ACL 2012’s Best EDM Moments + Early Bird 2013 Tickets

Austin City Limits devoured the Texan city in mid-October, and early bird specials for 2013 are already underway. Some sets left fest-goers crying out for an encore weekend.

A-Trak said it best when he called out during his Friday afternoon set, “It’s a beautiful day. Let’s boogie!” He played classics like “Big Bad Wolf” and “Heads Will Roll,” readying the crowd for a weekend that celebrated EDM, to many ACL veterans’ surprise.

M83 hit the stage and played crowd pleasers “Steve McQueen” and “Midnight City,” before handing over the Swedish Darling Avicii. He closed out Friday night, rivaling the Black Keys’ set that played at the same time. Fans of the rock duo could hear Avicii dropping signatures like “Teenage Wasteland” and “Fade into Darkness” remixes.

The rain hit on Saturday, but that didn’t stop the crowd from enjoying Big Gigantic’s sax-fest set in the early evening.

Later Bassnectar got competitive with Gotye who played at the opposite stage during the same time slot. The California DJ told the crowd, “Scream at the other stages. Tell them to come over here.” He dropped “Ain’t no Rest for the Wicked,” “Intergalactic” and a remix of Nirvana’s “In Bloom” and “Say Yeah.”

Polica, Die Antwoord, Crystal Castles and Dev also cruised through the weekend, bursting beats into the daytime sets.

Zilker Park played host to the weekend’s activities that were almost overstuffed with electronic acts. So much so that the festival will pull a Coachella and become a two-weekend music party.

The e-list pre-sale started on Tuesday and early bird special passes — $200 for a weekend — can be secured at aclfestival.com.

Written By: Jessica Goodman