Austin City Limits (ACL) announces an all-star slate of guest performers and presenters for the 2023 ACL Hall of Fame Inductions & Celebration on October 26, 2023, recognizing two beacons of American music: celebrated country superstar Trisha Yearwood and late, beloved singer-songwriter John Prine. All-star guests will handle induction honors on this epic night: Don Henley will induct Trisha Yearwood; renowned actor Ethan Hawke will induct John Prine posthumously. A parade of music luminaries including Henley, Jo Dee Messina, Ronnie Dunn, Tyler Childers, Allison Russell, Kurt Vile and Tommy Prine will take part in saluting the honorees with one-of-a-kind music performances and intimate tributes.
The inductees will be honored at a star-studded ceremony at ACL’s studio home, ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame is produced by Austin PBS. Additional special guests will be announced prior to the event. Musical highlights and inductions from the celebration will air as a pair of companion Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Honors installments dedicated to each inductee, set to air in January 2024 on PBS.
Co-founder of the Eagles Don Henley, will induct his longtime friend Trisha Yearwood and perform in tribute. Yearwood and Henley performed together during his ACL debut in 2015 in Season 41. Country greats Jo Dee Messina and Ronnie Dunn will also pay homage with salutes; additionally, Yearwood is slated to perform at the celebration. Renowned actor and Austin native Ethan Hawke will induct John Prine, who passed away in 2020. A stellar slate of artists will take the stage to pay tribute in song to their friend, mentor and inspiration: acclaimed singer-songwriter Tyler Childers, who performed with Prine during his final ACL taping in 2018 for Season 44; Americana great Allison Russell; and singer, songwriter and guitar ace Kurt Vile. John’s son, singer-songwriter Tommy Prine, will perform in honor of his father.
ACL Hall of Famer, renowned steel guitarist and producer Lloyd Maines, returns as Music Director, leading the ACL All-Stars house band featuring guitarist David Grissom, keyboardist Chris Gage, bassist Bill Whitbeck and drummer Tom Van Schaik.
The event is open to the public and a limited number of tickets are on sale at acltv.com/hall-of-fame. Sponsor packages are available at acltv.com/hall-of-fame. All proceeds benefit Austin PBS.
Austin City Limits celebrates 50 years as a live music beacon with a yearlong milestone celebration beginning in October 2024: on October 17, 1974, Willie Nelson taped the pilot episode and the trailblazing series premiered in 1975. Stay tuned for news on special concerts, fan events and activations as Austin City Limits salutes an incredible legacy of 50 golden years of American musical history and iconic performances.
Since its inception in 2014, the annual ACL Hall of Fame celebration honors the legendary artists who helped to build the legacy of the trailblazing music series as it nears a remarkable half-century milestone as a music institution. The inaugural awards honored Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The ninth class of inductees features two legendary acts: Multiple GRAMMY®, CMA® and ACM® Award-winner Trisha Yearwood debuted on the series in Season 17 in 1992. She went on to make two additional headlining appearances in 1996 and 2000 and returned in Season 41 in 2015 as a guest of Don Henley. The late singer-songwriter John Prine appeared regularly on ACL throughout his celebrated five-decade career. Prine made his first Austin City Limits appearance in 1978, in the third season of the nascent show, and returned for his eighth and final appearance forty years later in Season 44 in 2018. The influential artist appeared on a Songwriters Special in 1983 alongside peers including Guy Clark and Rodney Crowell, and made headlining appearances in 1988, 1992 and 1996; and in 2002 appeared as a special guest of Bonnie Raitt. Austin City Limits saluted Prine with a posthumous retrospective hour in 2020, which aired as the season premiere of Season 46 and highlighted classic gems from his catalog.
Established in 2014, the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame celebrates the legacy of legendary artists and key individuals who have played a vital part in the pioneering music series remarkable nearly half-century as a music institution. The Hall of Fame has inducted over twenty artists at eight previous ceremonies including Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Lloyd Maines, Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn, Guy Clark, Flaco Jiménez, Townes Van Zandt, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Roy Orbison, Rosanne Cash, The Neville Brothers, Ray Charles, Marcia Ball, Los Lobos, Lyle Lovett, Buddy Guy, Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Wilco and Alejandro Escovedo. The eighth annual Hall of Fame in 2022 welcomed Sheryl Crow and Joe Ely to its ranks.
Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame is produced by Austin PBS and funding is provided in part by AXS Ticketing.
Austin City Limits Hall of FameIn 2014, Austin PBS, KLRU-TV — creator and producer of the legendary PBS show Austin City Limits — established the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame to recognize legendary musicians and key individuals who have been instrumental in making television’s longest-running popular music show an institution. Each year a new class of honorees are inducted and celebrated at a live event taped to air on PBS. It is also a historical archive, educational resource and celebration of Austin City Limits —telling the story of the show through photos, a timeline/anthology mural and in the near future, an interactive database of vintage Austin City Limits performances and video footage of interviews, behind-the-scenes and never before seen performances throughout the decades. Honorees to-date include Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Lloyd Maines, Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn, Flaco Jiménez, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, B.B. King, Rosanne Cash, The Neville Brothers, Roy Orbison, Marcia Ball, Ray Charles, Los Lobos, Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, Buddy Guy, Lucinda Williams, Wilco, Alejandro Escovedo, Joe Ely and Sheryl Crow.
