Top 5 Texas Music Festivals You Need to Hear About
Jack Newton, Austin City Limits Music Festival 2012, CC BY-SA 2.0
Texas boasts five unmissable music festivals for every taste. Austin City Limits transforms Zilker Park into a multi-genre paradise each October, while Dallas’s Lights All Night delivers an electric New Year’s celebration.
Stars of Texas combines country music with bull riding in Ennis, and Larry Joe Taylor Fest showcases authentic Texas singer-songwriters. For electronic music lovers, Seismic Dance Event offers world-class DJs across three unique stages. Discover what makes each festival a distinctive Lone Star experience below.
Austin City Limits (ACL): Texas's Premier Multi-Genre Experience
As the crown jewel of Texas's vibrant festival scene, Austin City Limits (ACL) transforms Zilker Park into a musical paradise each October, drawing about 75,000 music lovers per day across two weekends and hundreds of thousands in total. You'll experience more than 100 performers across eight stages, spanning rock, hip-hop, country, indie, and bluegrass.
The festival's sustainable initiatives have evolved alongside its growth, with the two-weekend format helping preserve park conditions while accommodating more fans. This approach has contributed to more than $530 million in economic impact in 2024 alone, supporting over 3,600 local jobs and adding billions to Austin’s economy since 2006.
For businesses, sponsorship opportunities abound at this international event where passes often sell out quickly. With recent headliners like Chris Stapleton and Dua Lipa anchoring lineups, ACL continues its tradition of musical diversity that's made it a must-attend Texas experience.
Lights All Night: Dallas's Electric New Year's Eve Tradition
While Austin City Limits showcases Texas's multi-genre festival prowess, Dallas rings in the New Year with its own signature celebration. Since 2010, Lights All Night has grown from a one-day event with roughly 6,000 attendees to a massive two-night electronic extravaganza attracting crowds of dance music enthusiasts each December at Dallas Market Hall.
You'll experience high-end production across multiple stages featuring immersive lighting systems, towering LED walls, and cutting-edge visual art. The festival has established itself as Texas’s longest-running electronic music festival and one of the most visible New Year’s Eve dance events in the U.S., building a loyal community among North Texas electronic music fans.
Founded by Dallas natives Scott Osburn and Hank Keller, this New Year's tradition continues to evolve while maintaining its core vision—bringing both emerging talents and established artists together for unforgettable year-end celebrations under a blaze of lights and bass.
Stars of Texas: Where Country Music Meets Bull Riding and BBQ
Deep in the heart of Texas, the Stars of Texas Music Festival brings together some of the state's most beloved pastimes in one electrifying weekend. Each October, you'll experience an unforgettable fusion of country music, motorsports attractions, and mouthwatering BBQ at the historic Texas Motorplex in Ennis, as part of the broader Stampede of Speed celebration.
Recent lineups have featured headliners like Pat Green, Chris Young, Wade Bowen, and Lady A across three action-packed days. Between sets, you'll find unique festival activities including thrilling bull riding competitions, jet car exhibitions, and match races that'll get your adrenaline pumping. This festival truly celebrates the vibrant rodeo-adjacent culture that defines Texas heritage and entertainment, capped off with magical lantern releases on weekend evenings.
Look for early bird tickets for general admission or upgrade to gated stage-front access for a premium experience at this standout event in the Stampede of Speed lineup.
Larry Joe Taylor Fest: The Ultimate Texas Red Dirt Music Gathering
For lovers of authentic Texas music, nothing compares to the legendary Larry Joe Taylor Fest (LJT Fest). Born over 35 years ago as a platform for Texas singer-songwriters, this six-day celebration has grown from a gathering of about 100 friends to a crowd of around 60,000 fans at Melody Mountain Ranch near Stephenville.
You'll experience artist-focused curation across three stages featuring over 50 acts, from established stars like Randy Rogers Band and Wade Bowen to tomorrow's breakout talents. The festival boasts around 6,000 reserved campsites with unique site names, creating neighborhoods within the massive grounds. The family-friendly atmosphere combines campfire jam sessions, storytelling, and a traditional chili cook-off with music that starts in the morning and continues into the night.
This festival represents the heart of Texas Red Dirt music—a place where regional traditions thrive independently of Nashville's influence and where many fans describe the experience as the “Woodstock of Texas Music.”
Seismic Dance Event: Austin's Electronic Music Paradise
Looking for an underground electronic music experience unlike any other in Texas? Seismic Dance Event brings world-class electronic dance music culture to Austin each fall. This boutique festival caters specifically to house, techno, and underground music enthusiasts, with recent editions featuring international heavyweights like Underworld, Four Tet, and Charlotte de Witte across three distinct stages: Volcano (indoor), and the outdoor Tsunami and Frequency stages.
Ranked among the top boutique festivals in North America and nominated multiple times by DJ Mag and the Austin Chronicle, Seismic unfolds at The Concourse Project, which has been voted the #4 club in the U.S. and one of the top venues worldwide.
You'll experience everything from melodic house to industrial techno and hard groove, with carefully curated lineups that prioritize quality over commercial scale.
Tickets typically include three-day GA passes and upgraded options, with prices varying by year but generally reflecting the festival’s intimate, high-production setting. Twice nominated for Best Boutique Festival by DJ Mag, Seismic has earned its reputation for exceptional curation, production, and a community-driven atmosphere that feels like a true electronic music oasis in central Texas.
