As a 4-year veteran of the fabulous ACL fest, I have experienced the dustiest, most fireball-filled fests in the history of this Austin tradition, and these hardships have given me great insight into how to handle the festival. I am now sharing this personally-gleaned survival secrets with you, oh internet. You're welcome.
1. Stay hydrated - This may seem like a no-brainer, but every single year, I see countless people passing out in and around the festival grounds. You're standing most of the day in the Texas heat, possibly dancing and jumping up and down. You've gotta keep yourself hydrated! And that doesn't just mean with beer, festival folk. Water is your good, good friend at the fest, and you're allowed to bring in two 1-liter factory sealed water bottles. There are water stations around the festival grounds where you can re-fill these bottles, and of course they sell cold water where you can purchase other refreshments. In the past, bottles have cost me $3 per bottle, so I definitely recommend balancing that with the re-filling of your own bottles. I'd also recommend drinking a bottle on the way to the festival. Trust me, I have heard terrible stories about people waiting all day for their favorite acts, being in the very front. . .and passing out as the first chords of the first song were played. Not fun.
2. Beware of the port-a-potties - If you follow my first recommendation and drink an entire bottle of water on the way to the festival, I suggest using the port-a-potty first thing when you arrive. The earlier on you use the potties, the cleaner they are (for obvious reasons). DEFINITELY pack hand sanitizer, and you might even take your own tiny roll of TP, just in case!
3. If you attend with friends, plan ahead - It is next to impossible to call people once you're at the festival, because everyone else in attendance will try to do the same thing and botch up your signal. Every year, people bring crazy flags, baloons, and other items stuck to tall sticks in order to direct their party back to them in the crowds. Keep in mind, though, that if you go with this method, you will a) have to carry said object the whole weekend, and b) possibly anger other fest-goers, depending on the type of thing that is up on your pole. If it's a giant flag blocking a lot of people's views, you might get some dirty looks. Usually, my friends and I get by on texting and planning meeting places and times.4. Sunscreen - Reapply. Reapply. Reapply. I can not stress this enough. I follow this advice every single year, and end up sunburned anyway. Just make sure you take sunscreen with you, put it on every hour or so (you'll sweat a LOT, trust me) and wear shirts that cover most of you, plus a hat. You will thank me when you don't have a sunburn-cold next week.
5. Plan ahead - Figure out where the bands are that you wanna see, and make up a schedule for yourself. It seems nerdy, but I get maximum enjoyment out of every festival because I do this. It is a festival, so it is expected that you'll have to run from stage to stage, but BE RESPECTFUL. If a group of kids has been waiting all day in the heat to be near ONE particular band, don't squeeze past them with one hour to go before said band comes on. Be kind to your fellow fest-ers!!
6. Waterloo Meet 'n' Greet - Basically, my tip here is just to know what this is. Some of your
favorite musicians will head to the Waterloo tent near the Barton Springs festival entrance to shake your hand, take a picture, or sign a poster/hat/purse/ticket/whatever you have on you. I didn't know about this at all until a friend tipped me off my freshman year, which led to me meeting Blues Traveler, and John Popper kissed my hand and spoke to me in french. Exactly. Over the years I've met the kids in Nickel Creek, Rachael Yamagata, Tristan Prettyman, and the always-gorgeous Paolo Nutini (pictured with me to the right.)7. Have fun - Most importantly, you have to make this festival your own. I'm the sort who loves to stage hop quickly so I can wait for my favorite acts and experience them close up. You might be the sort who likes to find a shady spot at the beginning of the day and lounge around, taking in everything you see and hear at once. Just be firm with friends and loved ones if they try to persuade you to do a particular thing - try new things, but make sure to have fun exactly how you want to. The freedom of the ACL festival is a huge part of what makes it so wonderful!
Take care of yourself this weekend if you're attending the festival. I'm still deciding whether or not I'll go - I'm on crutches for another 9 days, so if I can't procure a wheelchair for the weekend, I might have to sell my pass and skip this year. The lineup is astounding, so this will probably be one of the more difficult decisions I have to make in the next few days. If I do decide to tough it out, expect a very different festival blog perspective come Monday!
