ACL ’26 DAY 1
Austin City Limits Started Somehow Wet and Muddy
Brandon Flowers performing at ACL Fest. Photo: Rob Loud / ACL Fest.
Austin City Limits’ 25th anniversary started somehow wet and muddy. But the much-needed rain in Austin was not by any means a reason to stop the celebration and enjoyment of an incredible lineup, this year with DJ sets capturing a big portion of the daylight stages, including BUNT., Skrillex and Steve Aoki.
AUSTIN | By Pablo Herrera
For our team, Weekend One did not start as planned. A canceled flight delayed our arrival in Austin, forcing us to cancel our first interview of the day, which we had scheduled with Cuban-Italian singer-songwriter Izzy Escobar. That was not a great place to start, but things that for some reason start kind of crossed, for some reason as well, at some point correct themselves.
Our first impression arriving at Zilker Park was, of course, the muddy situation. I did not expect that level of Woodstock vibe. I’ve been attending ACL Fest for six years in a row and had never experienced something like this. So we did not hesitate to take the mic out, do some vox pops with the audience and ask: “What are your thoughts about this beautiful weather?” And, of course, we ended up discovering that it was not a factor to discourage anyone, but one more reason to have fun and see ACL with different eyes. Take a look at the video below to see what the terrain at Zilker was like.
Watch: ACL Fest attendees share their thoughts on the rain and muddy conditions at Zilker Park on Day 1. Photo & video: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
The other part was, of course, a little sad: missing the gigs of Izzy Escobar and Elijah Delgado, two of the artists we had previously scheduled interviews with at Zilker. As far as I saw at the ACL Fest Channels, both Izzy and Elijah delivered incredible appearances in the muddy landscape, and I was glad to see that.
Our first performance at Zilker was Rusowsky, the particular singer-band from Madrid who is now making waves in Spain and most recently crossed the ocean to dig a bit into America. The public was mostly Latin and Spanish at the BeatBox stage, and under a light rain, people were having fun as if at a party on the corner. Rusowsky is the type of dude who is making cringe and weirdo vibes popular, mixing whatever has to be mixed in order to create something we have never experienced before.
Watch: Rusowsky performs at the BeatBox stage during Day 1 of ACL Fest 2026. Photo & Video: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
Right after Rusowsky, and knowing that there were too many things to experience, we decided to take a look at what the hell was happening with BUNT. But here I have to say what caught my attention: how DJs are taking central stages at big festivals in plain daylight. I love electronic music; in particular, I love techno, so I cannot say I love BUNT. And sorry, BUNT. lovers, but too many mainstream beats for me.
Watch: BUNT. performs at the Snapchat stage during Day 1 of ACL Fest 2026. Photo: Charles Reagan / ACL Fest. Video: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
Also, a few feet away at the Tito’s stage was Steve Aoki throwing pies at people. OK, cool. I don’t understand too much of all of this, but I have to accept people were having fun. I just want to highlight once again how this sort of set, with a dude playing a prerecorded set, is gaining too much traction in highlander hors of festivals around the world. I believe that is telling us a lot about how the quality of lineups is little by little eroding. This, to be clear, is just my opinion.
Watch: Steve Aoki performs at the Tito’s stage during Day 1 of ACL Fest 2026. Photo & Video: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
Needing a little bit more raw energy, and with a muddy scenario, we then ran to Turnstile at the T-Mobile stage, and it was a sort of purification after the buttons guys: raw guitars, bass, drums, raw poetry and mud—a lot of mosh-pit mud that refreshed our musical senses.
I’ve experienced Turnstile many times in Spain, in the United States, at different festivals and unique concerts. It’s my impression that they never disappoint. Still, that hardcore dude offended by the couple of melodic songs released on Turnstile’s latest album, Never Enough, such as “I Care,” may have been disappointed. Not me!
Watch: Turnstile performs at the T-Mobile stage during Day 1 of ACL Fest 2026. Video: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
We then had the chance to experience three sets that were really worth it: Leon Thomas, impeccable at the Miller Lite, simple, no complications and with a “very classic tone”; Molly Santana at the BeatBox, for those loving more of a “what is happening now,” keep-tuning-yourself kind of music; and The Chainsmokers, for those loving a bit more traditional, cheesy kinds of vibes.
Watch: Leon Thomas performs at the Miller Lite stage during Day 1 of ACL Fest 2026. Photo: J. Baura / ACL Fest. Video: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
None of those three sets disappointed me, and the triangulation was an interesting combination of three different genres with three different audiences, all living the same unique reality: the classic, the urban and the melodic rock.
Watch: Molly Santana performs at the BeatBox stage during Day 1 of ACL Fest 2026. Video: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
The day ended with a new contrast: on one side, once again, the fire and spectacle of Skrillex—in my opinion a bit more sophisticated than BUNT. and certainly much more authentic than Steve Aoki at the T-Mobile—and Charli XCX at the American Express, once again, and thank God, finally bringing the guitars ACL was missing. (I’m here, of course, absolutely joking.)
The way out of Zilker was not easy. At some point, you felt the mud coming up to your knees, but none of that mattered. What mattered was celebrating an incredible day of music, shared moments with friends and discoveries. The good thing is that we went back to the hotel thinking about the two incredible days still remaining in Weekend One.
Watch: ACL Fest attendees share which artists they’re most excited to see this year. Video: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
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