How can I get tickets to a taping?
How can I get in touch with Austin City Limits?
When will a certain program air in my area?
Will you ever repeat the program that includes (insert your favorite artist here)?
Where and when is Austin City Limits taped?
How does an artist or band get booked on Austin City Limits? Who decides?
Are artists paid to be on Austin City Limits or do they play for free because it’s PBS?
Are CDs or DVDs available?
Can I get an internship with Austin City Limits?
How can I get tickets to a taping?
So…you want to attend an Austin City Limits taping, eh? Here’s the skinny.
We do a drawing for public passes (given out in pairs) for every show. About a week before a taping date, we’ll put up a notice on the ACL site, Facebook and Twitter with a link to a registration form. Fill it out, hit “submit” and you’re entered. (Don’t bother entering more than once – any additional entries from the same people will be thrown out.) Two or three days before the show we’ll randomly choose the winners, and send them an e-mail. That means in the days before the show you should check your spam folder to make sure you didn’t miss a message. It also means that if you didn’t receive an e-mail, in either your regular inbox or your spam folder, you’re not one of the winners.
When we say “passes,” what we really mean are spots on the biggest guest list in town, which is, of course, only at ACL Live at The Moody Theater on the day of the show. That means that anyone claiming to be selling tickets to an ACL taping on Craigslist, eBay, etc. is fibbing. Seriously, don’t fall for this – it’s a scam and any tickets/passes acquired this way will NOT be honored. If you come to the door with a pair of counterfeits in hand, you’ll just be (a) embarrassed when we don’t let you in and (b) angry at the person who scammed you.
The passes are space available only, and don’t guarantee admission – we can let in only as many people as capacity allows. That level is set by the state fire marshal and we must abide by it or risk getting fined. So, please follow the time schedule you receive in your winner notification email. If you come up to the door at the last minute and we tell you we’ve reached capacity, please don’t try to talk your way in – it’ll just make us all uncomfortable.
Once you arrive at The Moody Theater, find the acltv.com winner line and queue up. When you reach the top of the stairs, one of our friendly volunteers will find your name on the list and give you a wristband/pass that allows you entry into the venue. We have to let in our donors, Friends of Austin City Limits, trade-out partners, journalists and band guests into the studio first, but fear not – there’s plenty of room inside, and 20 minutes before showtime we open the doors to you, our beloved “Space A’s”, whether the other ticket holders have arrived to claim their spaces or not. In the meantime you can hang out on the Music Porch, visit the bars, and soak in some fresh air.
Once you’re inside, a reminder: we’re taping a television show here, people. This isn’t a concert in the usual sense. We’re trying to capture a great performance by a great artist for posterity and later broadcast. That doesn’t mean we don’t want you to get excited and shout and sing along – indeed, we encourage that. All music fans know that the more enthusiasm they show for the artist, the greater the heights to which the artist will go.
What we don’t want is for y’all to do what most people do at shows these days, and that’s record the performance on your camera phones. In fact, any cell phone use in the studio during the taping is prohibited. We’re already recording the show anyway and we’ll broadcast it on PBS in sparkling mixed sound and HD visuals – you don’t need to worry about it. Plus it’s rude to your neighbors. And do you really want to be immortalized in an audience shot with your phone in front of your face?
You’ll notice there are bars in the room. Feel free to visit them as often as you like before showtime, but once the lights do down and recording begins, those bars will be closed until the performance is over. You can still go outside the room on the porch to get drinks, though – those bars will remain open.
You no doubt have also noticed the camera operators. They have magic masking tape around them to indicate where their personal space is. This space includes the first couple of feet in front of the stage – please let them inhabit it alone. They need that space to swing the cameras around and get shots of both the artists and your lovely, smiling faces.
Finally, we also have security and an EMT on site during tapings. If you notice someone who’s become, shall we say, unruly due to overindulgence, or see someone in a state of distress, please alert one of our volunteers or anyone with a staff badge so we can get the correct authority figure over there.
If you don’t get chosen to attend a taping, you can always watch the show each week on PBS!
How can I get in touch with Austin City Limits?
Visit our Contact Page
When will a certain program air in my area?
For your reference, national air dates for Austin City Limits are listed on this Web site. Many PBS stations carry Austin City Limits on these dates, but please check local listings for the exact date and time. Most stations publish their broadcast dates on their Web sites. You may also visit our TV Schedule page and enter your zip code to find out when ACL is scheduled to air on your local station.
Every PBS station decides independently which programs it will air. If Austin City Limits is not scheduled on your local PBS affiliate, please contact the station’s Programming Department to let them know you want to see Austin City Limits in your area.
Will you ever repeat the program that includes (insert your favorite artist here)?
After an episode is produced, public television stations have rights to broadcast it four times in three years. Unless the program is still within its three-year window, it is not available for broadcast.
Where and when is Austin City Limits taped?
KLRU typically begins taping new shows in the spring/summer before the season premieres in October of each year. However, the producers will take advantage of an artist’s touring schedule if it brings a desired act into KLRU’s vicinity. There is no set taping schedule; it is solely based on artist availability. We may have five tapings in a week or have one or none in a month – it is 100% based on the artist’s touring schedule.
According to the mythology, Austin City Limits is taped on an Austin hillside above the city. In reality, the show was recorded for thirty-six years in KLRU television’s Studio 6A located on the University of Texas campus in the Communications Building B. In 2011, the show moved to a new facility in the heart of Austin’s downtown Second Street District at the Moody Theater. The new studio features concerts throughout the year – for a concert schedule and ticket information, please visit the ACL Live website. The famous skyline set, based on a photograph of the city taken from south Austin, debuted in 1982 for Season 7 and has remained the series’ backdrop ever since. Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater is located at 310 W. Willie Nelson Blvd., Austin, TX, 78701. Click here for a map to the Moody Theater and for information on parking and seating.
The program has occasionally featured shows recorded elsewhere, including at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
How does an artist or band get booked on Austin City Limits? Who decides?
The series’ producer Terry Lickona books the talent with input from the Austin City Limits producing staff.
Austin City Limits was initially created with an eye and ear toward original Texas music, featuring artists that created innovative new sounds in everything from western swing and Texas blues to Tejano music, progressive country and rock & roll. The series went on to feature a wide range of American roots artists, covering a variety of styles and expanding beyond the borders of the Lone Star State. As the program’s audience has grown, the music has encompassed regional, national and even international performers, and Terry continues to seek a balance of music genres in every new season. Austin City Limits today focuses on the unique contributions of diverse artists, music and songwriting from around the world.
Managers, publicists, or artists may send samples to Terry Lickona at: 310 W. Willie Nelson Blvd., Austin, TX, 78701
Are artists paid to be on Austin City Limits or do they play for free because it’s PBS?
Every performer who appears on Austin City Limits receives scale wages as set by the American Federation of Musicians.