Austin City Limits Music Festival said its 2026 lineup will be announced Tuesday, May 5, the same day tickets for ACL Fest go on sale. The festival made the announcement Thursday on social media, setting up a return to Zilker Park in October.
The timing gives fans a clear date to circle for one of Austin’s biggest annual events, which runs over two weekends each year at Zilker Park. This will be the festival’s 25th year, a milestone that follows last year’s lineup led by Sabrina Carpenter, the Strokes, the Killers and Hozier.
That matters because ACL does not just unveil names; it resets the city’s fall calendar. By tying the lineup reveal to the ticket on-sale date, organizers are asking fans to commit before the full bill is public, a familiar move for a festival that has spent a quarter-century turning October into a destination.
The unanswered question now is not whether ACL will draw attention — it will — but which artists will define its 25th year. Tuesday will provide the answer, and for thousands of fans, it will also decide whether they are buying in before the first act is even named.
