Austin City Limits Music Festival takes place this weekend and it is drawing a lot of attention from SMU students. The music festival is a three-day weekend loaded with a wide variety of musical talents. Bands from all across the country will be performing on eight different stages in Austin’s Zilker Park. The shows start Friday afternoon with some smaller bands and slowly work their way up to the headliners by nightfall.

Some of the main attractions for Friday include the Avett Brothers, a North Carolina band that plays with a unique “folk-punk” style, and Bassnecter, known as San Francisco’s best DJ who puts on unbelievable live shows with outrageous visual effects. The night is going to be topped off with a performance by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and a 90-minute show by Kings of Leon.

Saturday is the biggest day with performances by Citizen Cope, Sound Tribe Sector Nine, !!! and Grizzly Bear. Ghostland Observatory, Austin natives, will be playing a late-night show that is sure to be a mind-boggling experience for their hometown fans. The very popular Dave Matthews Band will wrap up the evening with a two-hour show.

Sunday is also a full day of great music with bands such as: Passion Pit, Arctic Monkeys, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Girltalk, The B-52s, Ben Harper and Relentless7. The shows on Sunday are mostly short, one-hour sets, but the festival is going to be finished off by a two-hour performance by Pearl Jam.

No matter what type of music students like, they’ll be able to find a musical niche at ACL.

Check out the ACL Web site to see the full line-up and even customize a personal schedule for the day. The shows are listed to end at 10 each night, but there are going to be loads of late-night shows throughout Austin for those who are still in the mood to rock-out.