Category: Episode Recap

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Episode recap: Olivia Rodrigo/Phoebe Bridgers

Olivia Rodrigo on Austin City Limits, 2021. Photo by Scott Newton.

Austin City Limits Season 47 continues with a bonus mid-season installment for fans. ACL spotlights a pair of next-generation singer-songwriters: multi-platinum Olivia Rodrigo and indie-rock original Phoebe Bridgers. Both make highly-anticipated ACL debuts in a new hour as part of the series Season 47. Rodrigo, a seven-time 2022 Grammy nominee, showcases songs from her chart-topping 2021 debut SOUR and Bridgers performs gems from her acclaimed Punisher. The broadcast premiere will launch Saturday, December 4 at 9pm ET/8pm CT on PBS and vary by market. Check local PBS listings for times. The episode will be available to music fans everywhere, streaming online the next day beginning Sunday, December 5 @10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits. Despite the challenges facing live music during the past year, ACL is proud to deliver a full season of performances for viewers, all recorded at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas in 2021, in front of limited live audiences. The complete broadcast line-up for the second half of ACL’s Season 47 featuring five all-new installments premiering January 8, 2022, will be announced shortly.  The Peabody Award-winning program 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 a remarkable 47 years. ACL airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings) and full episodes are made available to stream online at pbs.org/austincitylimits following the initial broadcast. 

18-year-old singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo dominated the charts and smashed streaming records in a breakout year, earning multiple No. 1 hits with her self-penned, record-breaking, platinum debut album SOUR, nominated for seven 2022 Grammy Awards, including the coveted “Big Four” categories: Best New Artist, Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year. The L.A. based rising star has struck a chord with insightful songs about relationships and heartbreak that resonate with her legions of fans. Rodrigo makes her first full-set performance in front of a live audience in this appearance on the ACL stage. The celebrated album SOUR is the centerpiece of her irresistible, eight-song set as the stoked crowd sings-along to every word of her lyrics. Backed by an all-female band, Rodrigo bounds onto the stage barefoot to the spiky pop-punk of “brutal,” a song which rages against the pressures of public scrutiny and social media shame.  Set highlights include the piano ballad “drivers license,” the breakup anthem and debut single that skyrocketed her to fame in early 2021, now nominated for three Grammy Awards, and the bitter stomp of another No. 1 megahit, “good 4 u.”

Phoebe Bridgers on Austin City Limits, 2021. Photo by Scott Newton.

Phoebe Bridgers’ celebrated album Punisher was one of 2020’s best-loved records, earning four 2021 Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. The Pasadena, California-born and raised singer-songwriter doesn’t write love songs as much as songs about the impact love can have on our lives, personalities, and priorities. Bridgers has emerged as a defining musical force for a generation beset by doom and open about its mental health journeys. To say Bridgers writes about heartbreak is to undersell her blue wisdom; to say she writes about pain erases all the strange joy her music emanates. Joined by her skeleton-costumed six-piece band, Bridgers performs Punisher highlights, including the sparkling power pop gutpunch “Kyoto,” a 2021 double-Grammy nominated track. She stuns with the title track, a haunting rock heartbreaker detailing a relationship’s slow disintegration. She and her band close the set fittingly with the introspective “I Know The End,” amplified by trumpet fills and violin, ablaze in a hail of freeform noise and distortion, with Bridgers erupting in a primal scream. Bridgers makes an epic exit as she kisses her guitarist, kicks the mic stand over, and drops her guitar to the ground. 

“In so many ways, Phoebe and Olivia are cut from the same musical cloth,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Phoebe’s songs are edgy, mixing pain with joy in a weird but clever way. Olivia’s songs are much the same – bold, but sensitive at the same time. They are two of the most inspiring young singers to cross the ACL stage in years.” 

Olivia Rodrigo setlist:

brutal

happier

jealousy, jealousy

drivers license

traitor

favorite crime

enough for you

good 4 u

Phoebe Bridgers setlist:

DVD Menu

Garden Song

Kyoto

Punisher

Savior Complex

I Know The End

The first half of ACL’s Season 47 featured standout performances with Miranda Lambert, Jon Batiste, Billy Strings, Khruangbin, Jackson Browne, Brittany Howard, Jade Bird, Charley Crockett, Brandy Clark, Sarah Jarosz and more. The complete line-up for the second half of ACL’s Season 47 featuring five all-new installments premiering January 8, 2022, will be announced shortly.  Watch live, stream anytime, and let ACL be a trusted sidekick for entertainment during these challenging days. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding live streams, future tapings and episode broadcast and streaming 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.

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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Episode recap: Brittany Howard

Brittany Howard on ACL, 2021. Photo by Scott Newton.

Austin City Limits spotlights celebrated singer and multiple Grammy recipient Brittany Howard in her return to the ACL stage for a highly-anticipated solo debut showcasing songs from her 2021 Grammy-winning gem Jaime. The new hour premieres Saturday, November 20 @8pm CT/9pm ET as part of the series Season 47. Despite the challenges facing live music during the past year, ACL is proud to deliver a new season of performances for viewers, all recorded at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas in 2021, in front of limited live audiences. The program 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 a remarkable 47 years. 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. 

Brittany Howard delivers a revelatory hour of soul, funk, rock and jazz showcasing songs from her solo debut Jaime. The acclaimed autobiographical collection is a personal reckoning on love, religion, family and race in America. The Alabama native and Alabama Shakes frontwoman bounds onstage in a sparkling sequin robe with an irresistible cover of Funkadelic’s “Hit It or Quit It,” joyfully instructing her backing singers to “Show ‘em how we do it girls.” The gifted singer and performer takes the audience on a journey of Jaime highlights, including a radiant “Stay High” the Grammy-winning radio hit. Introducing the soul burner “Baby,” Howard winks “I wrote this song here when I was on the low side of an 80/20 relationship.” Joyously dancing with her backing singers, Howard segues into “Goat Head,” a powerful tale of identity, addressing her own experience growing up mixed race in the South. She dazzles with choice classics including the Jackie Wilson rave-up “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher,” and treats the audience to another round of Funkadelic with the provocative “You and Your Folks,” amplified with funky bass lines and guitar shreds from her eight-piece band. A set highlight is the spoken word poetry of “13th Century Metal,” a recitation on which Howard preaches in defense of love and brother/sisterhood: “It’s been said before but it bears repeating: “We are brothers and sisters, each and every one.” She unleashes her powerhouse vocals on the funky shuffle “History Repeats,” complete with synchronized dancing from Howard and her backing singers, and closes out the spectacular hour with a psychedelic soul take on the Beatles’ “Revolution.”

Brittany Howard and band on Austin City Limits, 2021. Photo by Scott Newton.

“Brittany Howard has always had a voice like none other,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, “and she’s a transformative artist who’s pushing that voice to new heights that take her songs to a new realm. It’s a joyous ride for all of us!”

Brittany Howard setlist:

Hit It or Quit It

Georgia

Stay High

Presence

Higher and Higher

Baby

Goat Head

Tomorrow

You and Your Folks

13th Century Metal

Short and Sweet

History Repeats

Revolution

Watch live, stream anytime, and let ACL be a trusted sidekick for entertainment during these challenging days. The complete line-up for the full 13-week season will be announced shortly.  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 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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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Episode recap: Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne, Austin City Limits 2021. Photo by Scott Newton.

Austin City Limits is proud to present a season highlight: the return of Jackson Browne for the first time in nearly 20 years. The singer-songwriter showcases a chart-topping new collection, Downhill From Everywhere, alongside highlights from his five decade career in an exquisite hour premiering November 13 at 9pm ET/8pm CT as part of the series Season 47. Despite the challenges facing live music during the past year, ACL is thrilled to deliver a new season of performances for viewers, all recorded at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas in 2021, in front of limited live audiences. The program 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 a remarkable 47 years. 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.  

“It’s like Valhalla for us, getting to play Austin City Limits,” says Jackson Browne in his first appearance on the ACL stage since 2002. Backed by an ace eight-piece band, Browne delivers a career-spanning set including time-worn favorites and more recent gems from the acclaimed Downhill From Everywhere, his fifteenth studio album. A Rock Hall inductee, Browne is an archetype of the singer-songwriter, Americana genre, and started blazing a trail in the 1970s with his personal, introspective lyrics. He opens the hour with the searching “I’m Alive,” a mid-career highlight about moving on from past sorrows. Browne showcases new material tailor-made for these times, including the roots rocker “My Cleveland Heart,” about trading in a fragile human heart for a resilient, artificial replacement (gamely introducing it as a “cheerful song”). The veteran social justice advocate performs “The Dreamer” a powerful bilingual song that eloquently addresses the struggles facing a generation of children of immigrants. Browne duets with singer-songwriter Leslie Mendelson for the stunning collaboration “A Human Touch” and brings backing vocalist Chavonne Stewart out for the folk-rocker social commentary “The Long Way Around.” He dazzles with early-career classics including the radio staple “Doctor My Eyes” and “These Days,” written when Browne was just sixteen-years-old. 

“You wanna sing this one?” calls out Browne before closing with a pair of songs from 1973’s For Everyman: fan favorite “Take It Easy,” the Eagles 1972 smash that he co-wrote with Glenn Frey, poignantly calling for the crowd to “Sing it so Glenn Frey can hear you!” Browne allows the entire band to shine, segueing seamlessly into the wistful “Our Lady of the Well,” with round robin solos all-around for an unforgettable close.

Jackson Browne on ACL, 2021. Photo by Scott Newton.

“In so many ways, Jackson Browne epitomizes the return of live music in the post-pandemic 21st century,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “He’s a bridge to the best music of the last 40 years, but his new songs are spot-on relevant to the world we live in today. There aren’t that many artists who can pull that off.”

Jackson Browne setlist:

I’m Alive

The Long Way Around

My Cleveland Heart

The Dreamer

These Days

A Human Touch

Doctor My Eyes

Late For the Sky

Take It Easy/Our Lady of the Well

Season 47 Broadcast Line-up (second half of season to be announced shortly):

October 2 Miranda Lambert with Jack Ingram & Jon Randall

October 9 Jade Bird / Dayglow

October 16 Jon Batiste

October 23 Sarah Jarosz / Billy Strings

October 30 Brandy Clark / Charley Crockett

November 6 Leon Bridges / Khruangbin

November 13 Jackson Browne

November 20 Brittany Howard

Watch live, stream anytime, and let ACL be a trusted sidekick for entertainment during these challenging days. The complete line-up for the full 13-week season, including five new episodes to air beginning January 2022, will be announced shortly.  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 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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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News Uncategorized

Episode recap: Leon Bridges/Khruangbin

Leon Bridges, Austin City Limits, Season 47. Photo by Scott Newton.

Austin City Limits showcases a pair of world-class acts that hail from Texas, Leon Bridges and Khruangbin, in a new hour-long installment premiering November 6 @9pm ET/8pm CT as part of the series Season 47. Grammy-winning Fort Worth R&B artist and songwriter Leon Bridges makes his second ACL appearance with highlights from his latest, Gold-Diggers Sound, and Houston eclectic groove trio Khruangbin make their ACL debut with standouts from their global sensation Mordechai. Despite the challenges facing live music during the past year, ACL is proud to deliver a new season of performances for viewers, all recorded at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas in 2021, in front of limited live audiences. The program 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 a remarkable 47 years. 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.  

“It’s an honor to bring Gold-Diggers Sound to Austin, Texas tonight,” hails Leon Bridges. The Fort Worth native returns to the ACL stage for the first time since his 2016 debut, showcasing his third album in six years, the acclaimed Gold-Diggers Sound, named after the East Hollywood studio where it was written and recorded. One of music’s most sought-after collaborators, Bridges has captured the world’s attention with his golden vocals and intimate songwriting, and the dynamic star returns to his home state to deliver a suite of songs from his recent collection backed by an ace seven-piece band. “Make some noise if you missed live music,” says Bridges. “I know I did.” A set highlight is the powerful anti-racism anthem “Sweeter,” released in the wake of George Floyd’s death. He closes out a magnetic set with a scorcher, the timely “Bad Bad News” from 2018’s Good Thing. 

Khruangbin, Austin City Limits, Season 47. Photo by Scott Newton.

The atmospheric Texan trio Khruangbin leads viewers on a spellbinding sonic journey in their ACL debut. The eclectic Houston act consisting of bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, guitarist Mark Speer and drummer Donald ‘DJ’ Johnson Jr. has generated a worldwide audience for their transportive sound that features a globally sourced sampler of psych and funk influences mixed with intoxicating grooves. The band opens with gems from their 2015 debut The Universe Smiles Upon You including “People Everywhere,” a song that highlights the stark contrast between Lee’s shimmering stage strut and Speer and Johnson Jr.’s laidback stoicism. “Still alive,” Lee repeats into the mic as an affirmation, adding the sly aside “after 2020.” Khruangbin visits their 2018 breakthrough LP Con Todo El Mundo for “Friday Morning,” an acid soul ballad that shifts from close harmony vocals to an epic guitar solo. They touch down with “First Class” from their widely-acclaimed Mordechai, an album that celebrates the city that raised them, Houston, one of the most diverse in the nation, a cultural nexus, and the hometown the band members fondly credit for their expansive sonic palette.

“This is Leon Bridges like you’ve never seen or heard him before,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “His new music is an immersive experience – both for him and the rest of us. Likewise, Khruangbin immerses themselves in musical rhythms and genres from around the globe, adding vocals for the first time. A must-see hour!”  

Leon Bridges

STEAM

BORN AGAIN 

MOTORBIKE

BLUE MESAS

SWEETER

BAD BAD NEWS

Khruangbin

PEOPLE EVERYWHERE (STILL ALIVE)

WHITE GLOVES

FRIDAY MORNING

FIRST CLASS 

Season 47 Broadcast Line-up (second half of season to be announced separately):

October 2 Miranda Lambert with Jack Ingram & Jon Randall

October 9 Jade Bird / Dayglow

October 16 Jon Batiste

October 23 Sarah Jarosz / Billy Strings

October 30 Brandy Clark / Charley Crockett

November 6 Leon Bridges / Khruangbin

November 13 Jackson Browne

November 20 Brittany Howard

Watch live, stream anytime, and let ACL be a trusted sidekick for entertainment during these challenging days. The complete line-up for the full 13-week season, including five new episodes to air beginning January 2022, 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 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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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Episode recap: Sarah Jarosz/Billy Strings

photo by Scott Newton

Austin City Limits is proud to showcase a pair of American originals: Sarah Jarosz and Billy Strings in a new installment premiering October 23 at 9pm ET/ 8pm CT as part of the series new Season 47. The roots music stars share a spell-binding hour that forecasts the genre’s future: Sarah Jarosz makes her third appearance on the ACL stage with selections from World On the Ground, the 2021 GRAMMY-winner for Best Americana Album; while fan favorite Billy Strings delivers an electrifying set with songs from Home, his 2021 GRAMMY Award-winning Best Bluegrass Album and debuts new numbers from his latest release, Renewal. Despite the challenges facing live music during the past year, ACL is proud to deliver a new season of performances for viewers, all recorded at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas in 2021, in front of limited live audiences. The program 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 a remarkable 47 years. 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.  

Sarah Jarosz makes her third appearance on the ACL stage with highlights from her acclaimed World on the Ground, a collection of songs inspired by her formative years growing up in Central Texas.  The singer, songwriter and gifted multi-instrumentalist made her ACL debut in 2010 at the age of 19, and she returns as a four-time GRAMMY Award-winning artist. “I would say this is a good way to re-emerge into the world after the last year,” notes Jarosz. Accompanied by renowned producer/musician John Leventhal, who produced World on the Ground, Jarosz delivers the bittersweet “Hometown,” a gorgeous reflection on home and the 2021 GRAMMY-nominee for Best American Roots Song. She delivers a luminous set, acknowledging the emotional resonance of returning to her home state to perform the Texas-based songs. Jarosz displays her extraordinary range, with a sparkling solo rendition of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” turning the rock anthem into a soulful folk song, amplified by her skillful mandolin playing.

photo by Scott Newton

Billy Strings makes his ACL debut holding bluegrass music’s hottest hand, with a newly-minted 2021 GRAMMY Award and the reigning Entertainer of the Year and Guitar Player of the Year from the International Bluegrass Music Association. The Michigan-born musician, now based in Nashville, is the genre’s new superstar, taking a progressive approach to string music, folding in influences from rock, jazz and psychedelia. Strings sings of modern American woes, and opens the breathtaking set with his early career breakout, 2013’s “Dust in a Baggie,” the parable of a meth addict who heeds warnings too late. The exuberant 29-year-old flatpicking virtuoso and his band of aces deliver highlights from the 2021 GRAMMY-winning breakthrough Home and new songs from his latest Renewal, showcasing the dazzling dexterity and boundary-pushing artistry that has earned him legions of fans.

“Sarah Jarosz and Billy Strings represent the past, present and future of American roots music, and no one else even comes close,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Billy is setting the bluegrass world on fire, and beyond. Meanwhile, in her own quiet and personal way, Sarah continues to expand the horizons of Americana music.”

Sarah Jarosz setlist:

PAY IT NO MIND

HOMETOWN

JOHNNY

MAGGIE

WHAT DO I DO

STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR

I’LL BE GONE

Billy Strings setlist:

DUST IN A BAGGIE

MUST BE SEVEN

RED DAISY

LOVE LIKE ME

AWAY FROM THE MIRE

Season 47 Broadcast Line-up (second half of season to be announced separately):

October 2 Miranda Lambert with Jack Ingram & Jon Randall

October 9 Jade Bird / Dayglow

October 16 Jon Batiste

October 23 Sarah Jarosz / Billy Strings

October 30 Brandy Clark / Charley Crockett

November 6 Leon Bridges / Khruangbin

November 13 Jackson Browne

November 20 Brittany Howard

Watch live, stream anytime, and let ACL be a trusted sidekick for entertainment during these challenging days. The complete line-up for the full 13-week season, including five new episodes to air beginning January 2022, 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 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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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News Uncategorized

Episode recap: Jon Batiste

photo by Scott Newton

Austin City Limits is thrilled to present one of America’s most versatile musicians, Jon Batiste, in a dazzling must-watch hour. The New Orleans bandleader and composer, a Grammy and Oscar-winning musician, delivers a high-energy tour-de-force backed by an 18-piece band, performing highlights from his soulful album WE ARE. The new installment premieres October 16 at 9pm ET/ 8pm CT as part of the series new Season 47. Despite the challenges facing live music during the past year, ACL is proud to deliver a new season of performances for viewers, all recorded at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas in 2021, in front of limited live audiences. The program 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 a remarkable 47 years. 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.   

Jon Batiste mixes his own brand of New Orleans jazz with soul, funk, R&B, gospel and hip-hop in an hour-long celebration of pure joy. Batiste may be best known as a television personality as the bandleader and musical director for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” but the scion of a New Orleans musical dynasty is a Grammy and Oscar-winning talent, and he lights up the stage in a performance for the ages in his first-ever ACL appearance. In a love letter to his southern roots and heritage, Batiste takes viewers on a journey through Black American music history from ragtime to trap. Taking the stage in a red leather suit and Stetson, he is backed by a 10-piece band for the ecstatic “We Are,” a celebratory anthem of the African diaspora and the title track to his acclaimed 2021 album. The leader’s contagious joy is on full display throughout the performance as he reveals, “This is not a concert for me—this is a spiritual practice.” 

New Orleans’ Hot 8 Brass Band joins the party with a second line groove as the energy level soars and Batiste descends into the crowd. The showman thrills as he dances across the stage, moving seamlessly from piano, his main instrument, to guitar, saxophone, and melodica. Batiste is on guitar, leading the 18-piece band for the soulful raveup “Tell the Truth,” before moving to piano and ending the number on his knees center stage. “Boyhood,” a fond ode to growing up in the Big Easy, leads into a gorgeous snippet of Bill Withers “Lean On Me.” The unstoppable Batiste delivers a fascinating medley at the piano, playfully working in everything from classical to ragtime, demonstrating his remarkable genre-defying skills. A frequent collaborator, Batiste is joined by Austin guitar great Gary Clark Jr. for the slowburn bayou lament “Cry,” before closing the hour with a stunning solo finale at the piano featuring the ballad, “Don’t Stop,” from 2018’s Hollywood Africans.

“In my over 40 years with Austin City Limits, I have never seen a performance so joyful, so inspiring, so energizing, so spiritual as Jon Batiste. It was a magical night,” said executive producer Terry Lickona. “People were laughing, singing, crying, and of course dancing. Jon Batiste is a superstar!”

Jon Batiste setlist:

WE ARE

I NEED YOU

LOVE RIOT MOMENT

BOYHOOD

WHATCHUTALKINBOUT

TELL THE TRUTH

TELL THE TRUTH reprise

PIANO MEDLEY

CRY

FREEDOM

DON’T STOP

Season 47 Broadcast Line-up (second half of season to be announced separately):

October 2 Miranda Lambert with Jack Ingram & Jon Randall

October 9 Jade Bird / Dayglow

October 16 Jon Batiste

October 23 Sarah Jarosz / Billy Strings

October 30 Brandy Clark / Charley Crockett

November 6 Leon Bridges / Khruangbin

November 13 Jackson Browne

November 20 Brittany Howard

Watch live, stream anytime, and let ACL be a trusted sidekick for entertainment during these challenging days. The complete line-up for the full 13-week season, including five new episodes to air beginning January 2022, 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 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.