ACL Weekend Two: Aftershows, Late Nights, and Where to Eat Near Zilker

Weekend one is in the books, and weekend two runs October 9 to 11. If you want to stretch the day past the 10 p.m. festival curfew, the ACL aftershows are where the city keeps going. Here is how to plan ACL weekend two, which late night shows are worth the ticket, and where to eat that is not a $16 festival taco.

How ACL weekend two differs from weekend one

The second weekend usually feels looser. Lines at the gates shorten, the grass is more broken in, and people who learned the park on weekend one know exactly where the shade and the water refills are. The lineup also shifts day to day, so check the official ACL schedule before you lock in plans rather than trusting weekend one muscle memory. Weather is the wild card. October in Austin can mean 90 degrees on Friday and a cold front by Sunday night, so bring layers for the walk out.

ACL aftershows: what is listed for weekend two

The official ACL Fest Nights listings on Do512 show Rodrigo y Gabriela at Emo's on Friday, October 9, with doors at 9 p.m. Noga Erez plays Historic Scoot Inn the same night, doors at 7 p.m., which works if you want to catch a set before heading east. Also Friday, BUNT. with DJ Bad Apple is at The Concourse Project, doors at 9 p.m. Saturday, October 10 has Don West with Kesmar at Antone's at 9 p.m. and Claire Rosinkranz at 3TEN at 8 p.m. Fcukers play a DJ set at Devil May Care at 10 p.m. Saturday, and it is listed as sold out. Show lists change, so check Do512 for additions at Stubb's and Mohawk before you commit.

ACL late night shows: what tickets actually cost

Face value for most club aftershows is modest, but the listed ranges on resale and tiered tickets run wide, from a few dollars to a couple hundred. Do not buy the top of the range. Check the venue's own box office first, and look for door sales on the night if the show is not sold out. Rodrigo y Gabriela at Emo's is the one most likely to move fast. Smaller rooms like 3TEN and Scoot Inn tend to have the best odds at the door.

Getting from Zilker to the late night shows

The festival lets out around 10 p.m., and every aftershow starts at the same moment as thousands of rideshare requests. Antone's on East 5th is the easiest to reach from the park, and 3TEN on Willie Nelson Boulevard is close to downtown. Emo's on East Riverside and Scoot Inn on East 4th are both east of I-35. Walk away from the park gates before you request a ride, even if it is ten minutes up Barton Springs Road. Surge prices drop fast once you clear the crowd. Doors at 9 p.m. also means you can skip the last act if you need to, which saves you the worst of the exit.

Where to eat near Zilker that is not a festival taco

Chuy's on Barton Springs Road is the closest sit-down meal to the park, and the creamy jalapeno dip is the reason people go. Wait times spike before the festival opens, so go at an off hour. A short drive up South Lamar gets you Loro, the smokehouse from Aaron Franklin and Tyson Cole, and Odd Duck, which does a seasonal menu in a small room. Matt's El Rancho on South Lamar is the old-school Tex-Mex pick, and Kerbey Lane on South Lamar is open late if you need pancakes after the show. Book anything with a reservation system on festival weekends.

💡 ATX Weekly Tip: Open the ATX Weekly app and use the events view to filter by tonight, so you can see which aftershows are still on and which restaurants are still serving when the festival lets out.