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Austin City Limits opens Friday, offers variety of musical talent

By: Stephen Shepperd

Issue date: 9/26/08 Section: Features
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In 2007, Bob Dylan closed the final day of Austin City Limits Music Festival by playing a two-hour long set. It included a number of classics, as well as updated renditions of songs that made him a legend.

This year, his youngest son and former Wallflowers front man, Jakob Dylan, will perform at the same event, giving festival-goers a glimpse into his brand of music through a similar Dylan voice. This is just one of the plotlines surrounding the 2008 ACL.

This weekend, tens of thousands of music lovers will flood into Zilker Park and attempt to withstand the Texas heat as some of the nation's biggest musical acts perform.

In recent years, ACL has managed to remain among one of the most sought after summer music festivals in the country. Year after year, the three-day festival books a wide variety of bands. Whether it's the hip-hop sounds of N.E.R.D., the punk lyrics of Against Me! or the Texas roots found in former Aggie Robert Earl Keen, the 2008 lineup appears to have seamlessly covered the entire spectrum. Headlining bands at this year's festival include Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Beck, John Fogerty, Gnarls Barkley, The Mars Volta and Foo Fighters.

One artist giving ACL another shot is guitarist and The White Stripes front man Jack White. His band, The White Stripes, was scheduled to headline the 2007 festival and perform at an after party. Unfortunately, the band, citing health issues, had to drop out of the lineup a few days before the festival. This year, White has made it back into the ACL lineup-this time with his Nashville-based side band, The Raconteurs.

Keeping with the ACL TV show's goal of promoting Texas-bred musical acts, the 2008 event will feature many Lone Star artists, including Eli Young Band, Kevin Fowler, South Austin Jug Band and Northgate Music Festival performers What Made Milwaukee Famous.

ACL continues to be mentioned along with Bonaroo and Lollapalooza as one of the nation's top music festivals, and as the self-proclaimed "Live Music Capital of the World,"the city of Austin foresees this year's ACL to only strengthen that argument.

The first artist takes the ACL stage at 11 a.m. Friday and the finale for the event begins at 8:30 p.m. Sunday. For more iformation on specific line-up schedules and ticket sales visit: www.aclfestival.com
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