Around 75,000 fans flocked to the city’s Zilker Park each day this year.Photo: Taylor Regulski
This year’s music festival, produced by C3 Presents, was back in full swing, despite a last-minute cancellation by Kali Uchis and a delayed and shortened set by headliner Kendrick Lamar. Many of the usual brands were back on the grounds to engage with festivalgoers, from Honda to Tito’s Vodka. Many brands shifted their activations to offer more focused activities, such as Hulu’s escape room-style game and American Express’ camera rental system.
Keep scrolling to see how brands engaged with ACLers this year...
American Express Experience
One of Austin City Limits Music Festival’s returning big sponsors, American Express, added a fun new way for people to experience the festival through photography.
Photo: Matthew Niemann
The company set up a shop in its general lounge, produced by Momentum Worldwide, where eco-friendly business Paper Shoot offered digital point-and-shoot cameras for sale or rent. People were also able to upload their photos through the photo lab, which would then project the images on a tower of television screens in the space.
Photo: Matthew Niemann
As a way of supporting small businesses, the credit card company offered a shop presented by Depop with Texas vendors RagzRevenge and Pieces for the People, which sold retail vintage apparel and accessories.
Photo: Matthew Niemann
This year, American Express opened up what had previously been its very exclusive lounge on the side of the main stage to Platinum Card and Centurion cardmembers and their guests. People were able to walk up to the entrance of this first-ever Centurion Lounge, show their card, and walk in to enjoy the bar and free food, as well as side-stage access for musical acts.
Photo: Matthew Niemann
T-Mobile's Club Magenta
T-Mobile partnered with 160over90 to capture the essence of what it means to be "with the band," under one roof at T-Mobile's Club Magenta. Guests enjoyed perks like side-stage access to the T-Mobile Stage; custom chain-stitched garments; a dedicated bar; private restrooms; and a shaded lounge area to chill out, charge up, and watch artists from a giant LED screen.
Photo: Brandy Fik
160over90 worked with WME to secure singer-songwriter Breland as one of the six talent appearances at Club Magenta throughout weekend one.
Photo: Brandy Fik
Google's Pixel Experience
To show off its forthcoming Pixel 8, Google set up the Pixel Experience produced by LiveNation, showcasing different features of the new phone through different engagement points, built with GreenLight and Raven PMG.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
The activation featured a sound booth showing how the phone can erase background audio through its Audio Magic Eraser; a fun reflective mirror room with dim lighting to show how the phone’s Night Sight works; and an area where people could pose for their own album cover, edited with the phone’s Real Tone program for printable and downloadable images through a QR code.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
There was also a photo op in the middle of the space of a tall throne made of boomboxes.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
Coke Studio
Keeping in line with the music theme of the event, Coke allowed guests to develop their own band, song, and music video through its Coke Studio space, produced with Momentum Worldwide. First, people had to answer questions that would determine the style of music, video, and band name. Then they were invited to wait upstairs in the outdoor second-story lounge and take photos at the photo op. When it was their turn, they’d go downstairs into a recording studio to film a music video with their new song and band name created with AI, which would then make digital copies. People were also, of course, offered cold cans of Coke Zero and Coke.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
Honda Retreat
Another returning ACL sponsor, Honda set up its car display with production partner George P. Johnson to show off its electric SUV, the Prologue. Attendees were also able to take a fun 360-degree photo. The car brand also built out a first-time-ever second-story lounge where people could stop by for ice pops provided by Austin sweet shop Picolé, and a good view of the main Honda stage.
Photo: Courtesy of Honda
Tito's Stardust Experience
Tito's Vodka returned to ACL this year with its public-facing activation, the Stardust Experience.
Photo: Brittany Hallberg
The inside of the trailer featured a claw machine experience built by Department of Wonder. People could play to win access to the vodka company’s side lounge as well as other swag.
Photo: Brittany Hallberg
The trailer also offered a history of the Austin-based company and custom-engraved dog tags.
Photo: Brittany Hallberg
Tito's entire special-access Stillhouse Lounge, hosted under this shimmery copper canopy, was created by the brand's in-house event team.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
Cocktail garnishes and kegging were provided by We’re Here Hospitality. All proceeds from sales of Tito's-branded ACL bandanas went to nonprofit DAWA the first weekend and to music nonprofit Spaceflight Records the second weekend.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
Hulu House
Hulu returned as ACL’s streaming partner, airing select shows from the festival to people at home. For this year’s public-facing activation, the brand partnered with production company LiveNation and fabricator Raven PMG to turn its Hulu House into an escape room-esque game where people walked through a maze and landed in a living room, where they had to figure out the answer to a riddle.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
The winners were able to access the alfresco second-floor lounge with good views of the festival grounds, photo ops like a mini-slide, livestreams of the shows, and a bar.
Photo: Dusana Risovic
Wrangler Ranch
The denim brand set up its Wrangler Ranch, a shop produced by LiveNation and built by fabricator Raven PMG.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
The pop-up shop sold jackets and shorts to attendees, as well as its vintage collection, Wrangler Reborn, and a special line with custom-designed apparel for The University of Texas at Austin’s football team, the Longhorns.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
Wrangler Ranch
The LiveNation-produced horse trailer-turned-shop featured oversized denim florals.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
Diplomático Rum
Venezuelan rum brand Diplomático partnered with experiential marketing company a21 to build out a lounge in the VIP area focused on the company’s tenets of taste, craftsmanship, and care.
Photo: Courtesy of Diplomático Rum
People could order cocktails made with various versions of its rum. Guests were also able to sign up for evening curated tastings of neat pours of rums paired with chocolate-dipped orange popsicles.
Photo: Courtesy of Diplomático Rum
IHG Hotels & Resorts
International brand IHG Hotels & Resorts became a big sponsor of ACL this year, as the festival’s hotel partner as well as sponsoring the Barton Springs stage.
Photo: Ismael Quintanilla III
IHG also sponsored two VIP viewing decks with views of the Honda and American Express stages.
Photo: Roger Ho
The areas were produced by LiveNation and IHG’s in-house team with fabricator AvecMode.
Photo: Roger Ho
Hendrick's Gin's Trunk Bar
The gin brand installed the Hendrick's Trunk Bar, its traveling Victorian garden and bar produced with Momentum Worldwide. The pretty space included bright red roses, white wrought-iron furniture, a bench swing for people to sit and relax, teacup decor, sculpted greenery, and a mirror for selfies with phrases encouraging people to raise their pinkies.
Photo: Momentum Worldwide
Handcrafted cocktails with Hendrick's Gin were on offer as well.
Photo: Momentum Worldwide
Miller Lite's Bar 75
For Molson Coors’ Miller Lite space, the company constructed its usual beer lounge, produced with Wasserman and designed by agency Rest of the World. The bar included seats, phone charging stations, Wi-Fi, and games.
Photo: Courtesy of Miller Lite
For the first time this year, it also opened up its second-floor lounge to the public, where attendees could win wristbands to the brand’s sponsored stage hospitality area, as well as temporary tattoos. The elevated lounge also offered good views of both the Miller Lite and Honda stages.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury
Austin PBS
Long-running Austin PBS music television series Austin City Limits (not to be confused with the music festival) had an open trailer with a photo opportunity set up in the VIP lounge. Guests were invited to stand in front of a microphone with an instrument for a photograph, flanked by retro televisions showing performances from the show. Guests who identified 10 of the performers were able to win a branded koozie. The floor of the space was actually the original stage of the show dated from 1974, where Willie Nelson performed.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury
ACL's Activations
To emphasize desserts at ACL, the festival producers created a dedicated area full of sweets. ACL Sweets featured vendors slinging pies, ice cream, sweet pancakes, and a cotton candy vending machine. A rep for production company C3 Presents explained that it was a way for the festival to allow guests to explore sweet options in one central area.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
Festivalgoers could also explore savory food options in the main food court, ACL Eats.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
For the first time, ACL decided to offer mixed cocktails from its general admission bars, including brands like Tito’s, Aguasol, Hendrick’s, and Don Julio. There was also a nonalcoholic bar dubbed Bar None (pictured), featuring mocktails created by Austin bartender Robert Björn Taylor, made with spiritless liquors. A rep for C3 Presents explained that the team knew it was important to offer interesting drinks for people who don’t drink or don’t want to drink alcohol.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury
Another new experience at ACL this year was the Barton Beach Club Tiki Bar, produced by C3 Presents. The separate area was decked out in tropical decor such as wicker furniture, tall green plants, florals, surfboards, and fake parrots.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury
The bar served up tiki drinks like mai tais, painkillers, and Desert Birds, as well as sold ACL-branded take-home tiki mugs. For food, Austin restaurant Poke Poke sold poke and musubi. A rep for C3 noted that the idea came from one of the team’s project managers.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury
Typically, ACL executes a giant fireworks show, but because of drought conditions and fire hazards in Austin, C3 Presents decided to have a drone show instead, produced by the company itself with Drone Stories and Kargo. It was set to music and depicted three-dimensional figures and the name of the event.
Photo: Ismael Quintanilla III
Around 75,000 fans flocked to the city’s Zilker Park each day this year.
Photo: Taylor Regulski
