Austin City Limits released its 2026 lineup, revealing headliners including Lorde and Kings of Leon, as well as Austin-based acts like The Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Collective and Grocery Bag. 

This year marks the festival’s 25th anniversary, taking place over two weekends: Oct. 2-4 and Oct. 9-11 at Zilker Park. 

Learn more: The full list of headliners also includes The xx and Rüfüs Du Sol. Other sets will also showcase music from Turnstile, Labrinth, Lola Young and The Chainsmokers. 

Other performers expected to perform at the festival are Suki Waterhouse, Rebecca Black, Natasha Bedingfield and Blood Orange. Check out the full lineup on the ACL Music Festival website. 

Austin is increasing the scope and frequency of public homeless encampment clearings this spring.

The details: Public camping is illegal in Austin under both Proposition B, a local ban reinstated by city voters in 2021, and a Texas law passed the same year. The city still has a high number of public encampments and receives hundreds of service requests to address those sites every month. However, homeless strategy officials say current resources haven't allowed adequate response.

Going forward: Starting May 11, several dedicated encampment management teams will begin working citywide five days a week. Most will involve Austin Police Department officers and other city department staff, and one Austin Parks and Recreation-led team will focus on litter removal.

The city will track the number of site visits and timely response to requests, the number of people sheltered or connected to services, and monitor for repeat activity at encampment sites after each cleanup. Later this year, Austin will also launch a new 3-1-1 reporting option and public encampment management dashboard.

Austin has adopted a new process with increased public scrutiny for the city's procurement of surveillance-related technology, following pushback against previous public camera programs.

The details: The focus on Austin's potential procurement of technology that collects personal information comes after the recent consideration of millions of dollars in contracts for surveillance technology across the city, including the police department's use of automated license plate readers and a proposed parks department camera program.

Also of note: An ordinance adopted in April now requires city departments considering the use of surveillance-related technology to get formal City Council approval before doing so. It also includes other public reporting requirements, including the creation of privacy impact statements for any proposed contracts for such technology.

From a Moxies in the Domain to a new business park in Georgetown, here are five of the most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Moxies ($7 million): A new Moxies location is coming to the Domain, with construction set to begin in July. 

2. Austin Ridge Bible Church ($7 million): Austin Ridge purchased the Great Hills Baptist Church facility and are working on plans for renovation.

3. Mason Phase 2 ($5 million): This project includes improvements to a single family subdivision, covering 32,000 square feet.

4. Decker Lane site work ($4.5 million): This project includes work on Decker Industrial Park for five buildings, and associated connecting roads and utilities around the building.

5. Bell Gin Business Park ($3.72 million): The project consists of constructing five 7,200-square-foot shell buildings and two 10,800-square-foot buildings for commercial office and warehouse use.