The Austin Girl’s Music Guide

 

So this past weekend was basically the best weekend of my life. Why, you ask? Because I got to see the one and only Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter live in concert in Dallas. And boy, was it a concert to remember!

 

Mrs. Carter did not disappoint: she had crazy hot costumes, she had killer dance moves, she had acrobatics (aka she FLEW). In three words or less – she was incredible. If you missed this round of Beyoncé’s North American tour, she’ll be back this fall – her Dallas and Houston performances will occur on Monday, December 9^th, and Tuesday, December 10^th, respectively.

 

But you don’t have to travel to Dallas or Houston to see great music – Austin is the live music capital of the world, after all! And nothing evokes Austin’s live music culture quite as much as Austin City Limits. BetweenAustin City Limits Live concerts, Austin City Limits TV tapings, and the Austin City Limits Music Festival, ACL has the Austin live music scene on lockdown.

Though I’ve never been to an Austin City Limits Live concert, I’ve been to my fair share of Austin City Limits TV Tapings, and not a single one has disappointed me. In the past year, I’ve seen Kat Edmonson, Tim McGraw, Norah Jones, Vampire Weekend, Juanes, and Emeli Sandé at Austin City Limits TV tapings. Upcoming Austin City Limits TV tapings include Jason Isbell and The Black Angels and upcoming Austin City Limits Live concerts include One Republic and Sara Bareilles.

 

Due to its widespread popularity, the Austin City Limits Music Festival will be held over two weekends this year: October 4-6 and October 11-13. The festival takes place in Zilker Park and I really recommend making friends with somebody who lives nearby so you don’t have to park several miles away. This year’s performers include Muse, Kings of Leon, Vampie Weekend, Passion Pit, Eric Church, Queens of the Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys, Fun., and Grouplove (among many, many others). Though I will definitely be providing the keys to ACL Festival survival in October, for the time being, just make sure that you buy tickets!

To get tickets to the Austin City Limits Live concerts or to the Austin City Limits Music Festival, go on the respective websites and purchase tickets. If instead you wish to attend an Austin City Limits TV Taping, go on the Austin City Limits TV website and register for the giveaway – ACL gives away tickets on a first-come, first-serve basis to every taping.

If that still requires too much pre-planning, Austin is also home to a large amount of music (ever heard of South By SouthWest?) and many, many music venues. Popular venues include Austin Music Hall,Antone’s, The Belmont, and Stubb’s BBQ. On any given weekend night, you can find bands playing live up and down 6^th Street and in the Warehouse District – many of which don’t even require tickets. Additionally, during the summer, we have Blues on the Green every other Wednesday night over at Zilker Park. Blues on the Green concerts are open to the public and free for all so grab a picnic basket and blanket and I’ll see you on July 24th for the next show!

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