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Featured News Taping Announcement

New taping: Lyle Lovett and His Large Band 8/24

Lyle Lovett. Photo by Michael Wilson.

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce the long-awaited return of a favorite Texas son on August 24th—singer, songwriter and ACL Hall of Fame legend Lyle Lovett—appearing with his iconic Large band to showcase 12th of June, his first new album in ten years.  

Lovett first appeared on ACL in 1985, and has notably appeared on the series more times than any act with the exception of Willie Nelson. He returns for his ninth headlining appearance on the ACL stage, after having been memorably inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2019 by actor Sean Penn. The highly-anticipated 12th of June, produced by Chuck Ainlay and Lovett, is his first for new label Verve Records and features a mix of new originals, including the singles “12th of June” and “Pants Is Overrated,” standards by Nat King Cole and Dave Frishberg, and a Horace Silver instrumental, representing Lovett’s dynamic live performances with his Large Band. Coupled with his gift for storytelling, the new album continues to highlight Lovett’s ability to fuse elements of jazz, country, western swing, folk, gospel and blues in a convention-defying manner that breaks down barriers.

When Lyle Lovett introduces his band, he makes a point to cite the place each artist calls home. Home—both a physical space and a metaphorical concept that includes people, space and time—plays formidably into Lovett’s new album 12th of June. His first new recording in a decade tells the stories of specific people in specific places, some operating on a different plane. And while he’s sung about cowboys and creeps, bird-snarfing preachers and the guy who reads a newspaper over your shoulder, a sense of place is as important as the people who populate his songs. “My songs are rarely fiction,” he says. “That’s how I approach my work. My songs are from my life. I am the character in these songs. I get to spend my life for the most part doing a job where I get to be myself.” That has been a guiding principle for Lovett even before he announced his arrival with Lyle Lovett more than 35 years ago. Having studied journalism in college, he sharply draws his who and where. A sense of home and place have proven the base of operations for him to imagine a set of characters to operate. Lovett’s discography isn’t like a Robert Altman film. It’s like an Altman filmography, a collection of true fictions, akin to the happenings in the Yoknapatawpha of Faulkner or the Dublin of Joyce. Like a paper boat set loose in the San Jacinto, 12th of June—the album—cuts a smooth and distinctive path, bobbing through life and death and food, contemplation and humor – signatures that have informed Lovett’s songbook since he started writing songs in his native Klein, Texas, and in College Station, where he attended Texas A&M in the 1970s. He learned from writers who appreciated character, setting, and economy of language. They did it all with ample melody, too.  “This album reflects the music I grew up around,” he says. “My music is like me: I live on land that belonged to my grandfather. I live next door to my mother. I think the music reflects where I’m from and who I am.”

Lyle Lovett has broadened the definition of American music in a career that spans 14 albums. Whether touring with his Acoustic Group or his Large Band, Lovett’s live performances show not only the breadth of this Texas legend’s deep talents, but also the diversity of his influences, making him one of the most compelling and captivating musicians in popular music. Since his self-titled debut in 1986, Lovett has evolved into one of music’s most vibrant and iconic performers. Among his many accolades, including four Grammy Awards, he was given the Americana Music Association’s inaugural Trailblazer Award, was named Texas State Musician and is a member of both the Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Association Hall of Fame and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Lovett made his ACL debut in 1985 as a member of Nanci Griffith’s backing band and he’s made eight headlining appearances: 1987, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2004 and the final taping in ACL’s original Studio 6A in 2011.  He’s appeared on two Songwriters Specials in 1994 and 2008, and in tributes to Walter Hyatt in 1997 and Townes Van Zandt in 1998, and as a featured guest of Leo Kottke in 1988, Delbert McClinton in 1997 and Shawn Colvin in 2001.  Lovett was handpicked by his longtime friend Willie Nelson to perform at his own induction into the inaugural ACL Hall of Fame in 2014. Lovett was inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2019. We’re thrilled to welcome him back to our stage.

Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes as we get a week out from each date. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for notice of postings. The broadcast episode will air this fall on PBS as part of our upcoming Season 48.

Please look for safety updates regarding entry to Austin City Limits tapings. Austin PBS will continue to monitor local COVID-19 trends and will meet or exceed protocols mandated by local governments.

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Featured Live Stream News

Live stream: Lucius

Austin City Limits is happy to announce we will be live streaming the debut appearance of beloved indie pop stars Lucius on July 17 at 8 pm CT. ACL offers fans worldwide the unique opportunity to watch this taping here in its entirety on our ACLTV YouTube Channel. The broadcast episode will air this fall on PBS as part of our upcoming Season 48.  

Acclaimed indie pop band Lucius are in the midst of a landmark year with the release of their widely acclaimed new album, Second Nature, out now via Mom + Pop. Produced by Dave Cobb and Brandi Carlile, the record is a portrait of singer and songwriters Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe’s shared reflection, chronicling each other’s seismic life shifts—motherhood, divorce, unplanned career pauses—and setting it to music. “It is a record that begs you not to sit in the difficult moments, but to dance through them,” Wolfe says. “It touches upon all these stages of grief—and some of that is breakthrough, by the way. Being able to have the full spectrum of the experience that we have had, or that I’ve had in my divorce, or that we had in lockdown, having our careers come to a halt, so to speak. I think you can really hear and feel the spectrum of emotion and hopefully find the joy in the darkness. It does exist. That’s why we made Second Nature and why we wanted it to sound the way it did: our focus was on dancing our way through the darkness.” Released earlier this spring to critical praise, the Los Angeles Times raves, “dazzling…Second Nature mines an ’80s-pop sound with lush synths and sleek disco grooves under the women’s laser-guided vocals,” while Variety declares, “with Second Nature…they’re no longer 20 feet or even a couple of yards from stardom, but re-claiming the spotlight for themselves” and Relix proclaims, “stunning…a 10-song, smart-pop masterpiece.” Known for their perfectly harmonized vocals and electric live shows, Lucius is in the midst of an international headline tour and will join Brandi Carlile for several marquee concerts this summer. In addition to their work as a band, power vocalists Laessig and Wolfe are in-demand collaborators and have also recorded with Sheryl Crow, Harry Styles, The War on Drugs, Ozzy Osborne and John Legend and toured extensively alongside Roger Waters.

Lucius has also announced a flyaway contest to win a chance to see the band’s ACL taping in person. Enter here to win, and the official contest rules can be found here. The prize package includes: 

  • 2 passes to the Lucius Austin City Limits taping on Sunday, July 17
  • 2 night hotel stay at the Carpenter Hotel, July 16-18
  • 2 roundtrip American Airlines flights from anywhere in the continental United States to Austin, Texas on Saturday, July 16 and return flight Monday, July 18

Join us July 17 at 8 p.m. CT for Lucius, and this fall on PBS for the broadcast premiere of Austin City Limits’ upcoming Season 48. 

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Featured Live Stream News

Live stream: Brandi Carlile

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce we will be live streaming our highly-anticipated show with acclaimed singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile on July 13 at 8 pm CT. ACL offers fans worldwide the unique opportunity to watch this taping live here in its entirety on our ACLTV YouTube Channel. The broadcast episode will air this fall on PBS as part of our upcoming Season 48.  

For her third taping, Brandi Carlile returns as a six-time GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, performer, producer, #1 New York Times Bestselling author and activist, who is known as one of music’s most respected voices. Her latest album, In These Silent Days, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart, Top Rock Albums chart and Tastemaker Albums chart and continues to receive overwhelming acclaim. Produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings, In These Silent Days was inspired by the mining of Carlile’s own history while writing last year’s #1 New York Times Best Selling memoir, Broken Horses (Crown), and conceived of while she was quarantined at home with longtime collaborators and bandmates Tim and Phil Hanseroth. The ten songs chronicle acceptance, faith, loss and love and channel icons like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Elton John and Joni Mitchell—the latter two who, by some sort of cosmic alignment of the stars, have turned out to be close friends in addition to being her biggest heroes and inspirations. Of the album, Variety praises, “Carlile effortlessly glides between octaves while, somehow, still sounding completely conversational—the everyday diva we didn’t know we needed until she showed up at our door…a vocal tour de force,” while Billboard asserts, “the emotion that Carlile projects is unbridled, unfettered joy in the face of hard times—and it’s the exact boost of positivity that will make you want to listen again and again.” The New York Times writes, “Larger than life and achingly human…she empathizes, apologizes and lays out accusations. She’s righteous and she’s self-doubting. She proffers fond lullabies and she unleashes full-throated screams,” while NPR Music declares, “absolutely breathtaking, across the whole album Brandi Carlile pulls out all the stops. It’s just extraordinary…she’s just claiming rock god status.” In addition to her six GRAMMY Awards, Carlile has also been recognized with Billboard’s Women In Music “Trailblazer Award,” CMT’s Next Women of Country “Impact Award” and received multiple recognitions from the Americana Music Association Honors & Awards including Artist of the Year for the past two years. 

Join us here on July 13 at 8 p.m. CT for Brandi Carlile, and this fall on PBS for the broadcast premiere of Austin City Limits’ upcoming Season 48.  

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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: The Weather Station

Tamara Lindeman of The Weather Station performs on Austin City Limits, 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

We’ve always celebrated songs and songwriting here at Austin City Limits. So we’re always happy to host a songsmith as special as Tamara Lindeman, AKA The Weather Station. The Toronto musician has long impressed critics and audiences not only with her thoughtful, soulful songcraft, but also with her willingness to push her artistry beyond anyone’s expectations, including her own. Her latest album How Is It I Should Look At the Stars denotes a musical shift from last year’s much-acclaimed Ignorance, which itself changed course from 2017’s self-titled breakthrough. She and her five-piece band brought that breadth and depth to the Moody Theater stage for her debut ACL performance. 

With a percolating drum groove, a kneeling Lindeman and the band began the set with “Wear,” a silky midtempo soul-pop tune from Ignorance. The tempo and urgency increased with “Loss,” an emotionally charged rock song that perfectly showcased the band’s distinctive sound: guitar, keys, bass and drums, enhanced by contributions from Karen Ng on clarinet and alto sax. “It’s such an honor,” Lindeman noted. “I’m overwhelmed.” Then “Separated,” a song about the futility of internet arguments, added some carefully doled drama to the performance, with a false ending and some well-placed clave clicks. Lindeman then picked up her guitar to revisit the self-titled record for the gorgeous and rocking “You and I (On the Other Side of the World),” before the band reached even further back for the soulful folk rock of “Way It Is, Way It Could,” from 2015’s Loyalty. She dipped into the latest record for “Stars,” a sparse, heartfelt ballad that sounded as if it could just as easily have come from the Great American Songbook as from the world of Canadian indie rock. 

The final notes had barely finished fading out when guitarist Will Kidman started chunking away to lead into “Look,” a song “about trying to talk to politicians” from Ignorance, followed by the same LP’s driving pop rocker “Tried to Tell You.” Next tune “Better Now” began as an ethereal ballad, but drummer Kieran Adams brought the rest of the band crashing in on the chorus for another slice of well-crafted rock. Adams’ rumbling drums, Johnny Spence’s stately piano and Ben Whiteley’s nimble bass jumpstarted the soaring “Heart,” joined by Ng’s clarinet and Kidman and Lindeman’s guitars. The band essayed an atmospheric, improvised intro that led into “Robber,” the attention-grabbing first single from Ignorance, the unique, jazzy dynamics (especially with Ng’s stratospheric free jazz sax) of which made it a standout even in a setlist of standouts. “Atlantic” went for a smoother melody and groove, allowing Lindeman to really concentrate on her singing, before upping the pop quotient even further for the euphonic “Parking Lot.” 

After Lindeman introduced the players, The Weather Station ended the set with the elegant ballad “Subdivisions” – a lovely original, and not a cover of the eponymous  anthem by Lindeman’s fellow Toronto residents Rush, that showed off what a fine singer she is. Though the band left the stage, they returned to play the masterful “Thirty,” a brisk folk rocker Lindeman described as joyful, as attested by the dust kicked up and Kidman’s spiraling guitar solo. A killer bonus, capping off an excellent evening that we can’t wait for you to see when it airs this fall on your local PBS station. 

The Weather Station performs on Austin City Limits, June 2022. Photos by Scott Newton.
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Featured Hall of Fame News

ACL announces Hall of Fame 2022 inductees Sheryl Crow and Joe Ely

Sheryl Crow photo by Dove Shore. Joe Ely photo by Matthew Fuller.

Austin City Limits is proud to announce the newest class of Austin City Limits Hall of Fame inductees, recognizing a pair of American originals: Nine-time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow and Texas legend Joe Ely. The ACL Hall of Fame celebrates this stellar new class of trailblazing artists with longtime ties to ACL. The 2022 ACL Hall of Fame inductees will be saluted at a star-studded ceremony to be held October 27th, 2022 at ACL’s studio home, ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. More information about guest performers, presenters and additional guest stars will be announced prior to the event.  Musical highlights and inductions from the ceremony will air on PBS later this year.

The event will be open to the public and tickets will be on sale June 24th at 10am CT 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: 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. 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.

Honorees shared their reactions to joining the ranks of outstanding artists who have been inducted into the Austin City Limits  Hall of Fame:

Sheryl Crow: “I have always loved Austin City Limits. Some of my favorite performances have been on that show. I am so humbled to be honored by such an iconic and prestigious program. It is a dream come true for me to be inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame.”

Joe Ely: “I first played Austin City Limits back in 1980. It was more a local show then, but it kept getting a wider and wider audience,” Ely remembers.“It’s since become one of the most important live performance shows on television simply because they’ve always maintained the highest quality production and brought in great talent. I’m really honored to be part of that history, and I’m humbled to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

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 inaugural induction ceremony in 2014 honored Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Lloyd Maines, program creator Bill Arhos and Darrell Royal. 2015’s second annual ACL Hall of Fame ceremony honored Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn, Guy Clark, Flaco Jiménez and Townes Van Zandt, along with the original crew of the show’s first season in 1974-75. The 2016 Hall of Fame honored Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt and B.B. King, alongside former ACL executive producer Dick Peterson.  2017’s Hall of Fame honored Roy Orbison, Rosanne Cash and The Neville Brothers, and the 50th Anniversary of the Public Broadcasting Act.  2018’s fifth anniversary class featured the inductions of Ray Charles, Marcia Ball and Los Lobos. The 2019 Hall of Fame welcomed Lyle Lovett, Buddy Guy and Shawn Colvin to its ranks. The seventh annual Hall of Fame in 2021 welcomed Lucinda Williams, Wilco and Alejandro Escovedo.

About the 2022 Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Honorees:

Sheryl Crow:

Songwriter. Activist. Rock star. Woman. Champion. Mother. Nine-time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow is many things, but at the core, she remains a creative spirit channeling her talents into music that lifts people up, brings them together, and speaks to the truths on the horizon. Twenty-five years after winning her first Grammy, as well as Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “All I Wanna Do,” the Kennett, Missouri-born guitarist/vocalist/creative thought about all she’d done, the places she’d been, the lives that’d touched hers – and saw the rich tapestry her journey had become. Crow’s is a career beyond dreams, with songs that defined the third wave of feminism, a rockist’s ability to sweep the pop charts without losing any edge and enough wide-open Midwestern joy to captivate the world. In 2019, Crow released her critically acclaimed album THREADS via The Valory Music Co., a collection of collaborations made with and in tribute to artists with whom Crow has musical connections. And in turn, she seeks to inspire people through her music and songs, especially the younger generation. “The passion and ability of our young people to dig deep and express themselves energizes and encourages me endlessly,” Crow says. “It thrills me to see their passion and will to change the world.” The subject of the new critically-acclaimed documentary Sheryl, we are thrilled to welcome Sheryl Crow into the ACL Hall of Fame.

Joe Ely:

From the moment he made his debut in the 1970s, Joe Ely has blended rock-and-roll sensibilities to hardcore honkytonk and become one of the most recognizable and respected artists to hail from the Lonestar state. Growing up on the vast and empty plains of West Texas, his legend was forged onstage with relentlessly riveting live performances, hammered out over thousands of shows and countless touring miles from Lubbock to London and back again the long way around. He is embraced as a kindred spirit by artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and The Clash. Over his career, he’s been at the forefront of Outlaw Country, Alt-Country, Texas Country and Americana, and has been recognized as one of the best songwriters of his generation. Ely is a member of the prestigious Texas Institute of Letters (with active members Cormac McCarthy and Larry McMurtry) as the first musician ever honored by the group. The invitation was the result of Ely’s second book, Reverb: An Odyssey. Also, Ely was recognized by the Texas Legislature as the Official 2016 Texas State Musician, a coveted honor given to only a few (past recipients include Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Dale Watson & Billy Joe Shaver). Additionally the Texas Songwriters Hall of Fame recently announced Ely has been inducted into the Texas Songwriters Hall of Fame, alongside such legends as Roy Orbison and J.D. Souther. “There’s no mistaking a Joe Ely album,” wrote noted Dallas Morning News critic Mario Tarradell. “His stinging, road-hued voice commands lyrics about life, love and the wandering spirit. When you listen to any Joe Ely music, you’re enjoying the essence of Joe Ely. That’s the essence of Texas Music.”

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 47th 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 Live Stream News

ACL to live stream The Weather Station on 6/21

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce we will live stream the debut taping of acclaimed indie rock band The Weather Station on June 21 at 8 p.m. CT. ACL offers fans worldwide the unique opportunity to watch the taping live in its entirety on our ACLTV YouTube Channel. The broadcast episode will air this fall on PBS as part of our upcoming Season 48.  

Tamara Lindeman is a Toronto-based songwriter and singer who performs under the name The Weather Station.  As The Weather Station, she has released six albums, most recently 2021’s breakthrough Ignorance and its companion album, How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars, released this March, which deal with themes of climate grief, disconnection and conflict, love and birds. Ignorance was regarded as one of the most praised albums of 2021, landing in the best albums of the year lists by the New Yorker, New York Times, Pitchfork and way beyond. The Weather Station has been nominated for two Junos, a Socan Award, and has been shortlisted for the Polaris Prize. Recorded live in just three days, How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars is achingly intimate; full of breath, silence, and detail. “I had no idea if I wanted anyone to ever hear these songs,” Lindeman says, “but I also felt like they were the best songs I’d ever written, and I wanted to document them in some way.” Not long after completing Ignorance, Lindeman decided to make this album on her own terms, fronting the money herself and not notifying the labels. She assembled a new band, and communicated a new ethos: the music should feel ungrounded, with space, silence, and sensitivity above all else. On this record, there are no drums, no percussion; in the absence of rhythm, time stretches and becomes elastic. Lyrically, many of the songs return to what has often been a hallmark of Lindeman’s writing, a description of a single moment and all the meaning it might encompass. Influenced by records like Chet Baker Sings or Bob Dylan’s Shadows In The Night, the record was recorded live off the floor at Toronto’s Canterbury Music Studios, with Jean Martin co-producing. Lindeman sang and played piano live while the band improvised their accompaniment. Whereas the recordings on Ignorance leaned towards ambition and grandeur, here the band reaches towards a different goal: grace, perhaps. In her telling, Lindeman has always reached towards classic songwriting, and on this record, she overtly pursued this influence, allowing some of the songs to be “naive in the way that American songbook songs often are; naive in the way of reaching towards something with that sort of crushing longing, naive in terms of melody and simplicity.”
Join us here on June 21 at 8 p.m. CT for The Weather Station, and this fall on PBS for the broadcast premiere of Austin City Limits’ upcoming Season 48.