Zilker Park absorbs a hundred-plus acts, and Austin remembers what October is for.

Zilker Park spends the next three days turning into the biggest stage this city builds all year, and by Friday afternoon Barton Springs Road will be a parking lot whether you have a wristband or not. Charli XCX, Twenty One Pilots, and Skrillex top the bill for ACL Fest's first weekend, spread across nine stages and more than a hundred sets, which means the actual trick is picking three acts instead of trying for fifteen. Before any of that, Wednesday belongs to Young Thug at Moody Amphitheater, and Sunday closes out Zach Theatre's run of Come From Away for anyone who wants one more good cry before the festival crowds show up. We have two farmers markets and a swimming hole for the people skipping Zilker entirely, plus a tip on getting to the gates without losing an hour to traffic.

The marquee

• Fri Oct 2 through Sun Oct 4 · Very limited tickets remain
  ACL Fest, Weekend One
  Zilker Park, 2100 Barton Springs Rd
  Charli XCX, Twenty One Pilots, and Skrillex headline nine stages across three days, with more than a hundred sets total and the festival splitting its lineup across two weekends this year. If Friday is the only day you can make, the biggest names are not saving themselves for weekend two. Get to a gate early, because the entrance lines off Barton Springs back up fast once the first sets start.
• Wed Sep 30, 8:00 PM · Tickets at moodyamphitheater.com
  Young Thug
  Moody Amphitheater, 1401 Trinity St
  A midweek outdoor show at Waterloo Park two days before the city turns its attention to Zilker. Amphitheater sound carries better than an arena's, so the cheap seats on the lawn are the better buy here, not the consolation prize.
• Today, matinee and evening · From $28
  Come From Away, final performance
  Zach Theatre, 202 S Lamar Blvd
  Last day of the run we flagged two weeks ago. A show about strangers taking in 7,000 stranded people, scored like a Newfoundland kitchen party, and Zach's room is the right size for it.

Sunday · Tonight

• Today, matinee and evening · From $28
  Come From Away, final performance
  Zach Theatre, 202 S Lamar Blvd
  See the marquee. Book the evening show if you have a choice, it plays warmer with a full house.
• Today · Pay what you can, $0 to $15
  Art City Austin's Fiesta, day two
  Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River St
  The calmer of the two days, with the dance programming weighted toward the afternoon and the lakefront lawn out back still the best part of the renovated building.
• Today · From $44
  The Big Queer Weekend, closing day
  Galaxy Theater, 6700 Middle Fiskville Rd
  Four days of independent queer film close with the heaviest party programming of the run. Single-day access covers tonight if you never bought the full pass.
• 4:00 PM · Free
  Chicken Shit Bingo
  Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon, Brentwood
  Inside by 3:30 for a seat. Unchanged, as always, by whatever else the city is doing.

Monday–Wednesday

• Mon Sep 28, 6:00 PM · Free
  Yoga & Sound at Waterloo Park
  500 E 12th St
  Vinyasa and a sound bath on the lawn, part of the series running every Monday into November. Bring a mat and water.
• Weekdays, 3:00 to 6:00 PM · Select cocktails half off
  Half-off happy hour at The Long Goodbye
  2808 Manor Rd
  Nine cocktails on the regular list at $15 each, a rotating handful cut in half during the window, and four zero-proof options if you're driving. The kind of bar you can duck into after work without committing to a whole night.
• Wed Sep 30, 8:00 PM · Tickets at moodyamphitheater.com
  Young Thug
  Moody Amphitheater, 1401 Trinity St
  See the marquee.
• Wed Sep 30, 6:00 to 7:30 PM · Free
  Music on the Trail
  Rainey Street Trailhead, Cummings St
  Live sets along the hike-and-bike trail as the sun goes down, a calmer warm-up than anything at Moody Center that same night.

Thursday–Friday

• Through Thu Oct 1 · Buy one, get one on select shows
  BOGO week ends at ACL Live
  ACL Live at the Moody Theater, 310 Willie Nelson Blvd
  Last call on the deal before the festival takes over the neighborhood's attention. Check the current bill before you buy, not every show in the room qualifies.
• Fri Oct 2, 9:00 PM · No cover
  Friday honky-tonk at the White Horse
  500 Comal St, East Austin
  Three bands, no cover, tacos out back. The reliable Friday, and the easiest way to hear live music this week without fighting a festival crowd.
• Fri Oct 2 · Very limited tickets remain
  ACL Fest, Weekend One, day one
  Zilker Park, 2100 Barton Springs Rd
  See the marquee. Gates open early afternoon, and the walk in from the Barton Springs side is the fastest entrance of the festival's three days before the evening crowds build.

Next Saturday

• Sat Oct 3 · Very limited tickets remain
  ACL Fest, Weekend One, day two
  Zilker Park, 2100 Barton Springs Rd
  See the marquee. The middle day of the run draws the biggest crowds of the weekend, so plan the water stops before you plan the sets.
• Sat Oct 3, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM · Free
  SFC Farmers Market at Republic Square
  422 Guadalupe St, Downtown
  Peppers, fall greens and the first decent citrus, with the festival crowd still asleep this early. Closes well before anyone needs to be at a gate.
• Sat Oct 3, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM · Free
  Texas Farmers Market at Lakeline
  11200 Lakeline Mall Dr, Cedar Park
  The suburban counterpart to the downtown markets, easy parking and no festival traffic anywhere near it.
• Daily, standard pool hours · Standard city pool admission
  Cool off at Barton Springs Pool
  2201 Barton Springs Rd
  A five-minute walk from the festival's south entrance, spring-fed and cold regardless of how hot the grounds get. Go before eleven if you want a spot on the grass.

Next Sunday

• Sun Oct 4 · Very limited tickets remain
  ACL Fest, Weekend One, closing day
  Zilker Park, 2100 Barton Springs Rd
  See the marquee. The closing day tends to run calmer than Saturday, and the evening sets are the ones worth staying for.
• Sun Oct 4, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM · Free
  Texas Farmers Market at Mueller
  2006 Philomena St
  The Sunday counterpart to Saturday's markets, and a calmer errand than anything happening at Zilker that same morning.
• Sun Oct 4, 4:00 PM · Free
  Chicken Shit Bingo
  Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon, Brentwood

What we're drinking this week

• · $7
  Kolsch on the lawn at Meanwhile Brewing
  3901 Promontory Point Dr
  A big grass lot east of downtown built for exactly this kind of week, loud enough for a crowd and far enough from Zilker that you won't hear the bass bleed.
• · $7
  Coffee stout at Radio Coffee & Beer
  4204 Menchaca Rd
  Dog-friendly patio, a taco trailer, and enough shade to sit out a festival hangover. South Austin's answer to a beer garden.
• · $9
  Michelada at Container Bar
  90 Rainey St
  The rooftop still has the best skyline view on Rainey, and it clears out early on festival nights when everyone else heads south to Zilker.
• · $15
  A $15 cocktail at The Long Goodbye
  2808 Manor Rd
  See the happy hour note above. Every cocktail on the list runs the same price, which makes ordering the strange one an easy call.

Free this week

• Mon Sep 28, 6:00 PM · Free
  Yoga & Sound at Waterloo Park
  500 E 12th St
• Wed Sep 30, 6:00 to 7:30 PM · Free
  Music on the Trail
  Rainey Street Trailhead, Cummings St
• Sat Oct 3, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM · Free
  SFC Farmers Market at Republic Square
  422 Guadalupe St, Downtown

From the archive

Zilker empties out around six most evenings this week, but the rest of the city still needs somewhere to sit outside once the sun drops and the heat breaks. Our patio guide covers the ones worth knowing before a festival crowd finds them too, from East 6th beer gardens to the lakeside decks at Mozart's, ranked by what you're actually trying to do out there rather than just how good the string lights look.

Looking ahead

• Oct 9 through Oct 11 · Rüfüs Du Sol, Lorde, Kings of Leon, and The XX headline
  ACL Fest, Weekend Two
  Zilker Park
• Tue Oct 6 · Tickets at moodyamphitheater.com
  Jack White
  Moody Amphitheater
• Sat Oct 10 · Free if you own a television
  Texas at Oklahoma, Red River Rivalry
  Cotton Bowl, Dallas

ATX Weekly tip

Do not drive to Zilker this week. Parking near the park disappears fast on a normal Saturday, let alone a festival one, and the streets around Barton Springs Road close to through traffic well before gates open. Walk or bike in from South Congress or the Lou Neff Road side if you live close enough, and if you're using a rideshare, set the pickup and drop-off a few blocks out rather than at the gate itself, because that is where every car in the app ends up circling at once. Carry cash for the vendors inside, since not every stage-side booth takes a card, and refill a water bottle at the free stations rather than buying one every hour. The festival app posts stage times the morning of, not the week before, so hold off building a real schedule until you're already on the grass.

A festival that turns one park into the loudest weekend on the calendar, a farmers market for everyone skipping it, and a swimming hole five minutes from either. October starts the way it should. See you out there. — The ATX Weekly Editors