Austin City Limits (ACL) was much anticipated by fellow Austinites for months leading up to the big event. Weekend one and two of this year’s ACL lived up to mine and many others expectations. Although weekend two of ACL was full of mud and rain, between the atmosphere, the food, and of course the music, weekend two was definitely one to be remembered.

The vibe of ACL is truly unlike anything I have ever experienced. The 70,000 crazy excited fans which fill the grounds just multiplies your own excitement. Walking around I had such pride for Austin and was mesmerized by the quirky details of the festival. Water was sold out of cans, tacos were sold in cones, and the hot new metallic “flash tattoos” were on seemingly every girl’s body. However, what really made weekend two stand out from weekend one was the weather.

Friday was another perfect Austin fall day with clear blue skies. It poured, however, on Saturday morning resulting in large pools of mud scattered throughout the park for the remainder of the weekend. To my white converses’ demise, the mud was unavoidable. At first, trying to remain clean was quite the obstacle, but it soon gave way to the overall experience. There was something funny and energizing about the way people ran through the mud without caring about ruining their shoes or clothes. The mud of weekend two made for unexpected and fun memories, that in no way dampened the happiness and excitement of the crowds.

Here is a snapshot of a handful of concerts I attended during Friday and Saturday of week two at ACL.

Friday

Childish Gambino

I kicked off my first ever ACL at the Honda Stage seeing rapper Childish Gambino. I learned later that he is not only a rapper but also a music producer, TV writer, and comedian. His broad range of talents really came out in his songs and performance. His lyrics are clever, but his stage presence is what really set him apart for me. He bounced around stage and just seemed to never stop dancing. He sounded exactly like how he does in his album plus his energy made for an awesome first ACL concert opener.

Outkast

I have to admit, when I heard they were playing I was less than thrilled, considering they were a hip-hop band that has been around since my parents were in college. As my friends and I strategically pushed our way through the crowd, we ended up  with great spots shoved next to some very excited and sweaty fans ranging from all ages. Their 20 years of experience was apparent as they successfully lured the crowd into getting involved and dancing the entire time.  Outkast was hands down one of my top favorite concerts of the weekend.

Saturday

After an unpleasant start to my Saturday with the SAT, I had high hopes going into the lineup of Saturday after Friday night’s great performances from Childish and Outkast.

Iggy Azalea

Late afternoon my friends and I trenched through the mud to the Retail Me Not Stage where the up and coming Australian artist Iggy Azalea was performing. She has been high on the itunes charts lately because of her new album and hit duets with artists such as Arianna Grande. She is a female pop artist and rapper with lots of catchy songs and a sassy attitude. I was most looking forward to her song “Black Widow” and went crazy when she performed it. She did a great job performing some of my favorites, but as a whole was not quite as exciting and experienced as the concerts I saw on Friday.

Lana Del Rey

After I fueled up on Tiff’s Treats’ chocolate chip cookies my friends  and I headed over to the Samsung Stage, which is where we spent the rest of the night. Lana’s voice, being the flawless queen that she is, was absolute perfection. Her unique hauntingly soft rock/alternative songs were performed with such ease. She slowed down the pace of the festival which was a nice change. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and just listen to Lana sing for the rest of the night.

Eminem

Following Lana was an hour of pushing and shoving and fighting for a closer spot to the stage. My friends and I managed to weave our tiny pack to a close spot making us anxious for the concert to start. When he came out the crowd went absolutely insane. His popular rap music was being sung by everyone, while the lights simultaneously flashed in a million different directions and colors. He played all of his top songs and the overall energy he brought was unreal. His performance was awesome and as a practiced veteran of performing did an incredible job of captivating thousands of fans. Hands down best concert of Saturday.

ACL weekend two was definitely one to be remembered. Each weekend is distinctly different with a new crowd of people, making for a totally new and unique experience every year.