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Encore Broadcast News

Encore: Steve Miller Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band

We love to present new music and show off current artists hitting their prime. But we’re happy to honor the veterans and the lifers – the folks whose work has stood the test of time. In that light, we welcome Steve Miller Band and Preservation Hall Jazz Band to the ACL stage this weekend.

Steve Miller Band need no introduction – lauded rock guitarist Steve Miller and his various partners-in-crime have been knocking around since the late 60s, leaving a string of indelible hits in their wake. Remember “Abracadabra?” “Fly Like An Eagle?” “Space Cowboy?” Of course you do, and you’ll hear them all on Saturday in front of an enthusiastic crowd in what was the very first taping of ACL at the Moody Theater.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band has been around even longer than Miller – the group’s genesis coincides with the founding of the Hall itself back in 1961, and the style of New Orleans jazz the band plays goes back even further than that. History lives on in PHJB’s performances. But don’t think that means that the group is preserved in amber. Joining the band onstage are Yim Yames from My Morning Jacket, James Petralli from White Denim and the ever-elegant Del McCoury Band to add their inimitable contemporary mojo. Once you hear “St. James Infirmary” sung by a high-voiced indie rock frontdude, you’ll realize it’s what you’ve always wanted.

photo by Scott Newton

Tune in this Saturday for your classic rock ‘n’ jazz fix – as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Toggle over to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages for more ACL goodies. Next week: Rosanne Cash and Brandi Carlile.

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Encore Broadcast News

Encore: The National & Band of Horses

This Saturday’s encore episode of Austin City Limits features two of indie rock’s best and brightest: the National and Band of Horses.

The National’s brooding bombast is at a peak when they hit the ACL stage in support of their acclaimed record High Violet. Few bands come equipped with songs like “Bloodbuzz Ohio” and “Terrible Love” that can bring you down and to your feet at the same time. But the National prove its mastery of that mystical balancing act in this powerful performance.

By contrast Band of Horses revels in its folk-rocking nice guyitude. The outfit’s mix of easygoing melodies and classic rock hooks is in full effect on “Ode to LRC,” “Marry Song” and “The Funeral.” With this show there’s no wonder as to why this particular group of equines are festival and radio favorites.

photo by Scott Newton

Tune in this Saturday to see and hear for yourself. Go here for info, and don’t forget to keep on keepin’ up with ACL TV on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Next week: the Steve Miller Band and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

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Featured News Taping Announcement

June taping announcements: Bonnie Raitt, Dr. Dog and Mavis Staples

June may be vacation time for most folks, but here at Austin City Limits we’re happy to come to work. Why? Because we have not one, not two but three great artists visiting us: Dr. Dog on June 25 and Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples on June 27.

Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Dog has had the virtue of developing far away from the music industry. Grown organically through practice and experimentation, the band’s quirky, catchy pop draws equally from the psychedelic 60s and the indie rock 00s. Dr. Dog earned its national break in 2004 after going on the road with ACL veterans My Morning Jacket. The band has since become a well-traveled touring outfit, releasing half a dozen albums and appearing on the late night TV shows of David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien and Craig Ferguson. Armed with its acclaimed seventh LP Be the Void, Dr. Dog records their first episode of Austin City Limits on June 25.

Bonnie Raitt needs no introduction to ACL fans, having appeared on the show twice before, in Seasons 9 and 28.  The veteran musician’s remarkable talents are back in the public eye this year with Slipstream, the first release on her own Redwing Records label and her first since 2005’s Souls Alike. NPR praised Slipstream as “vital and fresh… beautiful,” Rolling Stone gave it a 4-star review, and Entertainment Weekly wrote “Superb… she slips her purring voice into every song like a letter going into an envelope addressed just to you.” The album debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200, marking the nine time Grammy-winner’s highest charting album and best sales week in nearly two decades. We welcome Bonnie Raitt back to the ACL stage on June 27.

But Ms. Raitt is not coming alone. Joining her will be gospel/R&B legend Mavis Staples. The Chicago native began her career in 1950 with the Staple Singers, who became one of the most successful family gospel bands in America with pop hits “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There.” The Staple Singers represented the musical voice of the Civil Rights movement due in part to their friendship with Martin Luther King and also to their willingness to record material as topical as it was inspirational. Mavis first tested the solo waters in the late 60s, recording sporadically for the next 40 years. Currently signed to hip label Anti-, Mavis is still riding high on the success of 2010’s You’re Not Alone, produced by pal Jeff Tweedy from Wilco. Now she’s bringing her venerated pipes, whose “otherworldly power comes…from a masterful command of phrasing and deep-seated sensuality” (All Music), to the Moody Theater for her Austin City Limits debut.

Stay with us on Facebook, Twitter and this very blog for more news about upcoming tapings, and check out our Tumblr page for blasts from the past.

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News Taping Recap

tUnE-yArDs: a show unlike any other

Some musical artists get known for jumping on trendy bandwagons. Other artists do it by revitalizing a familiar style, or simply doing it really, really well. But a few, a very few, garner attention by doing something no one else is doing, and sounding like no one but themselves. Tonight’s performance by tUnE-yArDs made it clear to which category Merrill Garbus belongs. With a bassist and two sax players joining Garbus’ frontline of drums, amplified ukelele and looping technology, tUnE-yArDs put on a show unlike any other.

Garbus opened with a storm of looped voices and beats from her snare and floor tom.  Joined first by the bassist and then by the sax players, she launched into “Party Can,” a bonus track on the Japanese version of tUnE-yArDs’ hit album w h o k i l l. They followed with a bit of free jazz sax skronk before going into “Gangsta,” one of tUnE-yArDs’ most accessible tunes. “Es-So” was next, as Garbus looped a hip-hop beat out of her drums, layered some wailing vocals and then chopped out some jagged chords on her uke. Add an almost poppy vocal melody to the polyrhythmic tapestry and it’s the tUnE-yArDs sound in a nutshell.

tUnE-yArDs © KLRU photo by Scott Newton

While the group may have a form, it certainly wasn’t formula, as every song sounded different than the one prior. From the Latin-tinged percussion of “Riotriot” and the African vocal melody of “Bizness to the dub ukelele and big-band sax lines of “Killa,” tUnE-yArDs showed an amazing facility to lift bits and pieces from different cultures and genres, and fit them all together like an intricate but smoothly constructed puzzle. It sounds like a worn cliche, but it’s true – tUnE-yArDs truly sounds like no one you’ve heard before, and we’re thrilled to showcase such a unique artist. “I love Merrill Garbus’ power and fearlessness,” tweeted ACL producer TheOtherLeslie. “And her sense of fun. Above all a tUnE-yArDs show is a damn good time.”

tUnE-yArDs © KLRU photo by Scott Newton

Be sure and keep up with all ACL TV goings-on on our site, Facebook and Twitter pages. Check out some pics of the past on our Tumblr page.

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Featured News

Doc Watson R.I.P.

Austin City Limits was saddened to learn last night of the passing of the great Doc Watson. Fluent in so many musical languages – folk, blues, country, bluegrass, rockabilly, gospel – the legendary singer/guitarist had an almost incalculable influence on American music. His work  affected,  in some way, everyone who ever picked up a guitar and dug deep into this country’s musical heritage.

Watson graced the ACL stage only once, in Season 3, though he was also one of the many artists to appear in the special ACL Presents: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. The wayfaring pilgrim has found his way home at last, and we mourn the loss of a musical titan. May he rest in peace.

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Encore Broadcast News

Encore: Mumford & Sons/Flogging Molly

Folk rock has a long and glorious history and this weekend, we present a pair of contemporary music’s best folk rock practitioners, as we present an encore broadcast of Mumford & Sons and Flogging Molly.

Riding high on its wave of success from the bestselling Sigh No More, Mumford & Sons dazzles with fan favorites “The Cave” and “Roll Away Your Stone” and, poignant ballads “Timshel” and “Awake My Soul.” Iif you’re a super fan, you’re in for a special treat with “Lover of Light,” a previously unrecorded track. The energy on the night of the taping vibrated the walls, and it translates directly to the screen.

Speaking of energy, Flogging Molly comes next. The band storms the stage with tuneful melodies and puts on a magnificent show with their unique brand of Celtic folk/punk. We hope you tune in to enjoy lively renditions of “Requiem For A Dying Song,” “Tobacco Island,” “Devil’s Dance Floor,” and “Likes of You Again.” Bandleader Dave King called their ACL taping “the most important live performance they’ve ever done” – hard to say if that’s true, but this show makes a strong case.

photo by Scott Newton

You can find more details on the episode page. Don’t forget that you can hit up our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages for more ACL TV information. Next week: The National and Band of Horses.