Charli XCX's Devoted Fans Brave Rainy ACL Fest Gates
The first day of Austin City Limits Music Festival kicked off with rain and cooler temperatures, but that didn't deter Charli XCX's biggest fans from waiting hours for a coveted spot to see her headlining performance.
Addison Knoll and Angelis Stathakis arrived at 7 a.m. outside Zilker Park, clad in ponchos and rain boots, ready to sprint to the main stage when the gates opened at noon. Stathakis, visiting from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was no stranger to camping out for ACL Fest's barricade spots, she'd done it before for Sabrina Carpenter's show last year.
'May the fastest person win' shouted a C3 staffer through a megaphone as the crowd waited patiently. The 'barricade battle' is an art, according to Stathakis' friend Andi Cannon: 'Ironically, sit as long as you can. Make friends around you, that's what's going to get you to go to the bathroom and eat.'
The rain may have been a nuisance, but it didn't dampen the fans' spirits. As they took their spots at the American Express stage, Stathakis quipped 'I'm gonna rock it, honestly,' while Cannon called them Charli's 'wettest angels.'