ACL Fest 2026 Is Nearly Sold Out — Here's the One Day Still Open, and the Headliner You'll Have to Choose

Two of the three days of ACL Fest 2026's Weekend One are already waitlisted. According to ATX Things analysis of the festival's own ticket page, only Sunday, October 4 general admission remains on sale — and even that comes with a catch: the two headliners closing out the night play at the exact same time on opposite sides of Zilker Park.

Why is ACL Fest 2026 already almost sold out?

Austin City Limits Music Festival turns 25 this year, and demand for its Weekend One (October 2–4) has outpaced past years. As of this morning, three-day GA and GA+ passes for Weekend One are fully waitlisted, and so are single-day tickets for both Friday and Saturday, according to aclfestival.com's own ticket page. The only door still open is a 1-Day General Admission ticket for Sunday, October 4, priced from $170 and rising as tiers sell through.

C3 Presents — the Austin-based company that also runs Lollapalooza — has produced ACL Fest at Zilker Park every fall since 2002. The 2025 edition drew 75,000 people a day, six days, for 450,000 total attendees, per the festival's own historical figures. This year's 25th-anniversary lineup is headlined by Charli XCX, Lorde, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Twenty One Pilots, The xx, Skrillex and Kings of Leon, spread across two identical-lineup weekends (Weekend Two runs October 9–11 for anyone who misses this one).

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Zilker Metropolitan Park is one of Austin's most beloved green spaces... It's also home to major events like Austin City Limits Music Festival, which speaks to its role as both a community hub and a natural retreat. — one Google reviewer

What does $170 actually get you on Sunday?

A 1-Day GA ticket covers all of Zilker Park for that day: nine stages, 100+ acts across the full weekend's run, food from local chefs and restaurants (with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options), festival and art-vendor merch, and free water refill stations, per the festival's own ticket page. Kids 8 and under get in free with a ticketed adult — limit two children per adult — and that includes Austin Kiddie Limits, the festival's dedicated family area. A portion of every ticket goes to the Austin Parks Foundation, which maintains more than 300 public parks, trails and green spaces citywide.

Here's how the three days of Weekend One actually compare right now:

Every single day of Weekend One pits its two biggest names against each other at the same time on opposite ends of the park — a scheduling pattern the festival has used for years to keep crowds spread out. On Sunday specifically, the undercard leading into that 8:30 PM split includes Geese, The War on Drugs, Blood Orange, Sofi Tukker, Saint Motel, Parcels and Max McNown, with singer-songwriter Lauren Sanderson closing the BMI Stage at 5:30 PM.

Is the weather actually going to cooperate this year?

Maybe better than you'd think — and not on the days you'd expect. A fresh Open-Meteo forecast pulled this morning (Sept. 29) shows Thursday and Friday carrying a 93% chance of thunderstorms, with Friday's high dropping to just 83°F. Saturday eases to a 61% rain chance with a high near 81°F. Sunday — the one day still on sale — currently shows just a 39% chance of rain and a high of 85°F, under mostly overcast skies.

What locals should know before they go

Zilker Park itself is worth building a whole weekend around beyond the festival grounds — the free Austin Nature and Science Center and the shaded Umlauf Sculpture Garden both sit within walking distance of the festival gates, for anyone making a full day of the neighborhood.

What if you already missed your shot at Weekend One?

Weekend Two runs October 9–11 with the same 25th-anniversary lineup — Kings of Leon headlines in place of Friday's Skrillex/Charli XCX pairing, Lorde returns Saturday (again overlapping RÜFÜS DU SOL), and Parcels closes Sunday. Tickets for Weekend Two were still being sold as shipped physical passes as of this week for anyone ordering before September 30, per the festival's own site. It's a real second chance if this week's waitlist doesn't clear. If you're the type who builds out an entire weekend around one big event, our guide to Austin's Clapton/Austin FC/Indigo Girls Saturday is the same kind of planning exercise, one weekend earlier.

FAQ

Can I still get into ACL Fest 2026 Weekend One? Yes, but only for Sunday, October 4 — 1-Day General Admission tickets start at $170 and rise in price as they sell. Friday, Saturday, and all three-day passes are waitlist-only as of Sept. 29, 2026, per the festival's own ticket page.

What time do the Sunday headliners play? The xx and Twenty One Pilots both go on at 8:30 PM, on opposite stages — The xx at the T-Mobile Stage, Twenty One Pilots at the American Express Stage. You'll have to pick one.

Is there parking at Zilker Park for ACL Fest? No. There's no on-site parking, and street parking in surrounding neighborhoods is limited and enforced. Use the free shuttle from Sand Beach Park, a paid garage (Barton Oaks or 1221 MoPac), or a designated rideshare drop-off zone.

Are kids allowed at ACL Fest? Yes — children 8 and under get in free with a ticketed adult (limit two kids per adult) and have access to Austin Kiddie Limits, the festival's family zone.

Will it rain during ACL Fest 2026? As of Tuesday morning's forecast, Thursday and Friday carry a 93% chance of thunderstorms, easing to 61% Saturday and 39% Sunday. Long-range forecasts change, so check again closer to your day.