Austin City Limits continues its summer celebration of the art of song this weekend, with an encore episode featuring Elvis Costello and the Band of Heathens.
For his second appearance on ACL, master songsmith Elvis Costello featured the acoustic band he worked with on his album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, including ACL vets Jim Lauderdale and Stuart Duncan. He highlighted album cuts, of course, including “Red Cotton,” “From Sulphur to Sugarcane” and “The Crooked Line,” a duet with ACL fave Patty Griffin. But he also dug deep into the Americana he was then exploring with a cover of Tampa Red’s “Don’t Lie to Me,” and treated us to “Five Small Words,” a then-new song that would appear on his next record National Ransom, interpolated with Texas legend Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.”
Austin-based singer/songwriters Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist used to share a residency at the Austin club Momo’s, but what started as a joint gig quickly became a full-on collaboration, as the three tunesmiths found both common ground and complementary skills. Now a three-headed monster, the Band of Heathens mixes rock, soul, blues, folk, country and gospel into a rich stew that’s found fans across the country. Drawing most of their set from the album One Foot in the Ether, the Heathens kick out the Americana jams on “L.A. Country Blues,” “Jackson Station” and “Golden Calf.”
Go here for more information about this fabulous episode, and check your local listings for showtimes. And remember, you can always hit up Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr for more ACL information. Next week: country superstar Kenny Chesney.