Really?  That is lame.

 As of a few days ago, I was feeling super bummed about the weather forecast.  But, when I just checked, the new forecast looks like 90% chance of rain early morning on Friday, with it dropping down to 60/70% chance during the meat of Friday afternoon.  Again, Saturday has super high rain chances early in the morning, but by the time we get into the Fest, that drops down into the 60/70% range.  Sunday's prediction is just cloudy with no rain.  Also, the nice thing about the predicted rain is that the total rainfall amount appears to be less than an inch for the whole weekend. Sweet!  Hopefully it all keeps trending in that direction.

One question/worry - what happens if there is lightning?  A friend of mine just went out to Ohana Fest in California last weekend and said that they had some lightning, which caused the organizers to shut down the Festival for one hour, kick everyone out, and then re-admit everyone back to the Festival grounds.  If they have to do that for ACL, it will be a massive cluster.  Deep Eddy Cabaret and Chuys would suddenly get 30,000 guests out of no where.  I mean, there really isn't anywhere to go, if you plan on coming back!  it would be a big mess.

ACL's official website doesn't mention lightning plans - the only safety discussions on there are about COVID protocols.  But in the past, the Fest has carried on rain or shine, except for that year when the park was actually flooding after a foot of rain.  From reading around on the Internet, it sounds like people expect the same response to lightning as my friend described at Ohana.  Which would suck!  I call dibs on the big round table at the front of Deep Eddy!

ACL 2021: Sunday, Weekend One - Schedule and Thoughts

Sunday baby!  Sunday can be tough - if you've been going hard for two straight days already, it can be hard to get up and moving with the same verve and excitement as the past two days.  And that is especially true when the schedule is packed and you need to get there for something first thing.  Last time, we were there right when the gates opened so that we could catch cleopatrick's set.  Which was soooooo hot.  And supremely awesome as well.  They rule.  Anyway, no worry about an early day today - I think we'll be watching some NFL into the afternoon on this day...  

A few prelude thoughts for Sunday:

• The comments for each band are those "One Liner" things that I added to my reviews. It helps me to remember who they are (sometimes) and provides some detail on the kind of music they play.  Every once in a while they make me giggle too.
• Honestly, sometimes those one liners are freaking hard to write.  Some of this music is super crazy forgettable and I just can't come up with anything useful to write.  "uhhh, another R&B lady with a pretty voice?"
• I've made each band name a link so that you can go read the full review and listen to some tunes if you are unswayed by the One Liner.
• Friday remains the empty day for first weekend - 28 bands on Friday.  35 on Saturday and Sunday.  That is jenky.
• Only an hour for Duran Duran?  That is some BS.  How you gonna give Miley Cyrus an hour and a half and stiff the 80's kings?

Here we go:

11:45/12:15

Miller Lite	Deezie Brown: Bastrop rapper signed to Chris Bosh's new Austin label
BMI	Jany Green: Happy hip hop and R&B
VRBO	Shooks: Maybe local rock that sounds like UK alternative
Tito's	Shields of Faith: Gospel
T-Mobile	Allison Ponthier: Kacey Musgrave vibes on some indie/country tunes.

It's probably Ponthier as my pick for this hour, although I generally liked Brown, Green, and Shooks.  Not that it matters, I'll still be eating lunch somewhere awesome when these folks take the stage.  I need to think of a new exciting place for football watching, good food, and good beer.  We did that Pluckers down on south Lamar last time and it is uninspiring.  I need to do some research on other good spots down south for football and beer that feel cooler than that.

1:00

Honda	Mother Mother: Strange Canadian indie rock recently made popular by TikTok.
Tito's	Calder Allen: Complete mystery
Lady Bird	Jessie Murph: Generic pop singer voice girl

Nope.  If I had to pick one, I guess I'd try the Canadian tiktok stars over the other two?  Literally there is nothing online about Allen (or there wasn't when I wrote him up anyway), and Murph was one of my least favorite things on the whole poster.

1:45

Miller Lite	Sofia Valdes: Indie pop singer with a great voice
BMI	Public Library Commute: Alternative R&B dude making beats in his dorm room.
VRBO	Noga Erez: Dime store Billie Eilish
T-Mobile	Kennyhoopla: Blink182-ish pop punk guy.

Ehhh, again, not a lot to love during this hour.  Why are there so many R&B people on the poster this year?  I guess KennyHoopla would get my vote and I'd just imagine I was watching Blink back in the day.  And honestly, Erez is kind of interesting (and my one liner is rude) because while she does have one popular song that sounds like Eilish, she also has some interesting electronic stuff that is more her own.  So you can angle to her stage if you want experimental electronic stuff.

2:30

Honda	White Reaper: Glammy, fun rock and roll with a great live show
Tito’s Tent	TC Superstar: Synth dance party collective
Lady Bird	Tate McRae: YouTube star making pop after rising to fame from her dancing

White Reaper.  100,000,000%.

3:15/3:30

Miller Lite	Cautious Clay: Deeply groovy alternative R&B guy who I actually like
VRBO	Tenille Arts: Nashville country
BMI	Cam: Pop country singer, more on the pop end now, with a great voice
T-Mobile	Toosii:     Heavily auto-tuned rapper and singer who I've already forgotten while typing this sentence.

Titos                                Ant Clemons: R&B singer who got his break with Kanye West

I guess Cautious Clay?  Just a wasteland of music on this day.  And pitting two Nashville country people against each other is weird, especially since they should be on the George Strait day!  Nothing in any of these five slots excites me.

4:30

Honda	Polo G: Melodic Chicago rapper getting honest in his lyrics.
Tito’s Tent	070 Shake: Depressing auto-tuned R&B lady.
Lady Bird	Band of Horses: Laid back rock forever.

Band of Horses for sure.  I tried Polo G again today and just don't get it.  I know he has a zillion streams, but it's just not great.  070 Shake has, for some terrible reason, gotten stuck in the AI behind my daily mix on Spotify, so it wants me to listen to her on my drives home.  Which is not pleasant.

5:30

Miller Lite	Chris Lake: Another EDM guy making EDM guy stuff.
BMI	Hardy: Horrific Nashville country.  Just the worst thing on the whole poster.
VRBO	Channel Tres: Mellow rapper who also happens to do some techno?  Yeah.
T-Mobile	Marc Rebillet: Comedic electronic YouTuber

Meh again.  A billion times over it would not be Hardy.  Redneck hell hour right there.  Maybe I'd go see if Rebillet is funny in person?  Not an exciting hour.  Might be dinner time right here.

6:30

Honda	Karol G: Very popular Reggaeton artist singing in Spanish.
Tito’s Tent	Lane 8: Perfectly acceptable EDM
American Express	Greta Van Fleet: If Led Zeppelin and Rush had babies and they rocked

Van Fleet for sure.  I'm excited to see them again.

7:30

Miller Lite	Erykah Badu: Legendary neo soul singer from Dallas
VRBO	Tierra Whack: Philly rapper with those tiny tracks now making good long raps
T-Mobile	St. Vincent: Quirky electro-indie rock

This is the only hour all day when they've put artists against each other who I really want to see.  As of now, I am leaning towards St Vincent.  But Whack was fun in the small dose I got of her last time she was in town, so I might be swayed into going back over there and seeing a full show (please God let it be cooler this year so that laptops aren't spontaneously combusting onstage).

HEADLINERS:

Honda	Duran Duran: Classic 80's power pop rock band with amazing videos
Tito's	Silent Disco
Lady Bird	Tyler, the Creator: Very odd rapper, singer, and weirdo

Excited to see Duran Duran - I hope they've still got the chops.  And sexay dance moves!  And I'm totally up for wandering over to the other side of the park to see what Tyler is doing once Duran is over.  I don't hate his stuff, but it certainly isn't going to beat out seeing Duran Duran for the first time.