Austin City Limits is celebrating 25 years with its 2026 edition.

The long-running Texas institution dropped its 2026 lineup on Tuesday, and for a festival celebrating 25 years, the bill feels appropriately wide-ranging, pop spectacle, indie credibility, and electronic muscle. Topping things off across the two weekends are Charli XCX, Rüfüs Du Sol, Twenty One Pilots, Lorde, Skrillex, Kings of Leon, and The xx.

2026 LINEUP 😎 Celebrating 25 years of ACL Fest & counting!

3-Day Tickets for Weekend One and Weekend Two go on sale TODAY at 12pm CT. https://t.co/Lo072i7sFt pic.twitter.com/w1E7bBJd7D

— ACL Festival (@aclfestival) May 5, 2026

Set once again against the sprawl of Zilker Park, ACL will take over Austin across two weekends, Oct. 2–4 and Oct. 9–11, with the usual nine-stage takeover. Tickets move fast for this one, and three-day passes went up at noon Tuesday, which basically turns the announcement into a starter pistol for festival season planning.

There’s a bit of split-personality intrigue at the top of the lineup: Skrillex is locked in to close out Weekend 1, while Kings of Leon take that role the following weekend. Everyone else in the headliner tier pulls double duty, suggesting ACL is leaning into consistency rather than making fans choose sides.

Beyond the marquee names, Turnstile’s relentless energy, Labrinth’s cinematic R&B, and Lola Young’s sharp-edged songwriting sit alongside festival regulars like The Chainsmokers and Bleachers. Then there’s some welcome left turns, Rodrigo y Gabriela’s virtuosic acoustic fire, Amyl and the Sniffers bringing their snarling punk chaos, and Natasha Bedingfield popping up like a nostalgic curve ball you didn’t know you needed.

There’s also a noticeable effort to spotlight artists on the rise. Names like Paris Paloma, Claire Rosinkranz, Faouzia, Cassandra Coleman, and Sasha Keable hint at where things are heading rather than just where they’ve been. Meanwhile, the Latin contingent, Young Miko, rusowsky, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Paloma Morphy, adds another layer of global texture.

As always, Texas shows up for Texas. Local and homegrown acts, including Asleep at the Wheel, Calder Allen, and the Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Collective, keep the festival grounded in its roots, even as the lineup stretches outward in every direction.

It’s worth remembering that ACL started back in 2002 as an extension of a beloved TV series, not the cultural juggernaut it is now. Twenty-five years later, it’s still walking that line between legacy and relevance, a balancing act that this year’s lineup seems to understand better than most.