Ben and Max Redman used to sneak into Austin City Limits as kids by telling guards they were under 10 years old and calling random adults their “mom and dad.” At this year’s festival, they’ll take to the stage as local teen band Residual Kid.
This is an enchanted place. No, I don’t mean really cool or fun or eclectic - it’s literally enchanted. Things happen here that don’t happen in the real world. Each member of the ORANGE Music Staff has experienced that pivotal moment that changed their lives forever. It’s a blessing and a curse, really. No matter how mind-bogglingly awesome our celebrity run-ins or community festival experiences may have been, we are now forever spoiled, fully aware of the depressing fact that no other city will ever match the serendipitous beauty of Austin.
It’s that time of year again. We’ve checked the lineup, looked up unfamiliar artists, and received our wristbands in the mail. The weekend that we’ve been looking forward to is quickly approaching, and it’s important to get all of our planning done. For example, the friends we’re going with, the artists we’ll see, and how we’re getting to Zilker Park. But have you considered what you’re going to eat?
I was a senior in high school the first time I attended ACL. My wristband was a birthday gift from a boyfriend at the time, and together we strategically planned which artists to go see, what vendors to visit, transportation to and from Round Rock, and how we were going to get out of a mandatory marching band event that Friday night. We ended up using the excuse that we were going out of town to a wedding (which wasn’t technically false — my eyeballs joined Coldplay in holy matrimony that Friday night), but the point is that while hours of planning were invested in this process, my first ACL experience was riddled with mistakes that could have been avoided. Three years later, I’m attending my fourth ACL with an inch or two of wisdom. I present the “ATX Rookie Guide” to ACL.
While festivals are known primarily as a way to catch some of the world's top musicians within the span of a couple of days, they’re also a great place for scoping out the hottest bands on the rise. If you’ve got time to kill at Austin City Limits before all of your favorite headliners play, here are a few gems that have gotten missed in the fine print on the lineup schedule.
