Petition Launched to Cancel ACL Music Fest

A group of Austin locals has started a change.org petition to cancel this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival. 

The move comes after Austin-Travis health officials revealed that only two ICU beds were available, according to CBS 4. COVID-19 cases in the Austin area and around the state have been rising dramatically over the last few weeks. 

“Cancel ACL Fest”, the group that started the petition, is hoping to get 500 signatures. The petition has over 300 signatures as of this posting.

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The group says it’s no longer safe to hold the event due to Governor Greg Abbott’s restrictions against vaccine passports and mask mandates: 

Due to Governor Abbott’s laws against vaccine passports and mask mandates, it is no longer safe to have this event. ACL has no plans to even discuss canceling. For the public safety of all that live in Austin, it’s best to cancel the festival.

As the posting says, it doesn’t appear that organizers are considering cancelling the event. Of course, public pressure could change that. But with the festival still a couple of months away, it’s unlikely they’ll cancel any time soon. 

The sold out 2-weekend, 3-day festival is set for October 1-3 and October 8-10 at Zilker Park in Austin. Festival organizers say they are in regular communication with local health and safety officials to ensure they are in compliance with local guidelines. 

As of Tuesday (August 10), there were 569 COVID-19 hospitalizations in Austin, which is the highest rate since January 26. In addition, a record number of ventilators are currently in use in the city.