Fall Festival Guide

6 hottest fall music festivals around Texas

UPDATE: Sound on Sound Fest, scheduled for November 10-12 in McDade, Texas, has been canceled. The story has been updated.

---

Feel that? It’s the waning of summer. Admittedly our fall isn’t as glorious as that of our friends to the north, but cooler temperatures sure do have us feeling a lot more like being outside. All the better if it includes live music. Here are our picks for fabulous fall music festivals around the state.

Utopia Fest
Utopia, September 22-24
Now in its ninth year, this festival has managed to retain the magic of its first year. With a cap on attendees, a BYO policy, a cool artisan market, late-night acoustic events at Tank Good Times, and a lineup that spans everything from Dr. John to Suzanna Choffel, it’s no wonder that Utopia Fest inspires cult-like devotion. This is the final year it will be at Four Sisters Ranch. Limited tickets are still available, and it’s kid-friendly.

Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love
Marfa, September 28-October 1
This weekend is an amalgamation of music, camping, star gazing, art, and magical mystery under the big stars of Marfa. The festival happens at El Cosmico and reflects the bohemian nature of the place — think Burning Man meets the Wild West. Workshops; free Topo Chico; and the opportunity to stay in a yurt while listening to the likes of Jenny Lewis, Roger Ellis, and Lee Ann Womack.

Gruene Music & Wine Festival
Gruene, October 5-8
Gruene is that small town with mass appeal. An hour's drive from Austin, it’s the kind of place you stroll around, glass in hand. The music is Americana and Texas country, featuring Ray Benson, Cory Morrow, Walt Wilkins, Jack Ingram, and a host of other similar artists. You can buy into the whole weekend or pick a day. Wine lovers will want to hit up Tastings and Tunes, while craft beer aficionados may prefer Sunday. Proceeds benefit the United Way and Hurricane Harvey victims.

Austin City Limits
Austin, October 6-8 and October 13-15
Two jam-packed weekends with multiple stages of music, vendors, booze, Austin food trailers, and a lot of out-of-town visitors. And who wouldn’t want to descend upon Zilker Park to laze about in the sun and listen to some sweet jams? Approximately 450,000 folks attend the festival each year, and the headliners just keep getting bigger. Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Killers close out both weekends.

Houston Open Air
Houston, October 14-15
Sister to Chicago Open Air, the recently debuted Houston Open Air is every metalhead's dream. This year, the high-profile lineup features Avenged Sevenfold, Mastodon, Five Finger Death Punch, Prophets of Rage, Marilyn Manson, and lots of headbanging heavy rockers at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

Mala Luna Music Festival
San Antonio, October 28-29
San Antonio brings us a Halloween weekend rap and EDM fest at Nelson Wolff Stadium. Only in its second year, Mala Luna attracts big acts like Future, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa; multiple food vendors; and art installations. As you might expect, attendees get creative with costumes, especially those inspired by Dia de Los Muertos. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Network for Young Artists (NYA.)

ACL Fest returns October 6-8 and 13-15.

Austin City Limits Festival ACL 2014 Weekend One Day Three Shirin Ravandi Carly Stripling Ranjani Panda Neli Sabour Noura Moayyad

Photo by Shelley Neuman

ACL Fest returns October 6-8 and 13-15.

austin-city-limits festivals music

DART News

DART receives $7 million federal grant for new low-emission buses

Gillig

undefined

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has received a grant to update its fleet of buses. According to a release, the agency was awarded a $7.094 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to support the purchase of new buses as the agency phases out its fleet of older model vehicles.

The grant awarded to DART is one of 165 transit projects across the U.S. funded with more than $2 billion in federal grants.

In February, DART purchased 476 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses from Gillig, a California-based manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses, to fulfill their goal to modernize their transit system over the next decade — particularly via new buses and light-rail vehicles to replace the oldest units in their aging fleet.

The phase-in of those new vehicles is expected to be executed through 2027.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered buses are a near-zero emission option, which was a key component in DART qualifying for the federal grant. Gillig has already delivered the first buses ahead of a Spring 2026 timeline — meaning that DART riders will get to start riding the upgraded buses on routes by the end of December 2025.

In a statement, DART President & CEO Nadine Lee says the timing is perfect.

“The timing of this grant couldn’t be better as we begin to receive early delivery of new, state-of-the-art vehicles from Gillig and as we move ahead with preparations to provide service to the massive crowds we expect next year with the FIFA World Cup," Lee says. "We are grateful to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, FTA Administrator Marcus Molinaro, and our entire congressional delegation for valuing their strong federal partnership with DART, recognizing the need to find additional funding to support transit programs in one of the fastest growing metro areas in the nation."

This new grant is in addition to $103 million initial federal grants, bringing the total federal support for DART’s purchase of new buses to more than $110 million – reducing the overall cost to DART and member cities.

U.S. Congressional delegates, representing communities across Texas, were instrumental in securing the funding for the grant. The purchase of 476 buses is one part of DART’s Transform, a $2.5 billion 10-year plan to modernize and upgrade the DART system.

transportation