One-of-a-Kind Taping to be Livestreamed for Fans Worldwide on Austin City Limits YouTube Channel; Watch Live on April 28 at 8pm
Legendary Austin club Antone’s celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and Austin City Limits is proud to salute this occasion, along with our own five-decade history of showcasing the blues, with ACL & Antone’s Celebrate the Blues on Monday, April 28. Austin City Limits is also pleased to announce this special taping will be livestreamed in its entirety on the ACLTV YouTube channel. This one-of-a-kind taping swaps Antone’s intimate setting for ACL’s familiar skyline backdrop and offers a murderers’ row of blues all-stars and torchbearers taking the ACL stage at ACL Live at The Moody Theater for this incredible night. Performers include Jimmie Vaughan, Sue Foley, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Charlie Sexton, Big Bill Morganfield, Lil’ Ed Williams, Grace Bowers, Bobby Rush and Lurrie Bell. These blues all-stars will be backed by an incredible 14-piece house band featuring legendary players, including ACL Hall of Famer Chris Layton, along with Steve Bell, Joe Sublett and more, all under the musical direction of Zach Ernst. Full line-up of guest performers and house band below.
ACL offers fans worldwide the unique opportunity to watch this special taping live in its entirety on Monday, April 28 at 8pm CT free via the ACLTV YouTube Channel. The livestream will begin promptly at 8pm CT and will only be available live. The broadcast episode will air on PBS and stream on PBS.org this fall as part of the legendary television series upcoming Season 51.
Austin City Limits presented blues acts on the series dating back to its earliest seasons, providing the first television exposure for many, including Lightnin’ Hopkins, Gatemouth Brown, Miss Lavelle White, B.B. King, W.C. Clark, Elizabeth Cotten and Ruth Brown.
ACL is thrilled to celebrate a kindred long-running music institution that has played an instrumental role in Austin’s reign as “the live music capital of the world.” Antone’s “Home of the Blues” opened in 1975 as the first live music showcase on the city’s now-famous Sixth Street, and it quickly became a home away from home for a Mount Rushmore of blues musicians including Muddy Waters, Albert King, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Willie Dixon and B.B. King – as well as a broader tapestry of American roots music. The force behind all this was club founder Clifford Antone; under his guidance, his namesake venue emerged as one of the most important blues joints and stages in the country. Throughout the venue’s remarkable five-decade run, Antone’s continued to define the present and shape the future of blues music, bolstering the careers of internationally-renowned artists including The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Doug Sahm, Charlie Sexton, Angela Strehli, Lou Ann Barton and many more. It remains a vital presence in the live music scene, with its legacy and influence carried forward by the next generation of trailblazing artists including Gary Clark Jr., Kam Franklin, Jackie Venson, Eve Monsees and Kingfish. Stay tuned for the broadcast episode, which will air later this year as part of ACL’s upcoming Season 51 on PBS.
“ACL & ANTONE’S CELEBRATE THE BLUES” GUEST PERFORMERS:
- JIMMIE VAUGHAN
- SUE FOLEY
- CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM
- CHARLIE SEXTON
- BIG BILL MORGANFIELD
- LIL’ ED WILLIAMS
- GRACE BOWERS
- BOBBY RUSH
- LURRIE BELL
- BENNY TURNER
- KAM FRANKLIN
- JOHN PRIMER
ALL-STAR HOUSE BAND:
- ZACH ERNST (MUSICAL DIRECTOR & GUITAR)
- STEVE BELL (HARMONICA)
- RODD BLAND (DRUMS)
- NICK CONNOLLY (PIANO)
- JOHN DEAS (B3 ORGAN)
- LARRY FULCHER (BASS)
- AL GOMEZ (TRUMPET)
- MARK “KAZ” KAZANOFF (SAXOPHONE)
- CHRIS LAYTON (DRUMS)
- JOHN MILLS (SAXOPHONE)
- JAY MOELLER (DRUMS)
- EVE MONSEES (GUITAR)
- DEREK O’BRIEN (GUITAR)
- JOE SUBLETT (TENOR SAXOPHONE)