AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Despite Mother Nature's best efforts early Friday, the first day of the 2021 Austin City Limits Music Festival went off without too many hitches at Zilker Park.
Heavy rains early Friday morning across the Austin metro prompted organizers to delay opening the festival gates by three hours, which resulted in some local Austin acts getting bumped from their performances entirely.
Austin legends Asleep At The Wheel were set to perform a 1 p.m. set Friday afternoon, ending a festival-opening tradition that's taken place since ACL began in 2002.
Once the gates opened, festival organizers got the entertainment back on track - including marquee performances from Machine Gun Kelly, Megan Thee Stallion, Miley Cyrus, and night 1 headliner George Strait.
Festival organizers have said they're expecting about 75,000 people to fill Zilker Park each day.
There's a chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms Saturday afternoon, but rain chances will begin to dwindle by Saturday night. Sunday looks to stay dry with partly to mostly cloudy skies.
Shuttle buses became a growing problem through the course of the afternoon and evening, with festival organizers saying "limited shuttle bus availability" would cause longer than expected wait times for those exiting the park. The complementary shuttle service runs between Zilker Park and Republic Square in downtown Austin.
"We encourage fans exiting the park to utilize other methods of transportation – rideshare, Cap Metro from Lamar Blvd, Hike & Bike Trail, etc.," festival organizers said in a tweet.
Capital Metro is not operating the shuttle service for the first time this year. The transit agency said its closest routes to Zilker Park are 3, 4, 30, and 803.
Austin health officials, during their regular Friday update, said that if ACL Fest follows its health and safety protocols, they don't expect the festival to place any additional stress on local hospitals. All festival attendees are required to either show a negative COVID-19 test result, or proof of being fully vaccinated, and the festival is also requiring masks in certain areas of the park.
Listen on the Audacy app
Sign Up and become a Talk 1370 Insider
Follow us on Facebook & Twitter
