Austin City Limits
Being from Austin, I have always seen the impact music has had on the city. Austin has been the homebase of big music stars, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Willie Nelson and a more recent (up-and-coming) The Black Pumas. Austin not only creates stars, but also hosts them. Austin is home to an annual music festival, while also holding multiple large, and more intimate, venues for artist to come and perform. Austin encourages the creation and sharing of music, and demonstrates that through its promotion of live music within the city.
For two weekends every year during October, Austin hosts Austin City Limits Festival, more commonly referred to as ACL Fest. Every person in Austin, and probably most Texans in general, are very familiar with ACL. With all the creativity, and musical inspiration deep-rooted in the city, it's no wonder they host a music festival. Although it has had its changes over the years, it has always been a way that Austinite’s, and people from surrounding cities and states, are able to share their love for music.
ACL was established in 2002, and received popularity almost immediately. It started as one weekend event, and remained as such for 10 years. ACL grew tremendously in popularity over those years, every year having a bigger turnout than anticipated. In 2012, the City Council voted unanimously to allow ACL to take place over two consecutive weekends, rather than one. It has remained this way ever since. This has allowed for even more artists to be seen at ACL, and for more people to get to experience ACL.
I have been getting to experience ACL fest, and other live music performances in Austin, since I was 10. Over the years, I have been able to see some of my favorite bands, such as Pearl Jam, The Foo Fighters, The Strokes, and smaller up-and-coming bands such as Mac Sabbath (a cover band of Black Sabbath) and The Criticals. In my experience, the love of music that is embedded in Austin helps make the experience that much better. From going to Stubbs venue, to going to Waterloo records, Austin makes it so easy to be surrounded by music. Through the promotion of live music, Austin encourages the creation and sharing of music.
For more information about the history of ACL: