The Best Weekend of Your Life

How to make the most of ACL Fest 2012: 5 insider tips

Photo courtesy of Austin City Limits
Photo courtesy of Study Breaks

Well, this is it. Starting Friday, we're knee-deep in ACL Fest for the last three-day weekend format before it switches over to an improved two-weekend schedule next year.

Even for veterans, the festival feels like a different beast from year to year, with new bands and different ways of experiencing the music. To keep you festival-goers happy and on top of your game, CultureMap has pulled together the top five tips on what's in store for you at this year's festival.

Enhancements to wristband credentials
The best news for one-day attendees is the opportunity to have a wristband, allowing for everyone to come in and out of the park as they please. This was not the case before, and it has led to thousands of disheartened music lovers throughout the years.

Now, with the RFID capabilities, you can register your wristband, allowing you to replace it if you somehow lose it in a mosh pit. Registering your wristband also enters you to win VIP upgrades and prizes from the festival.

Improvements to the ACL Fest 2012 app
The ACL app has been vital to scheduling the festival for years, but now you can also use the GroupMe chat function, which allows you to stay in communication with your group across the park. (Don't lose the flags or blow-up dolls, though. That's tradition.)

You can also post Instagram photos for the whole festival to see just by tagging #aclfest. And the music doesn't stop once you leave the park, thanks to the Slacker Radio ACL Fest Channel, which is streaming shows throughout the weekend.

Wider selection of Austin-friendly food and drink
The amazing food selection is one of the best parts about ACL Fest, and this year it's even better. Chi'lantro and Second Bar + Kitchen are two of the new additions to the ginormous food tent area, which already features Mighty Cone, Mandola's, Seedling Truck and Salt Lick.

Additionally, reflecting Austin's growing reputation as a serious craft-brewing community, the Zilker Drafthouse tent will have a huge selection of craft beers on tap.

Watch the Texas-OU game at the festival
It's a rare occurrence when the famous Red River Rivalry falls on the same weekend as ACL Fest, but this year some very hard decisions had to be made by fans of football and rock. For those who chose ACL, we salute you.

You should know that you can still watch the game on Saturday at the Rock Island Hideaway (in the middle of the festival, behind the Austin Ventures stage). Just make sure you're wearing burnt orange because this is Longhorn territory.

Watch the festival action on the web
If you didn't get tickets, don't fret too much. Although you won't get to experience the artists in person, you can basically get a front row seat in the comfort of your home by tuning in to the ACL Fest YouTube channel. This official webcast happens in real time, filmed onstage with the performers, so you don't have to miss a moment of the action.

It's easier than running from stage to stage while two of your favorite acts are performing at the same time (like, ahem, Friday night).

Those are the biggest announcements for this year, so now you're in the know. If I were your mother, I would also remind you to check the weather updates every morning and plan accordingly. You might need a poncho and sunscreen on the same day if this weather keeps up.

Go now. Have fun. Be safe. Wear earplugs. Come home at a decent hour. Make good choices. You know how we worry about you.

unspecified

Movie Review

Rose Byrne fights for her life and car in new movie 'Tow'

Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Rose Byrne in Tow.

Actor Rose Byrne had a banner year in 2025, getting her first Oscar nomination for her starring role in If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You. Although she came up short in that race, she’s getting another chance to prove her acting bona fides in the new film, Tow.

In the “inspired by a true story” movie, Byrne plays Amanda, a down-on-her-luck woman who lives in her car and can’t find a job. Living in Seattle, she tries to stay in touch with her daughter, Avery (Elsie Fisher), who lives with her dad in another city, but circumstances sometimes limit their communications, especially when her car is stolen.

The good news is that her car is found relatively quickly. The bad news is that the tow company is charging her to get her car back, money she can’t afford. Now truly homeless, she does everything in her power to right the wrong, even taking the company to court. Without much luck, she has to start staying in a women’s shelter run by Barbara (Octavia Spencer), where she makes friends with Nova (Demi Lovato) and Denise (Ariana DeBose), among others.

Directed by Stephanie Laing and written by Jonathan Keasey and Brent Boivin, the film has relatively low stakes going for it and never really tries to make the story feel deeper than it is. The situation Amanda finds herself in is clearly a tough one, and any empathetic person would feel for her and want her to overcome her plight. But the filmmakers keep things light and never try to up the drama in any significant way.

The issue Amanda is dealing with, being price gouged by a predatory towing company, is one with which many people can relate. But aside from helpfully underscoring Amanda’s frustration by showing the increasing number of days she is without a car, they never establish why they felt this particular story was one worth telling. Her personal issues, including a growing estrangement with her daughter, fail to conjure any big emotions.

The filmmakers are very loose with their storytelling, especially when it comes to side characters. The presence of the women she meets at the shelter, and Kevin (Dominic Sessa), the young lawyer who offers to help her, never makes full sense other than a need for her to have other people with whom to interact. A tighter focus on what Amanda was going through would’ve helped both her and people around her feel more important.

Byrne is a dynamic performer who’s shown great skill at both drama and comedy, but there’s nothing special about her performance here. Hampered a bit by a blonde wig and false teeth, she feels out of sorts for much of the film. The unusually high-powered supporting cast - both Spencer and DeBose are Oscar winners - makes things interesting on first blush, but none of them outside of Sessa is given much to do, so they’re mostly wasted.

Tow will be a disappointment for anyone hoping to see more great stuff from Byrne. While she remains a fine actor, her performance and the story as a whole are nowhere near the level shown in her previous film. The real life predicament shown in the film also never rises to the level of being of something worth showing to the masses.

---

Tow is now showing in theaters.

movies film