Category: Episode Recap

ACL salutes Jerry Jeff Walker and Billy Joe Shaver

Post author By michael
Post date February 4, 2021

Austin City Limits fondly salutes a pair of American originals: Jerry Jeff Walker and Billy Joe Shaver in an hour loaded with honky tonk charm. ACL tips our hat and celebrates these two Texas trailblazers, pioneers of Austin’s cosmic cowboy and outlaw country movement, who passed away within days of each other in October 2020. The hour-long installment features historic highlights from the influential troubadours’ multiple appearances on the ACL stage. The broadcast premieres Saturday, February 6 at 8pm CT/9pm ET, as part of the iconic series Season 46. The episode will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, February 7 @10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits. With live music on hold, ACL continues to provide viewers a front-row seat to the best in performance. The program airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings for times) and full episodes are made available online for a limited time at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding future tapings, episode schedules and select live stream updates.

Jerry Jeff Walker and Billy Joe Shaver each appeared on ACL four times over the years. The hour captures standout performances from the two hard-livin’, freewheelin’, influential artists across the decades. Walker blazed a trail with his landmark 1973 live album Viva Terlingua!, and became a touchstone of the cosmic cowboy movement in the ‘70s. Jerry Jeff and his peers used their rowdy yet laid back sound to bring together both sides of the Texas cultural divide, with hippies and rednecks, liberals and conservatives, finding common ground through their love of good tunes and a good time. Walker helped pioneer a style of singing and songwriting that flavored its country with folk introspection and rock & roll energy. ACL dips into the archives for some primo vintage clips, including a 1986 performance of Walker’s boozing, brawling, signature anthem “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother,” showcasing his affable, singalong style. Jerry Jeff made his debut in the first season of ACL in 1976 and the appearance features the artist and his Lost Gonzo Band performing the classic “Mr. Bojangles,” a song Walker wrote, made famous by artists as far-ranging as Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Sammy Davis Jr. He showcases his inimitable storytelling style on ”Stoney,” before closing out with a breezy “Bye buckaroos,” to the Austin audience, adding “It’s been one of them high-flying days.”

One of the most revered country music singer-songwriters of the last century, Billy Joe Shaver helped launch the outlaw country uprising in Austin in the early 1970s and made his share of definitive Texas outlaw recordings over the course of his storied career. A larger-than-life figure, nobody wrote songs about hard living and redemption like Billy Joe Shaver. Whether he was talking about falling off the wagon or getting back on, the Texas native’s plain-spoken eloquence found beauty in the rough times, and expressed it with optimism for the future. Widely-respected by peers (among them: Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash), his breakthrough came after penning the majority of songs on Waylon Jennings’ classic 1973 album Honky Tonk Heroes.

photo by Scott Newton

ACL pays tribute to the down-to-earth icon and his remarkable legacy with a retrospective showcasing many of his greatest tunes starting with his ACL debut in 1980. A compelling, charismatic performer, Billy Joe performs catalog highlights including “Georgia On A Fast Train” (a song still featured in Willie Nelson’s repertoire), “Ride Me Down Easy” and “Black Rose” (featuring Shaver’s classic couplet “The Devil made me do it the first time/ The second time I done it on my own”). Accompanied by his beloved son, guitarist Eddy Shaver on all his ACL outings, the country songwriting giant performs “I’m Just An Old Chunk of Coal (But I’m Gonna Be a Diamond Someday)” in 1985 and joins Waylon and Willie and the boys as part of a 1997 Songwriters Showcase with a moving acoustic performance of a signature tune, the gem “Live Forever,” with the line “‘Just like the songs I leave behind me/ I’m gonna live forever now.’” Ride on Cowboy.

“Far more than Willie or Waylon, Jerry Jeff and Billy Joe were the true outlaws of Country music – and they lived the lives to prove it,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Jerry Jeff had as much to do as Willie with putting Austin on the musical map, and Billy Joe pretty much launched Waylon’s career with his songs. They both carried the Outlaw tradition straight into the 21st century, and really didn’t give a damn what anybody else thought!”

Jerry Jeff Walker setlist:

Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother (1986)

L.A. Freeway (1976)

Mr. Bojangles (1976)

Stoney (1986)

Gettin’ By (1976)

Billy Joe Shaver setlist:

Georgia On A Fast Train (1985)

Black Rose (1980)

Honky Tonk Heroes (1980)

Ragged Old Truck (1980)

Ride Me Down Easy (1985)

Willy the Wandering Gypsy and Me (1985)

I’m Just An Old Chunk of Coal (But I’m Gonna Be a Diamond Someday) (1985)

Live Forever (1997)

You Asked Me To (1980)

Season 46 Broadcast Schedule:

January 9 Foo Fighters Rock Austin City Limits

January 16 The War And Treaty | Ruthie Foster

January 23 Ray Wylie Hubbard

January 30 The Best of Spoon

February 6 Texas Icons: Jerry Jeff Walker & Billy Joe Shaver

February 13 Allen Toussaint: New Orleans Legend

ACL’s Season 46 premiered in October with standout performances from 2021 Grammy nominee Rufus Wainwright, UK country-soul sensation Yola, rock and country trailblazers The Mavericks, acclaimed Austin standout Jackie Venson, salutes to late ACL legends John Prine and Stevie Ray Vaughan, a celebration of 50 years of Asleep at the Wheel and more.

Tune-in, log on, 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 schedules or by following ACL on Facebook, Twitter, IG and TikTok. Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews.

About 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 46th 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 KLRU 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, KLRU-TV and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, RigUp, 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.

Tags Billy Joe Shaver, cosmic cowboy, Jerry Jeff Walker, outlaw country

Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

The best of ACL indie rock kings Spoon on ACL

Post author By michael
Post date January 29, 2021

photo by Scott Newton

Live music beacon Austin City Limits (ACL) spotlights one of modern rock’s premier bands, Austin’s own Spoon, with The Best of Spoon. The career-spanning hour offers a fascinating look at the acclaimed band’s evolution from their debut on the series in 2003 to the recent present via highlights from the four-time ACL veterans. The broadcast premieres Saturday, January 30 at 8pm CT/9pm ET, as part of the iconic series Season 46. The episode will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, January 31 @10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits. With live music on hold, ACL continues to provide viewers a front-row seat to the best in performance. The program airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings for times) and full episodes are made available online for a limited time at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding future tapings, episode schedules and select live stream updates. The show’s official hashtag is #acltv.

Spoon emerged in the early aughts and Austin City Limits is proud to present highlights from the band’s multiple appearances on the program over two decades. Pitchfork hails them as “one of the most stand-up bands of their generation” and as Rolling Stone raves of their twenty-five year streak: “It’s just been one long stretch of slow-build greatness.” The 14-song, career-wide hour is a master-class from a band that has inspired legions of diehard fans and made it strictly on its own terms: jagged guitar, tight melodies and killer hooks, as frontman Britt Daniels’ indelible vocals fuse with drummer Jim Eno’s impeccable beats to create a sound all their own.

“Austin City Limits has always been good to us, going back to when I was served underage beers in the old UT studios at the Stevie Ray Vaughan taping of 1989,” says Britt Daniel. “We’ve played the show four different times now, and it never feels less than epic to be on stage with that set of the Austin skyline.”

photo by Scott Newton

Spoon tear through early-career highlights in their 2003 ACL debut, including the gut punch “Everything Hits At Once” from their 2001 breakthrough Girls Can Tell (which marks the 20th Anniversary this year) alongside the melodic swagger of “The Way We Get By” from 2002’s Kill the Moonlight. The band makes a confident return in 2005 to perform songs from that year’s Gimme Fiction. “This feels very Austin City Limits—I’m gonna invite somebody up on the stage,” says Daniel as indie standout M. Ward joins them on guitar for the scorching “The Beast and Dragon, Adored.” Spoon showcase their bona fides in a 2010 outing filled with gems from 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and 2010’s Transference including a definitive “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” backed by a six-piece horn section. Returning to ACL in 2015 for the fourth time, Spoon receives a hero’s welcome from the Austin crowd. The band is at the top of their game, with a catalog of hits to match, and they deliver a stellar set filled with fan favorites including “I Turn My Camera On” and highlights from their acclaimed eighth album, 2014’s They Want My Soul, thrilling with the sublime pop perfection of “Do You” and “Rainy Taxi.”

Best of Spoon setlist:

Small Stakes (2003)

The Way We Get By (2003)

Everything Hits At Once (2003)

My Mathematical Mind (2005)

The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine (2005)

The Beast and Dragon, Adored (2005)

I Summon You (2005)

Sister Jack (2005)

You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb (2010)

Written In Reverse (2010)

Jonathan Fisk (2010)

I Turn My Camera On (2015)

Do You (2015)

Rainy Taxi (2015)

Season 46 Broadcast Schedule:

January 9 Foo Fighters Rock Austin City Limits

January 16 The War And Treaty | Ruthie Foster

January 23 Ray Wylie Hubbard

January 30 The Best of Spoon

February 6 Texas Icons: Jerry Jeff Walker & Billy Joe Shaver

February 13 Allen Toussaint: New Orleans Legend

Tune-in, log on, 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 schedules or by following ACL on Facebook, Twitter, IG and TikTok. Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews.

For images and episode information, visit Austin City Limits press room at http://acltv.com/press-room/.

About 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 46th 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 KLRU 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, KLRU-TV and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, RigUp, 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.

Tags Spoon

Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Ray Wylie Hubbard triumphs on ACL

Post author By michael
Post date January 21, 2021

photo by Scott Newton

Austin City Limits is proud to present the long-awaited debut of cult hero Ray Wylie Hubbard in a thrilling new hour. The ‘70s cosmic-country legend is currently enjoying one of the great second acts in music and he entertains with songs and banter, sharing tunes and tales from his legendary career. The installment premieres Saturday, January 23 as part of the iconic series Season 46 and will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, January 24@10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits. The broadcast, recorded in October 2020, reflects a rare no-audience taping due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With live music on hold, ACL continues to provide viewers a front-row seat to the best in performance. The program airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings for times) and full episodes are made available online for a limited time at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding future tapings, episode schedules and select live stream updates.

When F. Scott Fitzgerald issued his classic conclusion ‘There are no second acts in American lives,’ he failed to envision the career of Ray Wylie Hubbard, a willing conspirator in the late seventies Cosmic Cowboy revolt that ushered in the mythical Outlaw era. Hubbard, alongside colleagues such as Willie Nelson and Jerry Jeff Walker, was a catalyst in the cultural upheaval that led to the peaceful coexistence of Lone Star music fans at opposite ends of the social and political spectrum of the time. Hell-bent for truth and texture in capturing the way outlaws live, the Texas treasure relaunched his career in the 1990s and has been recording critically-lauded work ever since. Legions of fans in his home state and beyond have requested an ACL appearance by Hubbard for years and he now kicks up some cosmic dust in this long-awaited set, amplified by first-class musicians including his son, guitarist Lucas Hubbard and longtime drummer Kyle Schneider, joined by ace Austin musicians Bukka Allen on keyboards and bassist Gurf Morlix.

“There’s no good excuse for why it took Ray Wylie to finally make his debut on Austin City Limits after 46 years,” offered ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, “but like a fine whiskey, some things just keep getting better with age. Ray Wylie is in his prime right now, and also like a fine whiskey, there’s no better antidote to a year-long pandemic!”

“I hope you’re ready for this,” teases Hubbard after opening with a pair of numbers from his 2006 release Snake Farm, including the title track, a dirty-blues anthem celebrating a Texas roadside attraction. “If this is the first time you’ve seen me perform, you’re probably a little bit nervous after those first two songs,” jokes Hubbard. Passion for the man whose outlier bona fides have made him a roadhouse saint hasn’t waned as he is revered by a new generation of performers; he explores recent songs written with Eric Church and Hayes Carll. Hubbard presents highlights from his recent, acclaimed major label debut, Co-Starring, which features an impressive array of guests, including Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, Chris Robinson and Don Was, and showcases the new gem”Rock Gods,” a salute to one of his own heroes, Tom Petty.

photo by Scott Newton

Addressing ACL viewers, Hubbard remarks with a sly smile, “You might get the idea that I’m an acquired taste — so this song should weed you out.” The renegade poet closes the set with the swamp rocker “Mother Blues” from 2012’s The Grifter’s Hymnal – the story of a stolen Les Paul Gold Top, romances rooted in an afterhours gig, and the wisdom of keeping your gratitude higher than your expectations.

Ray Wylie Hubbard setlist:

Rabbit

Snake Farm

Drunken Poet’s Dream

Bad Trick

Rock Gods

Fast Left Hand

Wanna Rock and Roll

Desperate Man

Mother Blues

Season 46 Broadcast Schedule:

January 9 Foo Fighters Rock Austin City Limits

January 16 The War And Treaty | Ruthie Foster

January 23 Ray Wylie Hubbard

January 30 The Best of Spoon

February 6 Texas Icons: Jerry Jeff Walker & Billy Joe Shaver

February 13 Allen Toussaint: New Orleans Legend

About 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 46th 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 KLRU 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, KLRU-TV and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, RigUp, 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.

Tags Bukka Allen, cosmic cowboy, Gurf Morlix, outlaw country, Ray Wylie Hubbard, rock & roll

Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

ACL lifts us up with The War And Treaty and Ruthie Foster

Post author By michael
Post date January 13, 2021

photo by Scott Newton

Live music beacon Austin City Limits offers a glorious hour of uplifting music for troubled times, featuring two of live music’s most powerful voices: husband-and-wife duo The War And Treaty and 2021 Grammy nominee, singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster. The new installment premieres Saturday, January 16 as part of the iconic series Season 46 – check your local listings for showtimes. The episode will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, January 17 @10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits. With live music on hold, ACL continues to provide viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance. The program airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings for times) and full episodes are made available online for a limited time at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding future tapings, episode schedules and select live stream updates.

Known for a live show that’s almost revival-like in its intensity, Nashville-based breakout act The War And Treaty showcase gems from their acclaimed 2020 album Hearts Town. Named Americana Music Awards 2019 Emerging Act of the Year, partners and collaborators Michael and Tanya Trotter deliver an impassioned ACL debut with their earthy, rock-infused Southern soul. “America, it’s time to unite. We need each other,” says Trotter from his piano bench as he leads the 10-piece ensemble and the pair drive home the plea for unity in times of division on “Beautiful.” The duo shine on “Take Me In,” a stunning anthem of inclusion, adding a verse from the Ray Charles version of “America the Beautiful” to powerful effect. The dynamic act reach new heights with a show-stopping number inspired by Charles, “Hey Pretty Moon,” closing out in dazzling harmony.

Blues and soul luminary Ruthie Foster returns to ACL for the first time in nearly two decades with a career-spanning set in a radiant performance. The Austin American-Statesman hails this homegrown treasure as “a transcendent singer with uncommon power and emotion” and she shines in a sparkling set accompanied by her 4-piece band and a trio of backing vocalists. Foster’s uplifting songs blend blues, folk, gospel and soul, including the jewels “Brand New Day” and “Feels Like Freedom.” Foster fondly calls her live shows “Hallelujah Time,” and a set highlight is the feel-good empowerment anthem “Phenomenal Woman” from 2007’s The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster, showcasing her powerhouse vocals and contagious joy. She dips into the catalog of the mighty Staples Singers for “The Ghetto,” a gorgeous, piercing tune of history and social commentary.

photo by Scott Newton

“Given the troubled state of our country today, this may well be our most meaningful show of the season,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “There’s a message and a spirit behind the music that we all need to hear right now. We are also proud to once again celebrate Austn’s most passionate musical voice, Ruthie Foster.”

The War And Treaty setlist:

Five More Minutes

Beautiful

Take Me In

Jubilee

Hey Pretty Moon

Ruthie Foster setlist:

Brand New Day

Phenomenal Woman

Feels Like Freedom

The Ghetto

Runaway Soul

Season 46 Broadcast Schedule:

January 9 Foo Fighters Rock Austin City Limits

January 16 The War And Treaty | Ruthie Foster

January 23 Ray Wylie Hubbard

January 30 The Best of Spoon

February 6 Texas Icons: Jerry Jeff Walker & Billy Joe Shaver

February 13 Allen Toussaint: New Orleans Legend

About 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 46th 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 KLRU 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, KLRU-TV and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, RigUp, 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.

Tags Ruthie Foster, The War And Treaty

Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Foo Fighters Rock Austin City Limits TV this weekend

Post author By michael
Post date January 7, 2021

photo by Scott Newton

Live music beacon Austin City Limits resumes Season 46 with an electrifying hour: Foo Fighters Rock Austin City Limits, celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the rock superstars and in anticipation of their 10^th studio album, Medicine At Midnight, which is set to be released on February 5th. Experience the communal magic of live music with the best, the best, the best of Foo Fighters, featuring a hit parade of classics from the powerhouse band’s two unforgettable ACL appearances, originally broadcast in 2009 and 2015. The must-see hour premieres Saturday, January 9, as ACL’s Season 46 returns with six installments. Check your local PBS listings for broadcast times. The episode will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, January 10 @10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits.

Get your lighters out for a head-banging, epic, joyous hour as Austin City Limits celebrates Foo Fighters with a silver anniversary salute. The 30-million-record-selling, eleven-time GRAMMY-winning band plays sold-out arenas and stadiums across the globe, but these rock and roll stalwarts took time in Season 34 — then returned for ACL’s milestone Season 40 — to carve their name in ACL history with superstar-caliber performances. The thrilling hour showcases highlights from the pair of programs as Dave Grohl & company make their ACL debut in 2009 with blistering renditions of early Foo favorites including “My Hero,” “Everlong” and “All My Life” in a fevered rock attack that captures the magnetic energy of the band. In their 2015 encore, Foo Fighters return at the height of their powers to deliver a blitzkrieg of anthems from their canon as frontman Grohl playfully ventures offstage to get close to the fans. The hard-driving band play at full tilt and drive it home with their classic “Best of You,” as the pumped-up crowd thrills to iconic riffs and the Foos close out with an epic blitz of guitar bliss in a performance for the ages.

“I’m sure I can speak for every musician when I say that being asked to come play Austin City Limits is practically like getting a medal,” says Dave Grohl. “As a musician it’s something to aspire to and if you actually achieve that then you wear it like a badge.”

Foo Fighters Rock Austin City Limits setlist:

All My Life (2009)

My Hero (2009)

Everlong (2009)

Monkey Wrench (2009)

The Pretender (2009)

Times Like These (2015)

Rope (2015)

Walk (2015)

Best of You (2015)

Season 46 Broadcast Schedule:

January 9 Foo Fighters Rock Austin City Limits

January 16 The War And Treaty | Ruthie Foster

January 23 Ray Wylie Hubbard

January 30 The Best of Spoon

February 6 Texas Icons: Jerry Jeff Walker & Billy Joe Shaver

February 13 Allen Toussaint: New Orleans Legend

About 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 46th 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 KLRU 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, KLRU-TV and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, RigUp, 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.

Tags Foo Fighters

Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

ACL TV presents ACL Hall of Fame: The First 6 Years

Post author By michael
Post date December 15, 2020

photo by Scott Newton

Kick off the New Year with a good ‘un: Austin City Limits presents ACL Hall of Fame: The First 6 Years, a special broadcast featuring a victory lap of some of the finest performances from the first six years of the annual ACL Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, from the inaugural induction celebration in 2014 to 2019’s sixth annual ceremony. The Austin City Limits Hall of Fame was established in 2014 to honor beacons of American music who have played an instrumental role in making the iconic music series a music institution. The 14-song, all-star salute, recorded live in Austin, Texas, features best–in-class performances and collaborations, many never-before-broadcast, from the annual celebrations in a performance-packed hour with Hall of Fame honorees including Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy, Los Lobos, Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash and Kris Kristofferson performing alongside special guests. ACL Hall of Fame: The First 6 Years premieres Saturday, January 2 at 8pm CT/9pm ET. Check local PBS listings for times. The special will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, January 3 @10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits.

The Hall of Fame celebration captures one-of-a-kind performances and emotional moments as the hour kicks off with the very first inductee into ACL’s inaugural Hall of Fame in 2014: Willie Nelson, who appeared on ACL’s pilot episode in 1974, and performs his classic “On the Road Again” joined by special guests Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett. Blues giant Buddy Guy, a 2019 inductee, performs an electrifying take on his gem “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues” joined by a longtime friend, bluesman Jimmie Vaughan. For her induction in 2017, Rosanne Cash shares the stage with friends Elvis Costello and Neko Case, trading verses on her early chart-topping anthem “Seven Year Ache,” joined by legendary guitarist Ry Cooder. A trio of music’s most expressive vocalists, Chris Isaak, Brandi Carlile and Raul Malo, join forces to celebrate the legendary Roy Orbison’s 2017 induction with a joyous rendition of the pioneering rocker’s signature “Oh, Pretty Woman.” Acclaimed singer-songwriter Jason Isbell performs a moving solo rendition of Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark’s classic, “Desperados Waiting For A Train,” saluting the 2015 inductee. Bonnie Raitt celebrates her induction in 2016 teaming up with handpicked guests Mavis Staples and Taj Mahal on a blazing rendition of her smash “Thing Called Love.” Kris Kristofferson, a fellow 2016 inductee, lights up the stage with a moving, solo acoustic performance of his early 70s classic “Lovin’ Her Was Easier.” Celebrating her induction in 2019, Shawn Colvin delivers a captivating performance of her early gem “Diamond In the Rough,” from her 1989 debut Steady On, joined by a pair of Texas singer-songwriters, Sarah Jarosz and fellow inductee Lyle Lovett. The queen of country music, Loretta Lynn, who first appeared on the series in 1983, is celebrated during her 2015 induction by country singer Patty Loveless, with a stirring rendition of the living legend’s first number one country hit “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’”.

Photo by Gary Miller

The “first family of funk,” The Neville Brothers, the first New Orleans act to appear on ACL in 1979, are saluted by Trombone Shorty and members of the next-generation Nevilles Band for a scorching NOLA-style tribute to the influential funk ‘n’ soul collective in honor of their 2017 induction. Legendary Texas singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt is inducted in 2015 with an all-star tribute of his “White Freightliner Blues” with music greats Lyle Lovett, Ray Benson, Vince Gill, Gillian Welch, Dwight Yoakam and more trading verses on the classic. Blues-rock star Gary Clark Jr. puts down his guitar for the occasion and steps up to the mic to pay vocal tribute to 2018 inductee Ray Charles, delivering a radiant “Night Time Is the Right Time” while vocalists Ruthie Foster, Carolyn Wonderland and Shelley King do The Raelettes proud with show-stopping backing chorus. American originals Los Lobos join the fifth class of inductees in 2018 performing a classic from their celebrated four-decade career, “La Pistola Y El Corazon”. The broadcast comes to an epic close saluting blues-rock icon Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 2014 induction into the first class of inductees, as a murderers’ row of guitar greats, including Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy and Johnny Lang, perform a blistering “Texas Flood,” the Lone Star classic Vaughan made famous when he performed it on his now-classic 1983 ACL debut, in a performance for the ages.

Austin City Limits Hall of Fame: The First Six Years setlist:

Willie Nelson w/ Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett “On the Road Again”

Buddy Guy w/Jimmie Vaughan “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues”

Rosanne Cash w/Elvis Costello, Neko Case, Ry Cooder “Seven Year Ache”

Chris Isaak w/Brandi Carlile, Raul Malo “Oh Pretty Woman”

Jason Isbell “Desperados Waiting For A Train”

Bonnie Raitt w/ Mavis Staples, Taj Mahal “Thing Called Love”

Kris Kristofferson “Lovin’ Her Was Easier”

Shawn Colvin w/Lyle Lovett & Sarah Jarosz “Diamond in the Rough”

Patty Loveless “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’”

The Nevilles Band w/Trombone Shorty “Meet De Boys on De Battlefront”

All-Star Cast f. Lyle Lovett, Ray Benson, Vince Gill, Gillian Welch, Dwight Yoakam “White Freightliner Blues”

Gary Clark Jr. w/Ruthie Foster, Carolyn Wonderland, Shelley King “Night Time Is the Right Time”

Los Lobos “La Pistola Y El Corazon”

All-Star Finale f. Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy, Johnny Lang, Lukas Nelson, Doyle Bramhall II, Robert Randolph “Texas Flood”

Photo by Scott Newton

Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding future tapings, episode schedules and select live stream updates.

About 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 46th 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 KLRU 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.

ACL Hall of Fame: The First 6 Years is produced by Austin PBS, KLRU-TV and funding is provided in part by AXS, Dell Technologies, 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.