ACL is not one weekend, it is two: October 2 through 4, then October 9 through 11, 2026, both in Zilker Park. That gap in the middle is the whole strategy, not a scheduling accident you have to work around. Meet someone at weekend one, and you have about a week before you might see them again at weekend two.
Larry’s karma rule says thank, tip, reciprocate fast, so that week between passes is where you send the one line that makes weekend two a second conversation instead of a cold reintroduction. This is External API in its purest form: ACL already built the room, the sound system, and the reason to travel, you’re only responsible for showing up prepared twice. Run PQRST before weekend one so you walk in knowing who is likely in that crowd and what you still need to learn about them.
Between the two weekends, read back your notes and flag the fuzzy points before you see the same faces again. Two passes means two chances to use the pen-drop close from Larry’s SuperModel bit, set the pen down, stay quiet, let them pick it up.
Most people treat ACL as one long party, treat it instead as two data points on the same relationship. A single ACL weekend badge gets you a conversation, but the second weekend is what turns a conversation into a relationship worth tracking.
Bring the same notebook both weekends so your notes from weekend one are already in your hand during weekend two. The math is simple: one relationship, developed over two passes, beats ten new names that never get a second conversation.
Details: See the ACL festival weekend dates
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