Austin’s annual three-day music festival celebrates its ten-year anniversary on October 12th and promises to be bigger and better than ever. The lineup rivals the country’s most prestigious festivals, featuring 2012’s biggest successes (Alabama Shakes, Gotye), ACL vets (Andrew Bird, Delta Spirit), and Austin’s freshest indie acts (Quiet Company, The Eastern Sea). Here’s a look at only a few of the festival highlights from the last ten years. While tickets are sold-out, we want to make sure you know exactly what you’re missing out on so you can snatch up one of those dirt-cheap early bird tickets for next year when ACL debut’s as a 2-weekend festival!
9. Dell Lounge Sound & Jury Contest (2007-2009) – C3 Presents incorporated the age-old “battle of the bands” concept in 2007, offering a lucrative reward to an unsigned band – an opening slot Friday on the Dell Stage. In a contest that showcased bands’ music as well as their marketing savvy, contestants tapped their fan-bases via an online voting system. Through five rounds, fans and bands were whipped in to a voting frenzy until the contest culminated with a five-band final show at Austin’s legendary nightclub Antone’s. Throughout its three-year existence, the contest propelled the careers of several great bands, including one of Austin’s most promising acts Bright Light Social Hour (2009).
7. Austin City Limits Music Festival debuts (2002) : Not to be confused with the PBS-TV show for which the festival derived its name, ACL Festival debuted on September 27, 2002 with a far more Americana flavor than the “something for everyone” lineup diversity of late. Marquee performances of the two-day event included Ryan Adams, Patty Griffin, Wilco and Emmylou Harris. Over 40,000 people witnessed what has now become a staple of fall in Austin and bore the sunburn to prove it on the unseasonably hot weekend.
6. ACL Festival goes “green” (2007) : In 2007, Austin City Limits got serious about the environmental impact of a festival that entertains over 150,000. The festival generously gives back to improve Zilker Park (truly an Austin treasure). It also holds its vendors to a high standard, requiring eco-friendly plates, napkins, and utensils. Lastly, ACL’s “green” commitments have eliminated sales of plastic water bottles as well as provided vast amounts of recycling receptacles (and incentives for those who use them through its Rock-N-Recycle program).
5. Gillian Welch vs. Skrillex (2011) : If ever there was a flaw in the planning of the daily line-ups, Gillian Welch and Skrillex playing on stages within earshot of the other was the worst. The future Grammy winner’s decibel levels were no match for Welch’s and counterpart Dave Rawling’s throwback Appalachian folk numbers. However, in a world of divas where the loudest, brashest typically wins out, Welch’s humility and willingness to keep the show going for those packed underneath the tent quietly stole the show.
3. Blind Boys of Alabama Quell the Heat (2004) : In what turned out to be the first true example of Austin’s climate not always working in tandem with the festival, scorching temperatures punished those who forgot their hats and sunscreen in 2004. The Blind Boys of Alabama, probably the oldest folks in Zilker Park throughout the weekend, outshone all other performers and with their inspiring gospel performance in their signature suits. The historic group’s sun-soaked mid-afternoon set time did not faze the singers one bit and put all weather-related complaints from the weekend into perspective.
1. Coldplay Passes the Torch of Soft Rock Supremecy (2005) – Despite Coldplay’s continual decline in “hipness” over the past few years, their foresight at ACL 2005 deserves some major credit. Essentially, Coldplay crowned Arcade Fire as the best band in the world and (though perhaps not intentionally) their eventual successors as kings of sensitive-guy rock. Though not a complete surprise to those who were familiar with Arcade Fire at the time (a year after the release of “Funeral”), Chris Martin and company turned out to be rather prophetic, as Arcade Fire ascended to superstardom with their 2010 Grammy triumph.
– Justin Wiseman