Austin City Limits: Live Music Without the Mud

	Soaking up Austin's Sounds

Just thinking about an outdoor music festival probably leaves you longing for a hot bath.

Don't feel old -- you're not alone. The traditional Woodstock music festival experience loses its luster once your wild college days have been supplanted by a job, kids and a mortgage.

Besides, does live music really sound better when you're caked in mud and swatting mosquitoes while miles away from civilization?

Growing out of this phase doesn't mean you have to swap out the music you love for milquetoasty selections. You can still enjoy a few days taking in great performances, entertainment and food at urban music festivals -- and spend the night in a comfy bed instead of a stale sleeping bag on wet ground.

Urban music festivals have actually been around for decades. Rhode Island's Newport Jazz Festival has been running since 1954, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, perhaps the standard-bearer of the adult-friendly concert events, has been held since 1970.

There are options all over the country -- the Aspen Jazz Festival, held in Snowmass, Colo., over Labor Day; Vegoose on Halloween weekend in Las Vegas; the springtime Langerado near Miami, Fla.; and of course, the well-known Montreal Jazz Festival, held every July, and South by Southwest (SXSW), Austin, Texas' early-spring music, film and media festival.

Coming up this weekend, however, is the Austin City Limits (ACL) music festival, which I will be attending from Sept.14-16. Sponsored by the classic music television program of the same name on PBS, ACL is a three-day event offering an eclectic mix of rock, electronica, blues, American roots and jazz music. It's a great opportunity to explore the city if you missed SXSW this time around.

Austin's Music Scene

Few other festivals offer a better mix of daytime performances, sophisticated nightlife and exclusive hotel options than ACL. Centrally located in Austin's downtown Zilker Park, this year's festival will host over 130 performers -- from Bob Dylan to Wilco, Arcade Fire, The White Stripes and Lucinda Williams -- as well as several evening after-parties in the city's seemingly countless music venues.