Whoever came up with the idea of Longhorn City Limits is a GENIUS.
Combining college football, tailgating and world-class live music in a festival atmosphere is never a bad idea, and it is about time that Austin’s status as the live music capital of the world left its imprint on game day on the Forty Acres.
That combination is Longhorn City Limits, which started several seasons ago and is now fully hitting its stride.
The Longhorn City Limits shows are on the LBJ Lawn, next to the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and directly to the northeast of Texas Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium.
This FREE live performance before or after each UT football home game (depending on kickoff time) is first-come, first-serve admission on the LBJ Lawn.
Immediately after the conclusion of the Alabama game on September 10th, 2022, the scheduled performer at Longhorn City Limits was American rapper Flo Rida.
I arrived about 45 minutes before showtime and secured a spot within striking distance of the stage; however, the field was already starting to fill up with spectators watching the final two minutes of the game and jockeying for position on the lawn.
When Flo Rida came on stage, he was wearing a burnt orange UT Football jersey with a number 1 and his name “Flo Rida” on back.
His good vibes set was exactly what the crowd needed after witnessing Texas fall short vs. Alabama at the very last moment.
At no point was the energy higher than Flo Rida’s 2005 smash hit, “Low.” Flo Rida invited an entire stage full of women up from the crowd to dance with him for several songs, culminating in his gem “Low.”
I captured this moment on my Social Musings by Austin TikTok, which you can find here.
Not to be outdone, Flo Rida then invited the men up for a song to show off their dance moves.
All in all, it was not only an equal opportunity set, but also an inspirational one, as the audience experienced Flo Rida's authentic positive energy and his expressed gratitude at the opportunity to perform on one on of the biggest days of the year for Austinites.
All in all, his performance lasted about an hour.
After such an amazing experience, I had no idea that I would be back to Longhorn City Limits only three weeks later to see Nelly, the Grammy-award winning superstar, whose show was even more crowded than Flo Rida.
This past weekend before the West Virginia game, I arrived less than 15 minutes before the show was scheduled to start, but I was able to weave my way forward through the assembled crowd to a good vantage point (just not as good as Flo Rida).
Nelly also sported a burnt orange number 1 personalized jersey and roamed back and forth on the stage as he progressed through his blockbuster hits.
Nelly's highly-attended performance shows that Longhorn City Limits is here to stay - crowds are multiplying beyond belief, and suddenly there is now an additional buzz to game day that didn't exist five years ago.
Overall, I thought the crowd’s energy for Flo Rida was a slightly better vibe, but Nelly was noticeably more crowded - there was no chance you were getting on the lawn if you arrived after the performance begun, which highlighted that Longhorn City Limits is rapidly becoming a live music destination for University of Texas fans, Austin residents and visitors to our great city alike.
In fact, Longhorn City Limits is an incredible way to watch world-class recording artists whether or not you attend the game.
For information on future concerts at Longhorn City Limits, visit TexasSports.com or follow @TexasLonghorns on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.
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