ACL Fest Weekend 1: Longer lines, but some positive upgrades

The Austin Police Department said no major incidents for weekend one of ACL and for the most part everything remained calm. There have been some changes, which caused longer lines but most festival-goers were understanding. Steve Portnoy is an Austinite and one of those who was waiting in line to get in, “There's a little heightened security, it's a little slower getting in but it's understandable,” he said.

With the mass shooting at a Las Vegas country music festival less than a week prior, Portney along with many others said they didn't mind the extra wait times for security. Alayna Brenchley was at the festival with her friends and said she was happy with extra security, “I think it's great that extra precautions are being taken, they're checking more bags and all that,” she said.
 
ACL offered refunds for those for those who said they didn't feel comfortable going because of the Vegas incident. But it didn't seem like too many weekend one ticket-holders took them up on the offer.

Maleesa Brenchley was one of those who chose to still go to ACL, “If we don’t come to these things, that's like saying that they won. So this is kind of showing that this is a bigger deal like it's going to be okay,” she said.
               
Friday, Saturday and Sunday tens of thousands of people made their way out to Zilker Park, excited about the live music. Leah Oswalt, is a huge "Killers" fan, “I think I've been listening to them since I was like 16, so my inner teenager is really excited to get to see them,” she said.

For those looking forward to weekend two of ACL along with the amazing live music, those at weekend one like Kevin Ng said there’s more upgrades to look forward to, “The venue is a little bigger, it's a little different, they've added a few things, a lot more food I feel like this year, that's great,” he said. “The bathrooms are better, the new stage setup is better, there's been some positive changes,” Portney said.