Maybe it's just because Houston no longer has a festival of its own, but the just-announced ACL lineup looks awfully compelling. 

Headlining acts include Cardi B, Robyn, Tame Impala, Mumford & Sons, Childish Gambino, The Cure, Billie Eilish, and the veteran hard rockers of Guns N' Roses. In perspective: The lineup is so stacked that reigning six-time Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves doesn't even merit big text on the poster. 

Houston will be represented by Lizzo, the breakout hip-hop star hailing from Alief, and Megan Thee Stallion, the unstoppable rap machine still in school at TSU. Musgraves and Gary Clark Jr. are other prominent members of the festival's Texas contingent.

This is, without a doubt, a forward-looking lineup. Rather than blowing cash on milquetoast festival staples like The Killers or the Avett Brothers, ACL invested a headliner spot in the likes of Billie Eilish, the spooky 17-year-old pop star so Gen Z that the New York Times had to devote a few thousand words explaining her appeal. There's also performers like Tierra Whack, the rapper who released her album of 1-minute songs via Instagram. It's a refreshing counterbalance to old standbys like The Kooks and The Cure.

So refreshing, in fact, that we might just be planning a road trip.

Austin City Limits Music Festival, Oct. 4–6 and 11–13, 2019. For more information and tickets, visit aclfestival.com.