Ahhhhh, time for the Austin City Limits Music Festival.  The great music.  The good times.  The massive crowds walking from parking far, far away to stand in sweltering heat while dirt swirls around.  Just kidding!  That was last year.  I've heard there has been a concerted effort to 'green up' Zilker so that there will not be the dirt/dust issues that caused issues last year.  Of course last year we were baked crispy by the 110 degree weather.  This year it's milder (to us locals, in the 90s is milder!).  You also have to hand it to the organizers of ACL as every year they do a great job of analyzing and taking care of issues from prior years.

There is definitely a different feel to the lineup this year as compared to last year.  Austin had what amounted to a 3 day British invasion of sorts in 2005.  Additionally, many of the other bands who came were from other countries.  I think I saw a few of the melt.  Black crushed velvet pants and a heavy long sleeve shirt don't do well in an Austin summer.  It was a great time though and the music was absolutely fantastic.

This year ACL has a much more local feel.  In some ways it actually reminds me of the music of the old Austin Aqua Festivals.  Man, those were good times growing up.  Skipper pins.  Czech night.  The Thunderbirds at Aero Fest (held in conjunction with Aqua Fest at Bergstrom AFB, now Austin's airport).  It was great to be a kid during AquaFest's hayday of the late 70s through the mid 80s.  Then the 90s came and AquaFest started changing its identity - bringing in more 'name' acts and doing away with a lot of the quirkly things that made it what it was.

Looking over the schedule for ACL this year you can see the change in direction.  Trish Murphy, Sara Hickman, Del Castillo, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Los Lonely Boys - and that's just Friday after 6PM.  Of course you have Willie Nelson headlining on Saturday, a complete throwback to AquaFest.  Even many of the non-local acts are more related to the roots-rock and blues that Austin is famous for. 

My picks, in no particular order - Muse, The Tragically Hip, The Raconteurs, The Shins, Thievery Corporation, The Flaming Lips, Guster, Gomez, John Mayer, Sparklehorse, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Calexico, Ben Kweller, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Nada Surf, The Stills and, of course, Patrice Pike.  There are several local bands that I would recommend as well, but a good idea for the ACL Fest is to lock down who you really want to see, figure out which stages they are on and when, and then as you pass stages from one destination to another just stop and listen to the various stages as you go.  More than anything though, it's good not to get too tied in to a schedule.  If you leave yourself open to hearing new music, you just might discover some great music!