ACL Coverage: People at the Festival

We can officially call Austin City Limits (ACL) Festival 2014 a wrap. After two weekends of non-stop excitement, the festival closed for the year. The statistics alone are staggering, considering the Zilker Park over 300 acres. In attendance for each day are over 75,000 people each day and translated would be approximately 225,000 a weekend and 450,000 people over the course of the entire event. People come from all over the world to see the likes of Eminem, Lorde, Beck, Pearl Jam, The Avett Brothers, Lana Del Ray, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and dozens of other musicians.

The people come with one common goal in mind, to enjoy their favorite music and hang out with their friends and soak up sun (and sometimes rain). In speaking with many of the festival attendees, I learned a lot about why each of them attends the yearly event. Many told me it was a chance to get away from school and work to just relax. A lot shared another common thread; being with friends. But, all of them had one thing in common; the music. Most considered themselves music aficionados and had to see their favorite bands perform. Allison Foulk of San Antonio came up to enjoy some of her favorite bands as a birthday present from her husband. She left her two young sons with a sitter and soaked in some great music. Some of her favorites of the festival included Lana del Rey and The Head and the Heart. And there were many more she would have loved to have seen if there had been more time. Allison said, "ACL is an event I've been hearing about ever since moving to Texas six years ago. Getting away for a day to relax and listen to bands I love, as well as introduce myself to new ones, was incredible. It was the best way to celebrate turning 30 that I can think of!"

People left the festival happy, humming their favorite songs and chatting happily with fellow festival attendees.

The next year's dates have already been announced and it is not an event you would want to miss if you can get to Austin. The dates for 2015 are October 2-4 and October 9-11. Check out their website so you can keep up on the line-up for 2015.

PHOTO CREDIT: Allison Foulk, Kathy Strain