Category: Featured

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce a stellar slate of upcoming tapings for Season 52, featuring several highly-anticipated ACL debuts alongside a returning favorite. On May 19, breakout star and Dripping Springs native Ty Myers makes his ACL debut, performing hits and highlights from his newly released sophomore album Heavy On The Soul. Acclaimed singer-songwriter S.G. Goodman takes the ACL stage for the first time on May 26 with selections from her latest release Planting by the Signs. On June 9, Grammy-nominated R&B star Ari Lennox brings highlights from her acclaimed album Vacancy. Celebrated Colombian singer-songwriter Sebastián Yatra, a Latin Grammy-winner and Grammy nominee, makes his ACL debut on June 22, with songs from his Milagro. And on July 2, bluegrass superstar Billy Strings returns for his second headlining ACL appearance with highlights from his 2026 Grammy-winning Bluegrass Album of the Year, Highway Prayers.

Hailed “the next face of Country music” by Rolling Stone and “a generational talent” by No Depression, singer-songwriter-guitarist Ty Myers is rapidly emerging as one of the genre’s most exciting new voices. Myers created a viral buzz with his debut, “Tie That Binds” in 2023, and his widely-acclaimed 2025 debut album The Select earned three RIAA certifications including his first Platinum hit with the Top 10-and-climbing Country radio single “Ends of the Earth.” His newly released sophomore album, Heavy On The Soul (RECORDS Nashville/Columbia), channels the Southern rock, soul, and blues that shaped his musical foundation, raised just outside Austin in Dripping Springs, where his family has operated a cattle ranch for more than six generations. Myers recorded the new album at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama—home to classic recordings by iconic artists including Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding. Produced by Brandon Hood, Heavy On The Soul features a top-tier lineup of session players, including guitarist Tom Bukovac (Glen Campbell, Vince Gill) and steel guitarist Bruce Bouton (George Strait, Emmylou Harris). Eleven of the album’s seventeen songs are written solely by Myers, marking a next chapter for the young artist with standout tracks including “Message to You,” “Leaving Carolina,” “Through a Screen,” “Come On Over, Baby,” along with “Two Trains,” featuring Marcus King. With more than 1.4 billion global streams to date—boasting over 20 million global streams per week—Myers continues to build remarkable momentum. His breakthrough single “Ends of the Earth” alone has surpassed 270 million global streams, while earlier hit “Drinkin’ Alone” earned Gold certification with more than 135 million streams. Myers has sparked heartthrob-level pandemonium on the road, generating enormous fan demand including the sold-out 73-date The Select Tour in 2025. He’s currently supporting Luke Combs on his stadium tour—and makes his Stagecoach debut in April — following previous opening runs with artists including Randy Rogers Band, Wade Bowen, Old Dominion, Tim McGraw, and Willie Nelson. Having just turned 18, Myers launches his aptly named The Legal Tour this summer, a major headlining run beginning June 11. He has been featured in Rolling Stone, the Austin American-Statesman, and the Los Angeles Times, named Billboard’s Country Rookie of the Month and included on its prestigious 21 Under 21 all-genre list. Myers has also earned “Artist to Watch” recognition from GRAMMY.com, Vevo, Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music, which named him its Country Riser of the Month.

S.G. Goodman returns from the Western Kentucky bottomlands with Planting by the Signs, her first release on her own Slough Water Records via Thirty Tigers. Recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the album takes its name from an ancient farming tradition still practiced in parts of the South, where the position of the moon as it moves through the signs of the zodiac determines the best time to plant crops and tend the land. By early 2023, Goodman’s star was rising faster than at any point since the release of her 2020 solo debut, Old Time Feeling. Following an extensive post-pandemic run opening for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, she was named Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2023 Americana Honors & Awards. Her audience grew even wider when fellow Kentucky native Tyler Childers recorded a moving cover of her song “Space and Time” for his 2023 album Rustin’ in the Rain, introducing Goodman’s songwriting to a new generation of listeners. The concept for Planting by the Signs emerged from Goodman’s rural Kentucky upbringing and her rediscovery of the practice while reading the classic Appalachian guide Foxfire. She remembered lessons from childhood—that planting a garden, weaning a baby, or even getting a haircut are best timed in accordance with the cycles of the moon. In revisiting the tradition, Goodman found a framework that stood in stark contrast to the fast-paced, technology-driven culture surrounding her, offering a lens through which to reflect on connection, balance, and humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Personal loss also shaped the album’s creation. In a two-week span in 2023, Goodman lost her beloved dog and longtime friend Mike Harmon—a mentor and father figure referenced in her early song “Red Bird Morning.” The grief left her searching for grounding and ultimately led to a renewed creative partnership with longtime collaborator and guitarist Matthew Rowan. Goodman, Rowan, and co-producer Drew Vandenberg decamped to the historic Nutt House in Sheffield, Alabama, where they began recording the album in fall 2024. Composed of eleven songs shaped by love, loss and reconciliation, Planting by the Signs showcases Goodman’s singular voice and her signature blend of vulnerable folk music and punchy rock ‘n roll, layered with chiming guitars, ethereal atmospherics, and her DIY ethos. Goodman explores timeless traditions while offering a powerful reminder of humanity’s enduring conection to nature—and to one another.

Ari Lennox is soul in its purest form—fearless, radiant, and singular. Hailing from Washington, D.C., the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter has built a career defined by emotional honesty, vocal excellence, and unwavering artistic integrity. Her latest album, Vacancy, recorded over three years and executive produced by longtime collaborator Elite, marks a confident new chapter in her artistry. The project finds Lennox embracing growth and self-assurance, upping the emotional depth and perspective that have defined her work. She steps fully into her “Soft Girl Era,” not as a reinvention, but as a refinement. Lennox co-wrote every track on the album, further cementing her reputation as a gifted songwriter with a distinctive artistic voice. The Guardian hails Vacancy “the R&B sophisticate’s loosest and most fun outing yet,” raving, “Lennox balances jazz-soaked tradition with flashes of unruly humor and a surefire viral hit.” Known for her powerhouse live performances, Lennox has captivated audiences from major festival stages to her sold-out 2023 headlining tour, which moved nearly 90,000 tickets worldwide. Recent highlights include multiple sold-out nights alongside Robert Glasper during his Blue Note residency in Los Angeles, and a featured performance at EBONY’s star-studded 80th Anniversary Power 100 Gala. Lennox first captured global attention with her 2019 debut Shea Butter Baby, a modern R&B classic which produced the platinum-certified title track and “BMO,” along with Gold-certified fan favorites “Whipped Cream” and “Up Late.” The album earned her a Grammy nomination and honors from the Soul Train Awards and NAACP Image Awards, firmly establishing her as one of the contemporary R&B’s most compelling voices. In 2021, she reached new heights with the chart-topping single “Pressure,” her first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100. Across each release—including her celebrated 2022 album age/sex/location, praised by Rolling Stone as an “R&B gem”—Lennox has distinguished herself as both a dynamic vocalist and a songwriter whose music resonates with clarity and truth.

Few artists in contemporary Latin music balance global pop ambition with emotional intimacy as effortlessly as Sebastián Yatra. The Latin Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated Colombian-American singer-songwriter has become one of the defining voices of modern Latin pop, blending romantic balladry, reggaeton rhythms, and melodic storytelling into songs that resonate with audiences worldwide. With more than 40 billion global streams and a vast international following, Yatra has built a career marked by sincerity, versatility, and an instinct for timeless pop songwriting. Born in Medellín and raised in Miami, Yatra broke through at just 19 with the 2013 hit “El Psicólogo,” quickly establishing himself as a rising star across Latin America. Global recognition soon followed with the smash single “Traicionera,” launching a string of hits and setting the stage for his 2018 debut album Mantra, which topped Billboard’s Latin Pop Albums chart and featured the acclaimed collaboration “Robarte un Beso” with Colombian icon Carlos Vives. Yatra’s sophomore album Fantasía (2019) showcased his gift for romantic pop songwriting and earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Album. In 2022, Yatra reached new creative heights with Dharma, a chart-topping album featuring collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Rauw Alejandro, and Aitana. The project earned him two Latin Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Song for the global hit “Tacones Rojos.” Yatra’s artistry has also extended beyond the recording studio. His performance of “Dos Oruguitas” from Disney blockbuster Encanto earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song and made history as Yatra performed the Spanish-language song live at the Oscars. In 2024, he expanded into acting with a celebrated turn as Billy Flynn in the Broadway production of Chicago. A charismatic and magnetic artist, Yatra has landed on the covers of international editions of Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, ELLE and Rolling Stone. His fourth studio album Milagro (Miracle), delivered a trio of standouts—“Los Domingos,” “2AM,” and “La Pelirroja”—with each song designed to reflect a different emotional “miracle.” As an in-demand collaborator, Yatra continues to explore new musical terrain alongside acclaimed Latin artists in recent releases including, “Canción para Regresar,” “LA FKN VIBRA,” and “Cucaracheo,” reaffirming his place as one of Latin music’s most expansive and globally influential artists.

Three-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and musician Billy Strings returns to the ACL stage following another landmark year. His latest full-length album, Highway Prayers was recently named Best Bluegrass Album at the 2026 Grammy Awards, marking his second consecutive win in the category and third overall. Produced by Strings and Jon Brion (Fiona Apple, Mac Miller, Aimee Mann) and released via Reprise Records, the album debuted at #1 on Billboard’s all-genre Top Album Sales chart, the first bluegrass album to achieve the feat in more than two decades. The record has drawn widespread acclaim, with GQ calling Strings “the hottest roots-music phenomenon in decades” and Pitchfork praising, “the bluegrass wunderkind expands his palette, exploring new textures and emotional registers while staying true to his beloved genre.” Following Highway Prayers, Strings released an exclusive Apple Music Nashville Sessions EP featuring reworked songs from the record as well as the surprise collaborative album Live at the Legion with bluegrass virtuoso Bryan Sutton. Recorded live at Nashville’s American Legion Post 82, the project captures the duo performing 20 traditional bluegrass and folk songs, including new renditions of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” and Doc Watson’s “Way Downtown.” Born in Michigan and now based in Nashville, Strings has emerged as the genre’s new superstar, blending bluegrass traditions with influences from rock, jazz and psychedelia. Since his 2017 debut, he has received numerous accolades, including Best Bluegrass Album at the 63rd, 67th and 68th Grammy Awards, Artist of the Year at the 2022 and 2023 Americana Music Awards, Entertainer of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Awards in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025, and Pollstar Awards’ Breakthrough Artist of the Pandemic in 2021 and Best New Headliner in 2022. An electrifying live performer, Strings is currently in the midst of an extensive headline arena tour throughout 2026 and will join Willie Nelson for his annual Fourth of July picnic this summer. He made his ACL debut in Season 47 (2021), and returned for the series’ 50th Anniversary celebration in 2024. ACL is thrilled to welcome him back to the stage

Want to be part of the audience? Information on how to obtain free passes will be posted one week prior to each taping. Follow @acltv on IG, Facebook and X for updates. Broadcast episodes will air and stream on PBS as part of Austin City Limits’ upcoming Season 52; previous seasons are available to stream online anytime or on the free PBS App.