“This is a dream come true to finally have the honor of taping an [episode of] Austin City Limits,” said singer/songwriter Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff Tuesday night. In their debut appearance on the show, Segarra took the stage humbly, waving at the studio audience, dressed in chaps and a leather vest with a scorpion and the bold lettering of ”Colossus” on the back. Backed by a four-piece band, Segarra made the hour a dusky, nostalgic venture through Hurray’s acclaimed latest release and ninth studio album, The Past Is Still Alive, drifting through personal stories of their past and heavily influenced by the proverbial and literal “ride” life can take you on.
Hurray kicked off the set following the album sequencing with “Alibi,” “Buffalo” and “Hawkmoon,” which Segarra declared a trans song and dedicated to “Miss Jonathan, wherever you are,” a muse of theirs whom they met in their early travels as a young runaway. Next up was a trip back in time to 2022 album LIFE ON EARTH with “RHODODENDRON,” Segarra taking pause to regard the studio audience and speak about their latest album. Next up was “Dynamo,” “Snake Plant,” and “Colossus of the Roads,” which Segarra wrote for queer people and fringe communities shortly after the Club Q shooting in Colorado.
“The next song is over ten years old,” said Segarra as an introduction to “The Body Electric” off 2014 album Small Town Heroes. By the time the band arrived at “Vetiver,” “Hourglass,” and “The World is Dangerous” off the latest album, it truly felt like a journey had been taken across America, exposing its dark underbelly but at times managing to bring out flashes of silver linings laced with perspective only time can achieve. It comes as no surprise elements of the album were lifted from Segarra’s phase of cross-country train travel inspired by Woody Guthrie songs and a poet’s sensibility.
Ending the evening with an encore performance of “Ogallala,” named after a city in Nebraska, Segarra soaked in the audience’s applause, bowing deeply and once again waving with gratitude to the live audience. We sure hope Hurray for the Riff Raff’s travels bring them back through Austin again one day soon. You can catch Hurray For The Riff Raff’s Austin City Limits episode when it airs on PBS later this year as part of our anniversary Season 50.
Hurray For The Riff Raff performs on Austin City Limits, July 2, 2024. Photos by Scott Newton.
Listen to the full set list from the Austin City Limits taping below:
BAND CREDITS:
Alynda Segarra – Singer/Songwriter
Nnamdi Ogbonnaya – Bass, Backup Vocals
Parker Grogan – Guitar, Backup Vocals
Marcus Drake – Drums
Lynn Ligammari – Saxophone