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Episode Recap Featured News

Episode premiere: Parker McCollum/Robert Earl Keen

Parker McCollum performs on Austin City Limits in 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

Austin City Limits presents a spectacular hour of country music, Texas-style, featuring rising star Parker McCollum and legendary singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen. McCollum makes his ACL debut with songs from 2021’s Gold Chain Cowboy; and, in a special appearance, ACL veteran and Americana great Robert Earl Keen, who recently retired from touring, returns for a triumphant final bow showcasing beloved classics from his four-decade career. The new Season 48 installment premieres October 29 at 8pm CT/9pm ET. The program, recorded live at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas, continues its extraordinary run as the longest-running music television show in history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for 48 years as the music institution nears a remarkable half-century milestone. ACL airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings) and full episodes are made available to stream online at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast.  

Breakout country artist Parker McCollum is having a big year: he scored a best-selling album with his major label debut, Gold Chain Cowboy, won New Male Artist of the Year at the ACM Awards and received a coveted nomination for New Artist of the Year at this year’s upcoming CMA Awards. Raised in the East Texas town of Conroe, the charismatic performer wears his Lone Star roots proudly on his sleeve, and performs Gold Chain Cowboy highlights, including the album’s double-platinum single “Pretty Heart,” and the fan-favorite “To Be Loved By You.” With a smile as wide as Texas, McCollum thrills the crowd with a pair of new songs, “Handle on You,” and “Stoned,” then closes with the heartfelt power ballad “I Can’t Breathe.”

Robert Earl Keen during his final taping for Austin City Limits in 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

A true Texas original, Robert Earl Keen first appeared on the ACL stage in 1989 as part of a Texas showcase. One of the Lone Star state’s most beloved songwriters and performers, the Houston native returns for his seventh appearance, accompanied by his longtime band and joined, for this occasion, by a special guest, pedal steel guitarist Lloyd Maines. A road warrior who has easily played over 180 dates in any given year, appearing at roadhouses, dance halls, theaters and fairgrounds, Keen caps his remarkable musical journey with this ACL swan song as he retires from live performance. He delivers gems from across his legendary career in an emotional set, opening with early highlights “Feelin’ Good Again” and “Gringo Honeymoon.” For the bittersweet send-off, Keen begins with his “I’m Comin’ Home,” which evolves into a full audience singalong; he then notes “You can take this one with ya,” before wrapping up with “I Gotta Go,” after which he sets down his guitar, tips his hat and waves goodbye to the emotional crowd.

“A Texas Country music legend meets the new face (and voice) of Texas Country music  today,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Both Robert Earl Keen and Parker McCollum are part of a long tradition of singer-songwriters, with their own take on what makes Texas Country different.”

Parker McCollum setlist:

TO BE LOVED BY YOU 

HANDLE ON YOU 

STONED 

HELL OF A YEAR 

PRETTY HEART 

I CAN’T BREATHE

Robert Earl Keen setlist;

FEELIN’ GOOD AGAIN

GRINGO HONEYMOON

SHADES OF GRAY

I’M COMIN’ HOME

I GOTTA GO

Season 48 Broadcast Line-up (first half of season)

October 1 Brandi Carlile

October 8 Japanese Breakfast/Arlo Parks

October 15 Sylvan Esso/Lucius

October 22 Allison Russell/The Weather Station

October 29 Parker McCollum/Robert Earl Keen

November 5 Lyle Lovett and His Large Band

November 12 Cimafunk and The Tribe

Watch live, stream anytime, The complete line-up for the full 14-week season, including seven new episodes to air beginning January 2023, will be announced at a later date.  Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding live streams, future tapings and episode schedules or by following ACL on Facebook, Twitter and IG. Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews.

Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits (ACL) offers viewers unparalleled access to featured acts in an intimate setting that provides a platform for artists to deliver inspired, memorable, full-length performances. Now in its 48th Season, the program is taped live before a concert audience from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in television history and remains the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. Since its inception, the groundbreaking music series has become an institution that’s helped secure Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The historic Austin PBS Studio 6A, home to 36 years of ACL concerts, has been designated an official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark. In 2011, ACL moved to the new venue ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. ACL received a rare institutional Peabody Award for excellence and outstanding achievement in 2012.  

Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, Workrise, the Austin Convention Center Department, Cirrus Logic and AXS Ticketing. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.

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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Spoon

Spoon on Austin City Limits, Oct. 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

The deans of Austin alternative rock for over twenty-five years, Spoon hit another milestone in their impressive career: hitting the ACL stage for the fifth time. It may not seem like it, what with the Willies and Haggards and Lyles and Asleep at the Wheels, but the number of artists who visit that many times or more is pretty small. That it’s a band from our hometown makes it even more special – especially a band that’s hitting a new peak in its own career. The quintet’s tenth album Lucifer On the Sofa is one of their most acclaimed, and its songs formed the heart of their taping. 

Driven by Jim Eno’s pounding kit, Spoon kicked off the show with the hard-rocking “Held,” the powerhouse opener from Sofa. Leader Britt Daniel’s famed pop sense took hold on follow-up “Feels Alright,” without losing the rock & roll fervor. Spoon next looked back a few years to their breakthrough Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga for “Don’t You Evah,” a choice that earned immediate cheers, before moving on to Transference for the brow-furrowing rock tune “The Mystery Zone.” Daniel took a moment to reminisce about the free beer that was available at tapings in the pre-Moody Theater days before digging into the grooving boogie of “The Hardest Cut,” on which the band essayed their own take on old school classic rock. Daniel and company then reached all the way back to 1998 for the popwise “Metal Detektor,” wasting no time before moving into the blazing, beat-heavy “Got Nuffin.” 

Three saxophonists and a trombonist then joined Spoon onstage for the chunky rock of “The Devil & Mr. Jones” and the melody-rich title track to the new album, with splashes of reverb splitting the difference between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The horns stayed with the band for a spirited zip through the ultra-catchy “The Underdog,” which, as Spoon’s breakthrough radio hit, garnered the loudest, longest cheers yet. As the horn section exited the stage, Daniel kept the acoustic guitar he’d donned for “Underdog” and solicited requests, ending on the vibrant pop of “My Babe,” which just happened to be the next song on the setlist. “Inside Out” followed, its keyboard-heavy pop featuring Daniel singing on his back on the stage in one of his rare turns without a guitar – at least until the song’s outro. Back to his trusty Telecaster, Daniel ended the main set with the dynamic, danceable “Wild,” driving the audience, yes, wild. 

Given the fans’ enthusiasm, Spoon had to come back for more. Keyboardist/guitarist Gerardo Larios arrived first, starting with a familiar piano melody, drawing out Daniel and the rest of the band for an impassioned performance of John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band standout “Isolation.” “Do us a favor,” Daniel said after finishing, “act like we’re the Who for a second.” Then he led the band into “Utilitarian,” a song from the band’s second LP A Series of Sneaks. After a brief false start, Daniel and crew then took us to Gimme Fiction for the dramatic “My Mathematical Mind,” which built into a frenzy of noise rock and flashing strobes. Despite the Big Rock Ending, Eno went straight into the bashing garage rock of “Rent I Pay,” with a second BRE, and a crowd of fans proclaiming their appreciation for as loud and as long as possible. It was a great show, possibly our best Spoon taping yet, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs early next year on your local PBS station as part of our Season 48. 

Spoon tapes Austin City Limits, Oct. 19, 2022. Photos by Scott Newton.

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Episode Recap Featured News

Episode premiere: Allison Russell/The Weather Station

Allison Russell and band tape Austin City Limits, May 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

Austin City Limits showcases a pair of breakthrough Canadian singer-songwriters: Montreal native Allison Russell shares the hour with The Weather Station, the performance name of Toronto’s indie-folk singer/songwriter  Tamara Lindeman. Russell makes her show debut with a radiant set featuring songs from her 2022 Grammy-nominated solo debut album Outside Child; while The Weather Station presents a hypnotic set highlighting selections from Ignorance, an album that topped many 2021 year-end-best-of lists. The new Season 48 installment premieres October 22 at 8pm CT/9pm ET. The program, recorded live at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas, continues its extraordinary run as the longest-running music television show in history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for 48 years as the music institution nears a remarkable half-century milestone. ACL airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings) and full episodes are made available to stream online at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast. 

After years of collaborations with like-minded artists, Allison Russell released her debut solo effort Outside Child to much critical acclaim, earning a trio of 2022 Grammy nominations, including Best Americana Album; it was recently named 2022 Album of the Year by the Americana Music Association. The starkly beautiful breakthrough deals with the abuse Russell suffered as a child and her subsequent survival. Now based in Nashville, the singer/songwriter and multi instrumentalist begins a magnetic set with the folk rocker “The Runner,” joined by a six-piece all-female band; the number soars with exquisite backing vocals and strings. She picks up her banjo for the powerful “All of the Women,” an attempt to find survivor’s joy despite continued societal injustices and senseless tragedy. “We believe that music, shared like this, is creative communion, an essential service that helps build up our empathy,” Russell tells the crowd. A co-founder of the supergroup Our Native Daughters, Russell closes with the stunner “You’re Not Alone,” from the 2019 album Songs of Our Native Daughters. 

Tamara Lindeman and her band The Weather Station perform on Austin City Limits, 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

Tamara Lindeman, leader of the Toronto outfit The Weather Station, has earned critical acclaim for the thoughtful, soulful songcraft showcased on her 2021 breakthrough Ignorance, a commentary on climate change issues. Ignorance was named a Top 10 Album of 2021 by Pitchfork, The New Yorker, Spin, New York Times, Uncut, The Guardian, and several others. In a captivating set centered on the album and accompanied by her five-piece band, Lindeman opens kneeling for the riveting single “Robber,” as the tempo and urgency increase, amplified by saxophone and keyboards for dramatic, atmospheric effect. The musically inventive performance draws from elements of jazz, folk and indie-rock. A highlight is the mesmerizing “Stars,” the main track from her stripped-down companion album, 2022’s How Is It That I Should Look At the Stars. Backed only by keyboards, Lindeman’s voice rings out with pure grace, with the crowd remaining intensely hushed for the entire song. 

“No artist can sing or express a song better than the writer, and Allison and Tamara are living proof of that,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Their emotional evocations cover the deeply personal to the global, and their songs resonate with meaning as we try to navigate the world around us.”

Allison Russell:

THE RUNNER

ALL OF THE WOMEN

POISON ARROW

YOU’RE NOT ALONE

The Weather Station:

ROBBER

ATLANTIC

PARKING LOT

STARS

TRIED TO TELL YOU

BETTER NOW

Season 48 Broadcast Line-up (first half of season)

October 1 Brandi Carlile

October 8 Japanese Breakfast/Arlo Parks

October 15 Sylvan Esso/Lucius

October 22 Allison Russell/The Weather Station

October 29 Parker McCollum/Robert Earl Keen

November 5 Lyle Lovett and His Large Band

November 12 Cimafunk and The Tribe

Watch live, stream anytime, The complete line-up for the full 14-week season, including seven new episodes to air beginning January 2023, will be announced at a later date.  Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding live streams, future tapings and episode schedules or by following ACL on Facebook, Twitter and IG. Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews.

Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits (ACL) offers viewers unparalleled access to featured acts in an intimate setting that provides a platform for artists to deliver inspired, memorable, full-length performances. Now in its 48th Season, the program is taped live before a concert audience from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in television history and remains the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. Since its inception, the groundbreaking music series has become an institution that’s helped secure Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The historic Austin PBS Studio 6A, home to 36 years of ACL concerts, has been designated an official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark. In 2011, ACL moved to the new venue ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. ACL received a rare institutional Peabody Award for excellence and outstanding achievement in 2012.  
Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, Workrise, the Austin Convention Center Department, Cirrus Logic and AXS Ticketing. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.

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Featured Hall of Fame News

ACL Hall of Fame 2022 adds new talent for next week’s ceremony

Austin City Limits proudly announces additional guest performers for the 2022 ACL Hall of Fame Inductions & Celebration on October 27. Acclaimed act Lucius and country legend Rodney Crowell will join the previously announced line-up of music luminaries slated to perform: Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Brittney Spencer, Marcia Ball, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock. We regret to announce that Mavis Staples will no longer be appearing at this event due to unforeseen circumstances. The all-star line-up will salute a pair of American originals—superstar singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow and legendary Texas music pioneer Joe Ely—with one-of-a-kind music performances and tributes as they are inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame. The star-studded ceremony takes place on Thursday, October 27th, 2022 at ACL’s studio home, ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Musical highlights and inductions from the celebration will air as a special Austin City Limits on January 7, 2023 on PBS.  

All-star guests will handle induction honors on this epic night: Americana great and six-time Grammy Award winner Brandi Carlile will induct nine-time Grammy Award winner Sheryl Crow and perform in tribute along with celebrated songwriter Jason Isbell, power vocalists Lucius and country breakout Brittney Spencer. Texas music legend Joe Ely will be inducted by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright along with a musical salute featuring revered Lone Star musicians: Ely’s longtime collaborators in Texas supergroup The Flatlanders, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, will salute the pioneer; joining the musical tribute are country music trailblazer Rodney Crowell and blues legend and ACL Hall of Famer Marcia Ball. Inductees Sheryl Crow and Joe Ely will perform at the celebration. 

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 now at acltv.com/hall-of-fame. All proceeds benefit Austin PBS.

The eighth class of inductees features two iconic acts: Celebrated singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow has made two classic hourlong appearances on ACL in her remarkable three-decade career, starting with her debut on Season 22 in 1997 and returning in 2004. She also co-hosted ACL’s 40th anniversary special in 2014, the same year the Hall of Fame was established. An icon of Texas music, Joe Ely has made 11 appearances on ACL: including as a headliner five times beginning with his 1980 ACL debut in Season 5; also joining Los Super 7 in 1999, Texas supergroup The Flatlanders in 2002, and a Songwriters Special with Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt and Guy Clark in 2008. The influential artist has made guest appearances with multiple acts, including Kevin Welch in 1992, Ryan Bingham in 2009 and joined Steve Earle and the Dukes in 2019 for a tribute to Guy Clark.

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 seven 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. The seventh annual Hall of Fame in 2021 welcomed Lucinda Williams, Wilco and Alejandro Escovedo to its ranks. 

Austin City Limits and the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame are produced by Austin PBS. Austin PBS is a non-profit organization providing public television and educational resources to Central Texas as well as producing quality national programming. 

Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits (ACL) offers viewers unparalleled access to featured acts in an intimate setting that provides a platform for artists to deliver inspired, memorable, full-length performances. Now in its 48th Season, the program is taped live before a concert audience from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in television history and remains the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. Since its inception, the groundbreaking music series has become an institution that’s helped secure Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The historic Austin PBS Studio 6A, home to 36 years of ACL concerts, has been designated an official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark. In 2011, ACL moved to the new venue ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. ACL received a rare institutional Peabody Award for excellence and outstanding achievement in 2012.  

Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, Workrise, the Austin Convention Center Department and Cirrus Logic. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.

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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: The War on Drugs

The War on Drugs on Austin City Limits, 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

The War on Drugs is one of those bands whose music sounds familiar, yet contemporary, all at once. Led by singer/guitarist Adam Granduciel, the Philadelphia outfit has deftly blended gritty heartland rock with motorik-influence rhythms and sparkling analogue synthesizers on a series of beloved albums, culminating in 2017’s Grammy-winning A Deeper Understanding and last year’s highly acclaimed I Don’t Live Here Anymore. Following their first appearance on Austin City Limits back in 2015, TWOD returned to our stage with a seasoned live show that drew heavily from those albums.  

Taking the stage to enthusiastic applause, the band opened with IDLHA‘s “Old Skin,” a lush ballad that evolved into a dynamic rock anthem, its heart on its glistening sleeve. The septet followed with the more overtly rocking “Pain,” a cut from Deeper that perfectly highlights their ability to blend bright melodies with brooding synth textures and uplifting Granduciel guitar solos. For “An Ocean in Between Us,” drummer Charlie Hall leaned hard on the vibrant repetition of the motorik beat, laying down a skittering propulsion for the band to ride – one painted by near-ambient baritone sax moans from keyboardist Jon Natchez and an especially powerful Granduciel solo. The song melted into a haze of synth washes, which resolved into the gentle waves of “I Don’t Wanna Wait,” one of IDLHA’s most bluntly emotional tunes. “We’re honored to be here,” noted the bandleader as the group went into the beat-driven rock of “Victim.” 

As the band set up for “Strangest Thing,” Granduciel mentioned that the tour began in Austin, and was ending with this ACL performance (which explained both the ultra tight performance and the giddy energy). So he dedicated the evening to TWOD’s hard-working crew, who made their presence felt with a dramatic light show near the end of the atmospheric ballad. Granduciel then led the band into one of their most representative songs: “Harmonia’s Dream,” combining the sparkling synthesizers and vocoder-style vocals implied by the title’s citing the eponymous pioneering electronic band, with the acoustic guitar and soaring melodies of the heartland rock that they love equally. The fingerpicked guitar of Anthony LaMarca and the beautiful piano riffs of keyboardist Robbie Bennett heralded the arrival of “Living Proof,” another of IDLHA’s most earnest emotional explorations, TWOD kept that vibe going with the dreamier, but still affecting, “Occasional Rain.” As a familiar synth ‘n’ guitar intro of “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” began, the crowd began to cheer – Granduciel used the good will to introduce the band (including keyboardist/guitarist/harmony vocalist Eliza Hardy Jones, who had the unenviable task of subbing for Lucius), before diving into a magnificent performance of what has probably become the band’s signature song. The audience made its appreciation known loudly.

“Thinking of a Place” indulged in more lush textures, with guitarist LaMarca providing subtle slide, keyboardists Bennett and Natchez layering on the ear candy, and Granduciel cutting through with an industrial strength Jazzmaster solo. “Thanks for having us on the legendary Austin City Limits,” Granduciel remarked. “Growing up without cable TV, this is one of the only things I grew up watching.” Following a brief tech fix, a wave of heavenly synthesizers essayed the beginning of “In Chains,” a tune that deftly mixed shimmering dreampop and anthemic rock that earned ardent huzzahs. Granduciel donned an acoustic guitar for the first time this evening for the lovely ballad “Rings Around My Father’s Eyes,” in honor of his dad’s ninetieth birthday. The War on Drugs ended their set with “Under the Pressure,” the epic lighter-waving opener from their breakthrough LP, 2014’s Lost in the Dream. The song ended in walls of tremelo, looped feedback and electronics, the audience going wild with their hands in the air. It was incredible end to an incredible show, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it broadcasts this winter on your local PBS station as part of our Season 48. 

The War on Drugs tape Austin City Limits, October 16, 2022. Photos by Scott Newton.

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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Episode premiere: Sylvan Esso and Lucius

Sylvan Esso on Austin City Limits, 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

Austin City Limits returns with an entertaining hour you can dance to, featuring two different dynamic duos: electro-pop stars Sylvan Esso along with the versatile vocal powerhouses known as Lucius. Sylvan Esso present songs from their 2022 album No Rules Sandy and their Grammy-nominated Free Love; Lucius perform numbers from their recent album Second Nature alongside career highlights. The new Season 48 installment premieres October 15 at 8pm CT/9pm ET. The program, recorded live at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas, continues its extraordinary run as the longest-running music television show in history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for 48 years as the music institution nears a remarkable half-century milestone. ACL airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings) and full episodes are made available to stream online at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast.

Durham, North Carolina-based electronica duo Sylvan Esso, composed of singer/lyricist Amelia Meath and keyboardist/producer Nick Sanborn, make their ACL debut performing songs from their new album No Rules Sandy as well as favorites from 2020’s Free Love and 2017’s What Now, both of which received Grammy nominations for Best Dance/Electronic Music album. The pair create rapturous sounds with 21st century sensibilities, as Meath sings the irresistible hooks with a playful magnetism. Opening with two songs from their acclaimed Free Love, the duo shine on their pop-groove hit “Ferris Wheel.” They perform a suite of songs from the experimental No Rules Sandy, a platform for partner Sanborn’s animated manipulation of his electronics, triggering beats and sounds in the moment, even remixing Meath’s vocals live on the buoyant “Look At Me.”

Lucius on Austin City Limits, 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

Los Angeles-via-Brooklyn indie act Lucius’ versatility is on full display with their fourth album, 2022’s acclaimed Second Nature, as they shape-shift through synth-pop, country, melodic folk and dance-groove funk. Produced by pals Brandi Carlile and Dave Cobb, the album was made for joyful dancing through life’s unpredictable tangents — which has always been Lucius’s sunny mission in their decade-long career. Lucius leaders Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig deliver a highly stylized visual presentation that’s as much a part of their identity as their sound, sporting matching green ensembles and identical hair styles. Accompanied by a four-piece band, they open with a pair of highlights from Second Nature, first donning blinged out keytars and synchronized stage moves for the discofied “Next to Normal,” then stunning a rapt crowd with their entwined vocals on “The Man I’ll Never Find.” Wolfe and Laessig thrill with the early career gem “Dusty Trails” as they unite their soaring sopranos in perfect harmony, stepping back from the mic to sing in a capella glory. They close with highlights from 2013’s Wildewoman, the album that first brought them to wide attention. The duo stroll into the audience for a powerfully intimate moment on “Two of Us On the Run,” a tribute to their friendship and collaboration, for a shimmering set-closer.

“Both Sylvan Esso and Lucius represent what musical female empowerment is all about in the 2020’s,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Amelia, Holly and Jess write and sing about all the raw emotions of life, from darkness to light, sadness to joy, and ACL captures their electric live shows. You won’t be able to sit still for this hour!”

Sylvan Esso

WHAT IF

FERRIS WHEEL

DIE YOUNG

SUNBURN

LOOK AT ME

SOUND

COFFEE

ECHO PARTY

Lucius

NEXT TO NORMAL

THE MAN I’LL NEVER FIND

DUSTY TRAILS

TEMPEST

TWO OF US ON THE RUN

Season 48 Broadcast Line-up (first half of season)

October 1 Brandi Carlile

October 8 Japanese Breakfast/Arlo Parks

October 15 Sylvan Esso/Lucius

October 22 Allison Russell/The Weather Station

October 29 Parker McCollum/Robert Earl Keen

November 5 Lyle Lovett and His Large Band

November 12 Cimafunk and The Tribe

Watch live, stream anytime, The complete line-up for the full 14-week season, including seven new episodes to air beginning January 2023, will be announced at a later date.  Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding live streams, future tapings and episode schedules or by following ACL on Facebook, Twitter and IG. Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews.

Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits (ACL) offers viewers unparalleled access to featured acts in an intimate setting that provides a platform for artists to deliver inspired, memorable, full-length performances. Now in its 48th Season, the program is taped live before a concert audience from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in television history and remains the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. Since its inception, the groundbreaking music series has become an institution that’s helped secure Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The historic Austin PBS Studio 6A, home to 36 years of ACL concerts, has been designated an official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark. In 2011, ACL moved to the new venue ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. ACL received a rare institutional Peabody Award for excellence and outstanding achievement in 2012.  

Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, Workrise, the Austin Convention Center Department, Cirrus Logic and AXS Ticketing. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.