Austin's second biggest (and much more laid back) festival, Austin City Limits, is right around the corner! The two weekend festival kicks off in Austin's beautiful Zilker Park next weekend from 10/2-10/4, and will wrap up with weekend two from 10/9-10/11.
ACL boasts one of their strongest lineups ever this year, featuring big names like the Foo Fighters, Florence + the Machine and the Weeknd -- as well as a thorough roster of up and comers. Here are our top 3 emerging acts to watch!
WHO: Boots
WHEN: Saturday, October 3rd + 10th @ 7:30pm
WHERE: Austin Ventures Stage
WHY: Although you may not have heard the name Boots before, there's a good chance you've heard his music. Boots has worked behind the scenes with a handful of well-known artists, and is best known for producing a significant amount of Beyonce's self-titled 5th-studio album and writing the score for the film Fifty Shades of Grey. The 20-something year old artist (real name Jordan Asher), described by the New York times as a "singer, songwriter, filmmaker and experimenter in spooky, distressed and broken-down sounds and images", signed a deal with Roc Nation in 2013 and is finally coming into his own as a solo act. His highly anticipated first album is expected to drop either late this year or early next, so fans can be sure to hear some news tunes at ACL this year.
WHO: Halsey
WHEN: Sunday, October 4th + 11th @ 3:30pm
WHERE: HomeAway Stage
WHY: Budding indie pop artist Halsey just released her debut album, Badlands, last month -- and has already caught the attention of notable tastemakers like Zane Lowe and toured with Imagine Dragons. The blue-haired New Jersey native is just 20 years old, but has a vocal range and sensibility way beyond her years. Halsey brings a raw passion to her live performances that makes it easy to see why her fans connect with her so much -- and how she has managed to build such a strong fan base in so little time. Don't miss your chance to see her perform one of her first big festival gigs @ ACL!
WHO: Shakey Graves
WHEN: Saturday, October 3rd + 10th @ 3:20pm
WHERE: Miller Lite Stage
WHY: Austin native Shakey Graves (real name Alejandro Rose-Garcia) has been slowly building a name for himself as an entertainer since he got his start as an actor in 2007 on the hit show Friday Night Lights. The country/blues/rock & roll fusion artist took his musical career on the road as a one-man show eight years ago -- which evolved into a full band by the time his sophomore album, Donor Blues was completed in 2012. Since then Shakey has released two more albums, toured across the country and performed on a slew of late night shows like Conan and Letterman. Alejandro and his band put on an incredible live show -- and you can be sure they will pull out all the stops for this hometown gig @ ACL.