Austin City Limits has been a festival for about as long as the Killers have been a band, lead singer Brandon Flowers pointed out in the final hour of Weekend One: “Everybody knows you need a little time to grow before you reach your full potential, right?”
True to 23 years of experience, and a lot of luck, ACL 2025 got off to a remarkably drama-free start. All headliners were present and accounted for, and more or less punctual, and sound issues were very few and far between.
Temperatures stayed in the upper 80s, which ACL regulars have come to expect. As T-Pain advised, “If you are somewhere in the air conditioning and you are somewhere where life is comfortable, that is not the time to design your outfit for ACL Fest.” Maybe it was the very occasional cloud coverage and the breeze, or the plentiful misters and hydration stations, or maybe global warming is increasing our heat tolerances, but I did not see a single person pass out. Knock on wood.
Instagram videos captured excited fans racing to save a spot for Sabrina Carpenter’s Saturday night debut no less than six hours ahead of her set time. Rumors of a Taylor Swift appearance threatened to turn the pop star’s crowd into a stampede. Twenty minutes before Carpenter’s debut ACL set, festival organizers asked the crowd to “Please Please Please” take five steps backward. OK, no, the announcement was serious and, luckily, heeded. Seeing Shania Twain step onstage instead not only prompted cheers of excitement, but a sigh of relief – at least, from this attendee.
Plumes of dark smoke were spotted in the skyline Sunday evening, prompting concerned festival goers to hike their bandanas even higher. The Statesman reported the source was a fire in an abandoned motel and restaurant off I-35. No injuries were reported.
Safe and on schedule does not mean boring! Here’s what caught my eye:
Twang-Filled Times
Pedal steel players need not worry about job security just yet. Country fever has been making the nation sweat for a couple years now, which I guess is a good thing if you are a major music festival in Texas. Americana instrumentations have found their way into alternative rock, folk, and soul-inspired acts across the radio dial, and country music plain and proper is having its own moment too. ACL 2025 certainly capitalized on the moment, and its Texas association, booking a variety of country and Americana-derived acts throughout the three-day schedule, but the pedal steel twang was especially concentrated on Friday.
Local Western swing standards Asleep at the Wheel opened the festival, followed, throughout the day, by the Beyoncé-approved Tiera Kennedy; Texan songwriters Tanner Usrey and Dylan Gossett; Austin-based folk duo Briscoe; honey-voiced, snarky-toned singer Willow Avalon; and increasingly pop-driven Nashville artist Maren Morris. Breakout wordsmith MJ Lenderman represented the alt-country resurgence for irreverent indie rockers. Of course headliners Hozier, firmly on the folk side, and country radio staple Luke Combs – hardly the first ACL country headliner, despite his claims – made the guitar-forward palette practically official.
Each day still held plenty of variety, but our pattern-loving minds love to spot trends. If banjo and mandolin filled the air on Friday, synth and falsetto took over a pop-heavier Saturday, and electronic-oriented acts topped Sunday’s list.
Fashion Notes
Country influence isn’t just for the musicians. Of course there were cowboy boots and hats aplenty in the crowd, and between them outfits blending Y2K silhouettes with Southwestern accessories that felt somewhere between an “Austin festival” Pinterest search and a reflection of general trends. Embossed metal chain belts sat snugly on the waists of many a bohemian cowgirl, adding shape to flowy skirts adorned with tassels, ruffles, and crochet.
In these outfits and many, many more, brown seems to be having the moment it deserves. Whether in sheer tops or leather skirts, polka dot prints or psychedelic button-downs, preschoolers’ least favorite color is finally being embraced.
Flower crowns haven’t been spotted at music festivals for a good decade now, but clip-on faux stemmed blooms and sprouts took seed on hats and hairdos last weekend, seeming to grow in popularity day by day.
TikTok Stars Translate Screen to Stage
While not necessarily a new phenomena, musicians and the industry that surround them continue to puzzle over TikTok fame. Several bands on the lineup this year got their start – or a boost – from the addictive short-form video app. Pop songwriter Nicky Youre addressed his internet-truncated rise to fame onstage. His second-ever single, “Sunroof,” blew up in 2023, inspiring “What’s the Big Deal?”, a yet-unreleased track written about the ensuing scramble to hold onto viral fame and navigate his fledgling musicianship. Other acts seem to be more at home incorporating internet content into their public personas. Indie-pop artist ROLE MODEL serenaded Hilary Duff during his viral song “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.” Duff is just the latest star to take on the wild child love song’s protagonist role, prompting fans to speculate about who will be Weekend Two’s “Sally.”
Early 2000s Rock Acts Ascend to Legacy-Held Time Slots
The Killers and the Strokes, who have gotten comfortable headlining festivals in the past few years, led a loosely tied group of indie and alternative rock bands who rose to fame in the Aughts and 2010s throughout the lineup. Modest Mouse, Cage the Elephant, Dr. Dog, and their electronic-dance radio-era compatriots Empire of the Sun and Passion Pit, drew on millennial nostalgia with varying levels of success. These bands’ now-expected presence on festival evening slots, and the lack of Eighties or Seventies-born acts – or even Nineties, for that matter – on this year’s schedule beg the question: Are younger audiences, and the prevalence of more niche fests, boosting turn-of-the-century acts to legacy spots?
Looking Ahead to Weekend Two
If Weekend One’s stars didn’t sell you, or you’re looking for more up-and-coming acts to discover non-algorithm style, stick around for Weekend Two. Jenny Lewis’ Aughts indie project Rilo Kiley brings their reunion tour to the Beatbox stage Friday. Rising TikTok country singer Sam Barber will also join Friday’s lineup, as will Skrilla, the Philly rapper whose song “Doot Doot (6 7)” popularized the numbers as an inexplicable slang term. Self-described “Texan dirtgaze” group Shallowater plays Saturday afternoon, as does Canadian indie outfit TOPS and queer hip-hop artist Dizzy Fae. Car Seat Headrest will play a set Saturday for the alt-pop-inclined emos, with Pierce the Veil to follow for those on the punk side. Emerging rock groups Julie and the Bends play Sunday, as does folk songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov. RIIZE made headlines at Weekend One as the first K-pop band to play ACL; this weekend, Japanese pianist and songwriter Fujii Kaze takes over their time slot. Take a shaded break to stretch and catch a drag show or artist conversation at the Grove’s Bonus Tracks stage and keep an eye out for fun offerings from local food spots like Sno-Beach’s dill pickle cone.
This article appears in October 10 • 2025.
