Rain or shine, Texas’ biggest music festival is still going on. Austin City Limits Music Festival is pushing ahead with day two, but the rain may not be done with Zilker Park just yet.
The second day of performances is set to kick off Saturday, October 3, at Zilker Park, with no weather-related delays or cancellations announced as of 9 a.m. ACL’s current schedule remains in place, while its social media feeds have been filled with performances and scenes from Friday’s festivities.
Festivalgoers may want to keep those rain boots handy. The National Weather Service says mostly cloudy skies are expected across much of South-Central Texas on Saturday, with isolated showers and thunderstorms possible along the I-35 corridor, mainly during the afternoon. Austin has about a 50% chance of rain.
Rain was already moving across parts of the region Saturday morning, with light to moderate showers mainly concentrated over the Hill Country, Southern Edwards Plateau and Rio Grande Plains. Forecasters said some pockets could bring an inch or more if storms repeatedly pass over the same area.
Saturday’s forecast is already making waves among ACL attendees, but some are looking on the bright side. “It’s all good. There’s patches of mulch,” one user wrote in the ACL Fest subreddit as festivalgoers swapped notes on the muddy conditions.
More scattered showers and storms could pop up across the region later Saturday, with heavier downpours possible at times. The soggy pattern could linger into Sunday before drier, sunnier conditions return for the workweek.
Weather has rarely brought ACL Fest to a full stop. The festival has canceled just one full day because of severe conditions, on October 13, 2013. Organizers have also pushed back opening times because of weather, including on October 1, 2021, according to previous reports.
On Friday, Oct. 2, ACL opened with patches of watery grass and puddles as attendees braved the weather with raincoats, ponchos and boots. This comes after heavy rainstorms have drenched parts of Central Texas since Thursday morning.
ACL announced on Friday that it would continue its scheduled lineup as usual despite rainstorms set for the area over the weekend. In a statement to MySA, ACL’s promoter, C3 Presents, confirmed that no changes had been made to the schedule as a result of the weather.