After downpours on Saturday evening and early Sunday morning, skies were clear when Bill and I arrived for the final day of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Zilker Park remained a little muddy in spots, but was nothing like the 2009 Mud Fest. Temperatures were in the 80s for most of the day.
Our favorite shows on Sunday were The Civil Wars and The Avett Brothers. We also enjoyed the headliners, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but were too far back in the crowd to truly appreciate their set.
We liked some of the changes that were made this year:
- Wristbands were mailed out ahead of time and upgraded scanners were used at the two entrances. We never had to wait to enter the festival grounds…a big improvement over prior years.
- Additional food vendors and quicker-to-prepare servings generally resulted in shorter lines. But lines for popular vendors like Amy’s Ice Cream were still too long.
- Two huge tents provided shade for a slew of picnic tables. We had no problem finding a place to sit down and eat whenever we wanted.
- A satellite merchandise store popped up near the shuttle bus stop at Republic Square Park. We bought a T-shirt there instead of battling the lines at the festival.
- The sound system at the (largest) Bud Light stage was improved so that folks in the back of the crowd could hear better.
Here’s who we saw on the final day of ACL Fest 2012:
Food Highlight of the Day:
Hot Crunchy Shrimp Cone from The Mighty Cone