{"id":460085,"date":"2026-10-08T12:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T12:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/460085\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T12:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T12:20:09","slug":"should-austin-move-acl-fest-from-zilker-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/460085\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Austin move ACL Fest from Zilker Park?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Got through the mud at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statesman.com\/news\/article\/acl-fest-2026-mud-damage-zilker-park-austin-22463490.php\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ACL Fest&#8217;s<\/a> first weekend?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rainy conditions were one of several things that had festivalgoers talking as Austin City Limits Music Festival returned to Zilker Park.<\/p>\n<p>Concerns about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statesman.com\/news\/article\/acl-mud-dillo-dirt-zilker-smell-22463079.php\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dillo Dirt and foul smells<\/a> reported across the Great Lawn have also resurfaced questions about conditions at the park. Some readers have asked whether ACL Fest should remain at Zilker Park after 25 years, while others may see the park as an essential part of the festival\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n<p>One reader told us Austin has other possible venues and argued that residents deserve greater access to Zilker Park, particularly during one of Austin\u2019s most pleasant times of year.<\/p>\n<p>That raises a broader question: Is Zilker Park still the right home for ACL Fest?<\/p>\n<p>Concerns about Dillo Dirt are also part of the history of the festival and the park. But the material has not been used in Zilker Park since 2009.<\/p>\n<p>Austin produces Dillo Dirt by composting treated wastewater solids with branches and leaves collected around the city. The mixture is processed at the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Facility, where heat \u2014 typically between 130 and 170 degrees \u2014 helps kill pathogens.<\/p>\n<p>In 2009, some festivalgoers who came into contact with mud reported skin rashes and other health problems. The American-Statesman covered those concerns at the time and advised people experiencing symptoms to contact the health department.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got through the mud at ACL Fest&#8217;s first weekend?\u00a0 Rainy conditions were one of several things that had&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-460085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}