Austin City Limits is proud to announce new summer tapings from a stellar slate of American originals for our golden anniversary Season 50: critically acclaimed producer/songwriter/performer Maggie Rogers returns on May 30 with songs from her new album Don’t Forget Me; celebrated singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves returns for her third headlining appearance on June 3 to showcase her acclaimed new release Deeper Well; powerhouse act The War And Treaty return to the ACL stage on June 28 for their second feature slot; and 2024 Grammy Best New Artist nominee Gracie Abrams makes her ACL debut on July 30 with new music from her upcoming sophomore album The Secret of Us.
GRAMMY® Award-nominated producer/songwriter/performer Maggie Rogers recently shared her third studio album, Don’t Forget Me, out now via Capitol Records. Rogers co-produced her new album with Ian Fitchuk (Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris) at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, writing eight of its 10 songs with him and penning two alone. Shawn Everett (Brittany Howard, The War on Drugs) mixed and the album was mastered by Emily Lazar (Beck, Coldplay), who has mastered all of Rogers’ albums to date. Praising the album’s “transcendent songwriting,” SPIN said, “with Don’t Forget Me, Rogers sounds fully confident.” Rolling Stone said, “For such a heavy emotional lift, the album is an easygoing listen, perfect for a Sunday-afternoon drive.” In this feature, The New Yorker praised the album as “the loosest and most elemental music she’s made…burly, coltish, tender, fun,” while Pitchfork declared, “the singer-songwriter’s third album is her strongest yet, the sounds of a wise, clear-eyed melodious prodigy coming into her own voice. Originally from Maryland, Rogers released her breakthrough EP Now That The Light Is Fading in 2017. Widely hailed as an artist to watch, Rogers released her critically acclaimed Capitol Records debut album Heard It In A Past Life in January 2019 and immediately found tremendous success: entering Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart at No. 1 and debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The album earned praise from the likes of NPR, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, TIME Magazine, Vogue, and many more. Heard It In A Past Life also landed Rogers a nomination for Best New Artist at the 62nd GRAMMY® Awards and led to performances on major TV shows including Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Austin City Limits, Today, and more. The album, which contains the platinum hits “Light On” and “Alaska,” has amassed over one billion combined global streams and is certified Gold in the U.S. In 2022, Rogers released her follow up album, Surrender, to widespread acclaim and embarked on two sold-out headline tours across Europe and North America including her Summer of ’23 Tour, which included stops at legendary venues like Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, Forest Hills Stadium in NYC and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Rogers kicks off her “Don’t Forget Me Tour, Part 1” May 23 at Gallagher Square at Petco Park in San Diego, CA, and will perform two nights at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado (May 27 + May 28). The “Don’t Forget Me Tour, Part II” — Rogers’ first-ever arena outing — will launch on October 9th at Moody Center in Austin, TX and include shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden (October 19) and the Kia Forum in Inglewood, CA (November 2).
Kacey Musgraves has always been a little bit magic. From the tumbling sparkle of Laurel Canyon acoustics that cascade into “Cardinal,” the swirling opener on the seven-time Grammy winner’s fifth album, Deeper Well, the metaphysical and incandescent are even more present and powerful from a woman whose songs have cast a glow on how evolved people live since her first single “Merry Go ‘Round” charmed the world over a decade ago with its hypocrisy-skewering appeal. If there’s one thing Musgraves has done across one of modern music’s most expansive and adventurous creative journeys, it’s trust her gut. Glistening folk-pop and country explorations with just enough bluegrass to spin the modern arrangements organically, she wears these songs like a second skin. For Deeper Well, the introspective writer found herself drawn to NYC’s legendary Electric Lady studio. Working with longtime co-producers Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian, the music on Deeper Well is almost chimeric: rolling acoustic guitars, puffy clouds of strings and synth, warm bass punctuations, layered harmonies, moments of Celtic melody and plenty of room on the tracks for Musgraves’ silvery vocals. On the bright, almost folky title track, the 30-something songstress surveys her life and priorities, recognizing what feeds her, drains her and even examines the Texas childhood she’s left behind on her way to now. “Sonically, I’ve been craving classic American songwriting,” she says. “Real songs. No gimmicks. The color palette of where those songs came from was everything I felt pulled to. New York is one of the places that kind of record came from. Simon & Garfunkel, the Greenwich Village clubs, fingerpicking and James Taylor. Social commentary. Storytelling. I always look for honesty in terms of the songs, and this record is no different. Unconsciously, I think that’s part of what drew us to taking our stories to New York City.” Deeply personal, universally true, Deeper Well is a coming of enlightenment song collection that embraces fear, vulnerability and the joy found beyond the doubt most sentient people wrestle. “Love is the prism,” says the sloe-eyed songwriter, “and my role in it. I make sense of the world around me by looking for balance and I’d like to think this album is for anyone who’s living life and paying attention.”
Founded in 2014 by the husband-and-wife duo Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, The War And Treaty has emerged as one of the most electrifying new acts in American music. The Nashville-based pair recently garnered their first-ever GRAMMY nominations for Best American Roots Song and the all-genre Best New Artist, along with a 2024 Duo of the Year nomination from the Academy of Country Music. This follows an exciting year of honors for the pair including their first-ever Duo of the Year nomination from the Country Music Association and nominations for this year’s CMT Music Awards for Duo/Group Video of the Year and for CMT Performance of the Year. Further recent recognition has come from the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Americana Music Association. With a lionhearted sonic blend, both roaring with passion and tender to the touch, The Tennessean notes, “they are unlike any other act in music.” The War And Treaty’s 2023 major label debut album Lover’s Game (Mercury Nashville) was met with critical praise, with the Associated Press claiming, “The colossally talented pair continue their commando, no-limits journey to the top of the music world.” Drawing respect across the board, they have gone on to appear as top-flight collaborators, including the latest “Hey Driver” with Zach Bryan. The group also just released their first new single of 2024, “Stealing A Kiss” – a seductive envelope of country soul that they are becoming well known for. The War And Treaty has captivated audiences across the globe from North America to Europe, Australia and beyond, while headlining their own shows and opening for a diverse group of living legends: Al Green, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, John Legend, Lauren Daigle, and Van Morrison among them. The War And Treaty made their ACL debut in Season 46 in 2020 during ACL’s limited audience pandemic tapings, and we are thrilled to welcome them back to light up the ACL stage, this time with a full live audience.
Gracie Abrams returns with the highly-anticipated new album, The Secret of Us, out June 21st on Interscope Records. The album’s newly-released lead single “Risk” was met with an outgoing of support and excitement from fans online as well as raves from Rolling Stone, Billboard, Nylon and more. The 24-year-old songwriter co-wrote the bubbly yet incisive new track with longtime friend Audrey Hobert and took a hands-on role producing the new single alongside her friend and frequent collaborator, the National’s Aaron Dessner. The Secret of Us will come nearly a year since her debut album, Good Riddance, which Gracie released in February 2023 and Rolling Stone hailed “one of 2023’s Best Debuts.” Good Riddance earned Gracie her first ever Grammy nod at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards with a nomination for the highly coveted Best New Artist. Since making her debut in 2019, Gracie Abrams has emerged as one of the most compelling singer-songwriters of her generation, earning the admiration of such like minded artists as Taylor Swift, Lorde, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo. A consummate songwriter who names Joni Mitchell as her most formative influence, she penned her first song at age eight, then went on to amass a devoted following on the strength of her emotionally intimate lyrics and DIY sensibilities. With the arrival of her breakout debut project minor in summer 2020, she received glowing reviews from the likes of NME, who praised her “painfully honest tales of heartbreak draped in delicate melodies that carry much more intrigue than the usual run-of-the-mill singer-songwriter.” The seven-song effort features her beloved singles “21,” “I miss you, I’m sorry,” and “Long Sleeves.” In late 2021, Abrams returned with This Is What It Feels Like, a 12-track project exploring such complex emotional experiences as self-betrayal, insecurity, and failed attempts at connection. Soon after completing her sold-out North American headline tour for This Is What It Feels Like, she set to work on her debut album. Abrams kicked off 2022 with a headline tour of North America followed by a support slot on Olivia Rodrigo’s tour and reconnected with Dessner to release two songs “Block me out” and “Difficult.” In early 2023, Abrams released her debut album, Good Riddance, followed by a North American headline tour that sold out in under one hour. Gracie toured with Taylor Swift as the opening on select dates of her blockbuster Eras Tour and will continue as direct support when the Eras Tour returns to North America later this year.
We’re excited to welcome these stellar acts to the ACL stage for our milestone 50th season. Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes a week in advance of each taping. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for notice of postings. The broadcast episodes will air on PBS this fall as part of our anniversary Season 50.