Category: Episode Recap

Austin City Limits showcases acclaimed artist Maggie Rogers in a sparkling hour premiering as part of ACL’s milestone Season 45.

Maggie Rogers makes her ACL debut in an irresistible hour showcasing songs from her Capitol Records debut album Heard It In A Past Life.  Raised in rural Easton, Maryland, the 25-year-old phenom delivers a captivating rendition of “Alaska,” the breakout song that became a viral sensation and introduced her talents as a songwriter and producer to the world.  Heard It In  Past Life entered Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart at No. 1 and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 Chart.  The album sold over 200,000 album adjusted units, amassed over 500 million combined streams and received widespread critical praise from NPR, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, TIME Magazine, Billboard and many more. 

Her buoyant 11-song set is filled with open-hearted anthems about love and relationships, including chart-topping fan-favorites “Light On” and “Fallingwater.”  Rogers dances ecstatically across the stage, glowing as she moves with her music’s creative beats. With barefaced honesty, she inspires a genuine connection with her audience, and the admiring Austin crowd sings along passionately on the choruses. The magnetic artist closes out the standout hour alone on the stage for a gorgeous a cappella performance of “Color Song,” signaling an enduring new talent has arrived.

“Maggie’s music is 100% emotion,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, “and her live performances are exuberant and unfettered in a way you seldom see on a stage. Her music celebrates life, and Maggie Rogers is a gift to us all.”

Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Join us next week for another brand new episode, featuring veteran singer/songwriter Steve Earle’s tribute to his mentor Guy Clark.

Austin City Limits launches a new broadcast season of spectacular performances with a must-see hour taking a deep-dive with a boundary-pushing artist, Grammy® Award-winning Gary Clark Jr.  

“Feels good up here,” proclaims Gary Clark Jr. during his third headline appearance on the ACL stage. The Austin native opens the hour with a blistering performance of the hit that launched his meteoric rise, “Bright Lights” from his 2012 debut Blak and Blu. The song’s refrain “...you gonna know my name,” couldn’t be more apt for the Texan who has had a whirlwind ascent from the Austin club scene to show-stopping performances on festival stages around the world.  Clark showcases songs from his latest, the critically-acclaimed This Land, his third major label release, which features some of his most powerful songwriting to date, with profound lyrics about life, love, restlessness and racism.  Clark moves in and out of blues, soul, gospel, reggae and punk easily in the nine-song set, dazzling on the reggae-rock swagger of “Feelin’ Like A Million,” and shifting to the falsetto-laden “Feed the Babies.” 

Bringing the crowd to their feet with a scorching rendition of his early classic “When My Train Pulls In,” Clark’s guitar solo is a masterclass in creative improvisation, wandering between different registers, exploring various motifs and bringing it down low to build it back into strobed-out fury.  “I grew up watching ACL,” says the hometown hero who has stated he learned to play guitar watching his own heros, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, on old episodes of the series.  Clark brings it all back to love, a frequent theme, with “Pearl Cadillac,” a gorgeous R&B/pop crooner dedicated to his mother and channeling another guitar hero, Prince.  He closes out the explosive set with a fierce version of “This Land,” the socially-charged anthem and a personal battle cry. “Sometimes people don’t know how to act right, so I got something for them,” says Clark. 

“It has been amazing and inspiring to see Gary grow as an artist since that first time he set foot on the ACL stage,” says longtime executive producer Terry Lickona. “From the first time I saw him play when he was 16, his talents were undeniable, and he has truly become the consummate artist – all the best that Austin represents.”

Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Join us next week for another brand new episode, featuring fast-rising singer, songwriter and producer Maggie Rogers. 

Austin City Limits presents a thrilling hour of blues and hip-hop in a new installment featuring legendary bluesman Buddy Guy and August Greene, the all-star collaboration featuring Grammy-, Emmy- and Oscar-winning Common, and renowned modern jazz greats Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins.

Blues-great Buddy Guy throws down in an entertaining performance of classics and new songs from his Grammy-nominated album The Blues Is Alive and Well. The living legend has played and sang the blues for over half a century, and he proudly flaunts his fretboard expertise and bottomless catalog during his fifth ACL appearance. Guy and his four-piece Damn Right Blues Band take the stage appropriately with the classic “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues.” Working without a set list, Guy pays tribute to fellow Chicago bluesmen on the Junior Wells classic “Hoodoo Man Blues” and Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Nine Below Zero” then revisits his Grammy-winning 2015 album Born to Play Guitar for the blistering title track. He thrills the ACL audience with the roof-raising “Slippin’ In,” from his Grammy-winning 1994 album of the same name and takes a string-bending, guitar-solo-ing stroll through the captivated crowd as living proof that the blues is, indeed, alive and well.

The dynamic hip-hop collective known as August Greene take us for a beautiful ride, performing numbers from their acclaimed self-titled debut. This supergroup, featuring veteran rapper Common, four-time Grammy-winning keyboardist/producer Robert Glasper and celebrated jazz drummer/producer Karriem Riggins, lay down a sublime groove overlaid by Common’s socially conscious and empowering narrative. Joined by four backing musicians, the group opens with its hit “Black Kennedy,” a hard look at post-Obama America, deftly adding the chorus of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” to this celebration of black excellence. Backing vocalist Samora Pinderhughes delivers a spellbinding hook, joining Common at center stage for the urgent “Let Go,” as the rapper encourages the crowd to release any negative energy. The group segues directly into the buoyant “Geto Heaven,” from Common’s 2000 breakthrough classic Like Water For Chocolate, honoring many of the fallen from the civil rights era along with the black victims of contemporary gun violence. “I feel like you all let go right there,” smiles a beaming Common as he champions the excellence of all the musicians onstage and the set closes with dazzling solos from Riggins and Glasper.

“Buddy Guy is the last living blues legend, and he shows no sign of slowing down,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “He’s inspired generations of blues guitarists, and his live shows are always mesmerizing. Austin City Limits has a tradition of pushing the limits to showcase music you’ll probably never see anywhere else on TV. August Greene is an amazing collaboration of jazz, rap and soul that’s pure creative genius.”

Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Join us next week for another brand new episode, featuring the Americana Music Festival’s seventeenth annual honors and awards program.

Austin City Limits proudly welcomes back a longtime friend, American music icon Willie Nelson, in a career-spanning hour as he performs a mix of his universally-known hits and new classics from his timeless catalog.

There’s a good reason why a bronze statue of Willie Nelson stands at the entrance to ACL’s studio home on the Austin street that bears his name. The Texas native launched Austin City Limits with the now-historic pilot episode (taped in 1974), ushering in what has become the longest-running television music series ever. Inducted into the inaugural class of the ACL Hall of Fame in 2014, he returns to “the house that Willie built” for a remarkable 18th appearance on the program, marking his first headlining appearance in a decade since he shared the stage with Asleep at the Wheel during Season 35 in 2009. The new performance marks his first appearance with his longtime Family Band since Season 25 in 2000.

In the 45-year history of Austin City Limits, no artist has personified the music series’ eclectic, freewheeling spirit more fully than Willie Nelson. Joined by the five-piece Family band, Willie starts the 16-song set with his perennial opener, “Whiskey River,” the song he launched ACL with almost a half-century ago. The energy is palpable for the mainstays that established him as a songwriting legend: “Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Crazy,” and “Night Life” (undertaking such an intense, bluesy shred on his trusty acoustic Trigger that he has to shake out his left hand afterward). He honors departed pals and co-songwriters with shout-outs (“Good Hearted Woman,” “for Waylon!” and “It’s All Going to Pot,” “for Merle!”). Willie calls out often for the crowd to join in, and they reply with joy and respect. “I hear it!”, he answers back with a grin during one of many sing-along moments.

The set features the pinnacles of his artistry as an interpreter: “Georgia on My Mind” anchored by harmonica master Mickey Raphael’s counter melodies; his version of “Nuages,” Django Reinhardt’s 1940 gypsy jazz instrumental, is lifted by the fascinating interplay with sister Bobbie’s piano; “Always on My Mind” showcases Willie’s inimitable phrasing. In tribute to his own favorite vocalist, Willie dips into his most recent album for a jazzy take on Frank Sinatra’s hit “Fly Me to the Moon.” The outlaw legend performs his new-classic anthem “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” and elicits unerringly faithful crowd-chorus callbacks on “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys” and the raucous sing-along “On the Road Again.” All reveal a singular artist who’s still exploring, still playful, still pushing the boundaries of where his music can go. After a rousing, standing-room, hand-clapping “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” and his now-standard set-closer “I’ll Fly Away,” Willie smiles as wide as Texas, and with a wave of his hat offers a heartfelt “Thank you, Austin City Limits!”

“There would be no Austin City Limits without Willie Nelson – simple as that,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “He launched ACL into the television universe in 1974, and has helped keep us going for 45 years. It was truly emotional to witness such an outpouring of love from the audience. This show is Willie Nelson, pure and simple.”

Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Join us next week for another brand new episode, featuring the return of blues legend Buddy Guy and the debut of hip-hop/jazz supergroup August Greene.

Austin City Limits showcases the best of music from near and far to cure your January blues: UK modern rock icons Arctic Monkeys and Austin favorites Wild Child.

One of today’s biggest live acts, Arctic Monkeys perform highlights from their 2019 Grammy-nominated album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, which topped many critics’ 2018 year-end best lists. The acclaimed Sheffield, UK quartet received a coveted 2019 Brit Award nomination for Best Band and they deliver the goods in their ACL debut with a sultry, stylized, captivating six-song set. The Arctic Monkeys play as their movements are captured not only by the ACL cameras, but allegedly, as well, by the cameras of a faux documentary crew filming their every move. Frontman Alex Turner revels in the persona of a rock ‘ roll superstar, oozing charisma on dramatic set opener “Crying Lightning” from 2009’s Humbug before checking into Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino for a lush three-song opus. Turner then checks out with a stone-cold classic, “R U Mine?” from the band’s 2013 chart-topping, platinum smash AM, thrilling the Austin audience.

A band with Central Texas roots, the Austin-based ensemble Wild Child wow in an irresistible ACL debut filled with their wistful-yet-spiky love songs. The Austin-American Statesman raves, “Four albums in, the Austin indie-folk band-that-could has become increasingly confident without losing the sense of childlike wonder that’s so central to the spirit of their music.” The road-tested septet, anchored by perpetually smiling singer Kelsey Wilson and her soaring vocals, perform songs from their recent Expectations. Wilson and co-writer/vocalist/ukelele player Alexander Beggins intertwine vocals on the playful set-opener “Alex,” before the tempo slows for the lush ballad “Eggshells.” The band is joined by a guest set of horns to augment the pop swell of “1996,” and the lovelorn “Back & Forth.” They strip down to guitars and vocals for the harmony-laden fan favorite “Sinking Ship,” before closing out with a crowd-pleaser, the funky, melodic charmer “Expectations.”

“Every season we include at least a couple of bands that represent the best of Austin, and Wild Child captures the spirit of Austin indie music better than any other,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, “and Arctic Monkeys is exactly what you would expect – their hardcore fans won’t be disappointed!”

Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Join us next week for another brand new episode, featuring the return of American music legend and ACL pilot star Willie Nelson.