AUSTIN, Texas — Those going to weekend one of the ACL Festival will want to bring a poncho and rain boots.
It's going to be a rainy weekend in Austin, Texas, following a soaker just days before the start of the festival, Oct. 1.
Eight years ago, in 2013, organizers were forced to cancel the music festival when overnight storms left the Zilker Park grounds too saturated by Sunday. That weekend – back when ACL Festival was a one-weekend event – started with fair weather on Friday, KVUE previously reported. Then, storms Saturday night left vast pools of water in Zilker Park where crowds stood just hours before.
The last day of ACL Fest 2013 was canceled, and organizers refunded one-third of the ticket prices to 75,000 daily concert goers. A number of bands including Atoms for Peace, Franz Ferdinand and the Mowglis announced alternate venues for the final day.
While rain has soaked music fans since then, the festival has not been canceled again due to weather. However, in 2020, the fest was canceled due to COVID-19.
Looking ahead to the first weekend of ACL Fest 2021, it appears festival-goers are in for another heavy rain event.
The first round of rain and storms arrived Tuesday night, and the second round of rain arrives Thursday, sticking around through the end of the weekend.
While ACL festival's motto may be, "The festival takes place rain or shine," a city official told KVUE's partners at the Austin American-Statesman that they will closely be monitoring the weather and will communicate with fest-goers of any potential weather impacts in coordination with ACL organizers. If a weather event impacts safety, messaging will appear on the festival's video screens on-site and via loudspeakers, mobile alerts through its app, and via posts on social media. Staff and security will also direct patrons where to go.
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