Alongside afternoon sets by Austin staples Asleep at the Wheel and the Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Collective, ACL Fest spotlights Austin rockers, Dallas pickers, and more Lone Star musicians between Oct. 3-5 and 10-12. Start your day with homegrown talent before catching out-of-town headliners.
Find the full schedule at aclfestival.com. Looking for more ACL Fest recommendations? Check out our joint interview with local hip-hop and folk duos Briscoe and Geto Gala, plus our conversations with Houston countrygaze trio Shallowater, Minnesota rapper Dizzy Fae, Puerto Rican band Chuwi, and Nashville troubler Tiera Kennedy. Find our top picks for other acts playing Zilker Park here.
Farmer’s Wife
Friday (Weekend Two only), 1:15pm, Tito’s stage
Don’t be misled by the name: Playful punk rockers Farmer’s Wife are all American Gothic and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, not seersucker and cowboy hats. On the quintet’s latest EP, Faint Illusions, nightmare dirge basslines creak with feedback like a pitchfork scraping concrete, while Molly Masson’s eerily sweet, pied piper vocals lure listeners ever closer to their gathering shoegaze storm. “One pocket full of posies/ One pocket full of meat,” she lilts in “The Ballet,” a gore-predicated tale of young love that Baudelaire would’ve adored. It’s a pleasure to fall victim to these local favorites’ conspiratorial subversion of American tropes. – Caroline Drew
Tanner Usrey
Friday, 2:45pm, American Express stage
There’s an obvious Southern rock edge to Tanner Usrey that explodes onstage in his scrawling guitar, but sophomore album These Days surprises more for the quieter moments. The new Dave Cobb-produced LP finds the North Texas songwriter turning toward introspection and exploring more emotionally complex terrain, like the title track’s effort to break through a bedrock of doubt. Usrey still kicks with a fury that amps somewhere between the heavy influence of the Allman Brothers and Drive-By Truckers, but also leans fully into the power of his soulful roar that can at times rival Chris Stapleton. – Doug Freeman
Dylan Gossett
Friday, 4:30pm, American Express stage
Dylan Gossett struck gold when he mined “Coal” in 2023, with the rolling, earthy poetry of the song propelling him up the ranks of impressive new songwriters strumming their own way through the doors that Zach Bryan’s success opened. The Austinite expands his palette a bit more with this year’s debut LP Westward, but maintains his earnest, heartfelt outlook steeped in an easy Hill Country drawl. Gossett’s songs turn on the sincerity of being caught between the pull toward deep contemplations of a quiet life and love, and the anxiety of mounting everyday pressures and, now, breakout success. – Doug Freeman
S.L. Houser
Saturday (Weekend One only), 12:15pm, BMI stage
From Spoon debuting on the Stubb’s outside saucer stage to the Butthole Surfers once warming up arenas for Stone Temple Pilots, local band ascension never ceases to thrill. Veteran indie songwriter Sara Houser hustles as hard as any homegrown act, from teaching and touring with Matthew Logan Vasquez to helping christen the new Austin Record Convention stage in May. As such, last summer’s sublime reissue of solo debut Hibiscus now lands her on the publishing giant stage at ACL Fest. When she sings “I am a woman on fire” on its title track, Houser’s no less seductive than Bruce Springsteen’s similar pledge. Her silky delivery of modern rock sharpens to this day, one weekend only. – Raoul Hernandez
Next of Kin
Saturday (Weekend One only), 2:30pm, Tito’s stage
“We’re like the Chicks, but as gay as Natalie Maines’ haircuts,” quipped Lili Hickman earlier this year as Next of Kin took over the Chronicle cover with the release of the band’s debut EP, Homemaker. Hickman’s uniting with fellow songwriters Madison Baker and Caelin has become a galvanizing force as the trio blazes a joyfully defiant brand of self-declared queer country that blends the three artists’ distinct styles into a mix of stellar harmonies, anthemic ballads, and a heavy-hooked, pop-influenced sound. Next of Kin delivers a cathartic declaration of self-actualization and independence that swells into communal empowerment. – Doug Freeman
The Point
Sunday (Weekend Two only), 1:45pm, Beatbox stage
The Point is a world-melding psychedelic group that draws inspiration from global folk music with all the passion and education of ethnomusicology professors. Saharan-styled guitar solos blend with Ethiopian jazz beats, while rhythmic vocal expressions carry chantlike harmonies in a vibrant tapestry that – when all the weaving’s done – comes out sounding admirably non-derivative and joyously experimental. The band’s small physical footprint, consisting of just three players and a small cadre of instruments, makes their lush sound feel like an illusion. Onstage, the trio is focused and fervent; their spectacle is a sonic one. – Caroline Drew
This article appears in October 3 • 2025.