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A Hill Country music fest + 10 more Texas travel tips for September

While it may not feel like fall yet, it's time to get into the September spirit and take full advantage of a fun weekend getaway or staycation this month. Dallas travelers can immerse themselves in the Hill Country at a unique Fredericksburg treehouse resort, or find a new favorite local band in Temple, Waco, or Houston. Locals can alternatively enjoy a relaxing vacation closer to home by booking a "cowboy core" experience at a Fort Worth hotel, or celebrate Grapevine's 39th annual GrapeFest with a glass of wine in hand. And you can't forget that the State Fair begins at the end of the month.

Here are our top picks for summer Texas travel events, hotel deals, and more in September.

Austin

The beloved Pecan Street Festival – which bi-annually celebrates Austin's creative community with an artisan vendor market and live music performances – is returning to the Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave for its fall festivities, September 13-14. The fall music lineup includes 12 different acts, including "The One Man Funk Band" Henry Invisible, R&B duo TheBrosFresh, honky tonk band Armadillo Road, and others. Festival admission and parking at the Hill Country Galleria are both free to the public.

For any last-minute Labor Day plans, Texas residents can get an exclusive 20 percent discount on their stays and valet parking at The Loren Hotel on Austin's Lady Bird Lake using the promo code "TXRES". The hotel is situated just minutes south of downtown, making it an ideal vacation hub for travelers that want to explore the best the city has to offer. Additionally, the hotel's art gallery, Paggi House, will debut its new exhibition "Anything But Paint" featuring 11 artists (including three Austin-based artists) on September 18. Rates begin at $208 nightly with the discount code.

The award-winning Commodore Perry Estate is gearing up for football season with several pop-up experiences, featuring Fraulein Boots (September 14), Heritage Boots, Trovador Custom Hats, SAKS, and jeweler Nak Armstrong. Texans can also take advantage of the resort's "Texan Getaway Offer" for game day weekends with promo code "texas" and receive 30 percent off the resort's best available rate plus a $100 dining credit. Nightly rates begin at $416 with the discount in September.

Central Texas and the Hill Country

Upscale treehouse resort Onera in Fredericksburg has recently added23 new luxurious units on its sprawling property, bringing its total number of intimate lodgings up to 35 in all. The resort's high-end treehouses have private decks and outdoor soaking tubs, and they share public amenities such as a swimming pool, hot plunge, saunas, and firepits. Nightly rates at Onera Fredericksburg begin at $180 in September.

The Diamond is Onera Fredericksburg's unique take on an A-Frame.Photo by Jeff Jones

Photo courtesy of Pecan Street Festival

The fall Pecan Street Festival will be held at the Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave.

Starting weekly from September 3 through October 1, the Levitt AMP Waco Music Series is returning for its fall season at the Bridge Street Plaza, also known as "Waco's Front Porch." The new season will bring live music from diverse artists such as cumbia band Los Desechos, R&B musician Phillip-Michael Scales, soul band Dwight James & The Royals, and many more. The concerts are free to the public, and will run from 5-8:30 pm.

There's a new music and barbecue festival taking over the town of Temple on September 12-13: The inaugural Tanglefoot Festival will feature more than 20 country music acts – including headliners Parker McCollum and Cody Jinks – and a barbecue showcase with 16 highly acclaimed pitmasters. Single-day tickets start at $108.51 including fees, and two-day tickets start at $209.35. All are available at eventhub.net.

San Antonio

Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio is bringing back its immersive Fright Fest nights starting September 6 and running until November 2. These fearful experiences, inspired by horror films and imaginative nightmares, will include four new haunted mazes, several "pulse pounding" live shows, and multiple scare zones. Haunted Attraction-only passes begin at $40 per person, and ticket bundles that include park admission begin at $75.

Houston

Houston's popular Solar Flare Music Festival is taking over Axelrad Beer Garden to share live music from 44 talented Texas bands on September 5-6. According to festival organizers, the 2025 festival is twice as big as it was last year. Besides the live music, attendees can expect to find immersive experiences and artisan vendors spread throughout the beer garden. Tickets range from $20-$35.

An audience watching the 2024 Solar Flare Music Festival next to a sun and moon decoration. Fans watching Houston's best local bands at the 2024 Solar Flare Music Festival. Photo courtesy of Houston Music Classified

Dallas-Fort Worth

Dallas-Fort Worth locals looking for a fall "cowboy core" staycation can saddle up at the Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel with its "Cowboys in Cowtown Ultimate Experience Package." It includes tours of the Fort Worth Stockyards, museum visits, shopping opportunities, and a $50 dining credit at celebrity chef Richard Sandoval's restaurant Toro Toro. Guests who book weekend stays can also customize their own cowboy hats at the hotel lobby's pop-up with Texas hatmaker A.B. Lino. Rates for the package using the promo code "YX1" begin at $264 per night.

Grapevine’s Historic Main Street is transforming into a wine paradise during the 39th annual GrapeFest, which will uncork four days of flavor and fun from September 11-14. This year's theme is “The Grape Gatsby," which commemorates the 100th anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic novel and the glitz and glamor of the "Roaring Twenties" (without the prohibition). Admission is $10 per person.

It's almost time to don your best cowboy hat and boots for the State Fair of Texas, which will begin September 26 and run through October 19. Over 100 musical acts are scheduled to perform during the fair's 24-day stint, and visitors can expect award-winning festival food, arts and crafts contests, several new entertainment attractions, and much more. To help you plan ahead, CultureMap has rounded up all the various ways to get discounted tickets for the 2025 Fair.

travel texas vacation staycation hotels resorts music festival hill country six flags

Pack Your Patience

DFW declared No. 2 worst airport for flight delays and cancellations

Photo by Izyan Sultanali on Unsplash

DFW International also ranks as the second-worst airport for flight disruptions over the holiday travel season.

Ahead of the busy holiday season, North Texans should budget extra time into their travel plans before flying out of the metro's bustling Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

DFW was just declared the No. 2 worst airport in the nation for flight disruptions by consumer review platform ConsumerAffairs, which analyzed the rates of moderate and severe delays, diversions, and cancellations at the 29 biggest U.S. airports. DFW also appeared as the No. 2 worst airport where holiday travel causes the biggest disruptions.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia led the nation as the No. 1 worst airport overall — the only airport deemed more disruptive than DFW.

Unlike many other airports on the list that experience high cancellation rates, the report revealed DFW's biggest issue is its high volume of flight delays. DFW has the No. 1 highest moderate delay rate out of all the airports examined, with more than a quarter of all flights (25.18 percent) delayed by 15 minutes and up to three hours.

"It’s the kind of delay that eats into your day without necessarily blowing up your whole trip," the report's author wrote.

Nearly two percent of all flights are delayed over three hours, making DFW the fifth worst airport for severe delays. However, the study says there is a silver lining for travelers saddled with severe disruptions.

"DFW offered more scheduled backup flights to the same destination than many of the other airports on this list, giving travelers a decent shot at rebooking if a flight fell through," the report said.

These are the cancellation and diversion rates at DFW, per the report:

Cancellation rate: 2.31 percent
Diversion rate: 0.29 percent
Average same-day flights to the same destination: 3.95
Cancellations that were the last flight of the day to that destination: 24.88 percent

Flying at DFW will be even more stressful during the holidays, as 30 percent of flights will suffer from disruptions during the Thanksgiving and winter holiday travel periods — starting the Tuesday before Thanksgiving through the Monday after, and again from December 18 to January 5.

DFW has the eighth highest holiday disruption rate out of the biggest airports, and the fifth highest holiday severe delay rate. Put some padding on your itinerary, because about 2.5 percent of all flights will be delayed more than three hours during the holidays.

In ConsumerAffairs' separate list of the worst medium-sized airports, Dallas Love Field landed as the 15th worst out of 32 U.S. airports. About 22 percent of all flights at DAL experience moderate delays — the No. 1 highest rate in this category — and 1.07 percent are severely delayed.

Additionally, over 26 percent of all DAL flights will be disrupted during the holiday travel season, and two percent of flights will experience severe delays.

The top 10 worst U.S. airports for delays and cancellations are:

No. 1 – Ronald Reagan Washington National
No. 2 – Dallas Fort Worth International
No. 3 – Newark Liberty International
No. 4 – Miami International
No. 5 – Philadelphia International
No. 6 – Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International
No. 7 – LaGuardia
No. 8 – Tampa International
No. 9 – Washington Dulles International
No. 10 – George Bush Intercontinental

Surprisingly, Los Angeles International Airport landed as the best major U.S. airport for avoiding travel disruptions. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (No. 2) and Seattle-Tacoma International (No. 3) round out the top three best airports for on-time travel.

The report offers the following suggestions to help anxious travelers avoid flight disruptions: look into travel insurance to protect against delays or cancellations; look for nonstop flights; or book flights with earlier departure times on an airline with multiple departures to your destination.

For flights that do get delayed or cancelled, travelers need to "act fast" to rectify their situation, says Jennifer Rykaczewski, the CEO of nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Affordable Skies.

"In the first 10 minutes, open the airline app, see whether you have already been rebooked and search for acceptable alternatives," Rykaczewski said. "Throughout the process, save any documentation of the delay or cancellation, plus receipts for meals or hotels, in case you need it for an insurance claim later."

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