UT Wordmark Primary UT Wordmark Formal Shield Texas UT News Camera Chevron Close Search Copy Link Download File Hamburger Menu Time Stamp Open in browser Load More Pull quote Cloudy and windy Cloudy Partly Cloudy Rain and snow Rain Showers Snow Sunny Thunderstorms Wind and Rain Windy Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Twitter email alert map calendar bullhorn

UT News

UT Students Make ACL History

Two color orange horizontal divider
West 22nd, a band of U.T. Austin students, pose for a group picture on stage at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October 2024.
West 22nd on stage at the Austin City Limits Music Festival (October 2024). Photo by Daelynn Dugger

The first weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival kicked off with performances by international superstars and a group of students who made history.

West 22nd became the first band of current UT students to perform at the iconic music festival.

“We are all Longhorns for life and are extremely grateful for all the opportunities that the school has given us,” Logan Madsen (vocals/lead singer) told The Austin Chronicle. “Austin is the live music capital of the world, and there is no other place than UT we’d rather be as an up-and-coming band.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UT Austin (@utaustintx)

On the road to ACL, West 22nd played more than 50 shows in Austin over the past year, including during South by Southwest (SXSW) at UT’s Hook ’Em House at Antone’s and at Longhorn City Limits, a free, on-campus concert series when Texas Football plays at home.

“We really value our education, so we’ve done the best we can to be full-time students and musicians at the same time,” Gabe Acevedo (rhythm guitar/backup vocals), told The Austin Chronicle.

West 22nd, a band of U.T. Austin students, performs during South by Southwest at U.T. Hook 'Em House at Antone's.
West 22nd performs during a SXSW music showcase at UT’s Hook ‘Em House at Antone’s in downtown Austin in 2024.

The band plans to spend winter break in the studio, with their first full-length album scheduled for release this spring.

“We’re doing things that I never thought we could have done,” Jet Beck (bass) told The Daily Texan ahead of the band’s ACL performance. “We’re playing ACL, so the sky’s the limit.”