Austin City Limits stage to be battery-powered

Promoter C3 Presents is partnering with Reverb’s Music Decarbonization Project to power a stage at Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival in the US, solely on a hybrid battery system.

The 75,000-cap Texas event’s IHG Hotels & Resorts stage will deploy more than 1 MWh of battery storage capacity, minimising the run time of biodiesel generators providing significant fuel and emissions savings.

In addition, the giant shade tents at food court ACL Eats, the West Entrance of the festival, and a variety of backstage areas will also be powered on hybrid battery systems.

The move follows the piloting of a similar initiative at this year’s Lollapalooza in Grant Park, Chicago.

“Following this year’s highly successful and history-making battery-powered main stage at Lollapalooza, we are excited to bring this sustainable solution to Austin City Limits Music Festival,” says Jake Perry, director of operations and sustainability at C3 Presents.

“We have set a goal to build a more sustainable future for music festivals, which involves implementing solutions that make our operations more energy efficient and reinventing how we look at power.”

ACL Fest 2024 will be held from 4-6 & 11-13 October at Zilker Park, topped by headliners Dua Lipa, Tyler, The Creator, Chris Stapleton, Blink-182, Sturgill Simpson and Pretty Lights.

“Decarbonising power is the future for the music industry and every industry”

“We’re thrilled to partner with ACL Fest and the team at C3 Presents for this effort,” says Tanner Watt, Reverb director of partnerships. “Decarbonising power is the future for the music industry and every industry. What’s happening this year at ACL Fest is an important step towards eliminating our reliance on fossil fuels and reducing greenhouse gas pollution.”

Battery-powered shows have also been embraced by artists including Bruce Springsteen, Lukas Graham and Dave Matthews Band, plus venues such as the Netherlands’ Johan Cruijff ArenA.

Indeed, Eilish’s long-standing link-up with environmental nonprofit Reverb resumed last Sunday (29 September) with the launch of the singer’s Hit Me Hard and Soft tour at Québec’s Centre Videotron in Canada. The collaboration has previously resulted in more than $1 million donated to environmental, greenhouse gas reduction, and climate justice projects.

Sustainability efforts on the tour will include reducing greenhouse gas pollution, decreasing single-use plastic waste, supporting climate action, and updating concession offerings to promote and encourage plant-based food options with Support+Feed. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales in North America will go to Reverb, while Reverb Eco-Villages will be set up at two locations in the main concourse of every show.

Last week meanwhile, Massive Attack announced a weekend of live music in Liverpool, featuring IDLES and Nile Rodgers, under the banner Act 1.5 presents, in the wake of their groundbreaking eco-friendly concert in Bristol in August.

The weekend event at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena from 28-30 November will build on the sustainability methods first trialled at the Bristol show.

Over the summer, Coldplay, Live Nation, Warner Music Group and Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced an advisory committee for their study of the live music industry’s carbon footprint.

• The latest issue of IQ features Green Guardians 2024 – our annual list of sustainable innovators.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.