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Featured News

Preview Radiohead on Austin City Limits

You might recall that Austin City Limits had the pleasure of taping Radiohead back in March. As a taste of what to expect when their episode airs in the fall (on PBS, of course – check your local listings when the leaves start turning brown), check out this preview created by our videographer (and creator of our current open) Jonathan Jackson.

Radiohead “Lotus Flower” – Austin City Limits – behind the scenes from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr to keep up with tapings. airings and other ACL happenings..

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Featured News Taping Announcement

Rodrigo y Gabriela tape Austin City Limits on 5/7

We’ve had our collective eye on Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, who will appear on our stage on May 7, for some time – after all, Austin City Limits has a history of showcasing six-string magic. The pair has been riding high since they took the music world by storm with their self-titled LP back in 2006, raising eyebrows with flamenco takes on thrash metal tunes and forward-thinking originals. Now the duo is touring with C.U.B.A., a 13-piece Cuban orchestra, with whom they recorded their latest record Area 52. The time is right to invite them to their debut ACL performance for a show that’s sure to inspire as much dancing as air guitar.

Keep an eye on the blog, our Facebook page and Twitter feed for news on the public ticket giveaway. We hope to see you there!

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Featured News

Austin City Limits wins a Peabody Award

We are thrilled to announced that Austin City Limits has won a prestigious Peabody Award. To quote the Peabody website:

“Austin City Limits receives a rare Institutional Peabody Award. Thirty-seven seasons on air make it the world’s longest running live music television program.  Concerts by the likes of Coldplay, Widespread Panic and Randy Newman made 2011 a banner year for the Lone Star State’s music showcase.”

The mission of the Peabody Awards is “to recognize the most outstanding achievements in electronic media, including radio, television and cable” and has one criteria: excellence. The receipt of this award puts us not only next to our PBS and NPR peers, but also shoulder-to-shoulder with CNN, ABC, HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central and broadcasters around the world. Seriously, folks, check out the winners list – we’re in great company and proud to be there

Thanks to the University of Georgia, who curate the Peabodys, for this most excellent award, and to everyone – artists, producers, crew, behind-the-scenes folks and, of course, the fans – who make ACL the consistently remarkable show that it is.

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Featured Taping Announcement

The Punch Brothers tape Austin City Limits on 5/1

Chris Thile – lead singer and mandolinist of the genre-busting band Punch Brothers, who will tape a show for us on May 1 — is no stranger to the Austin City Limits stage. The virtuoso musician has appeared twice with his former band Nickel Creek and once in Dolly Parton’s backup band. The Grammy–nominated Punch Brothers, which Thile formed six years ago, has released three albums, most recently Who’s Feeling Young Now?, and is currently on a sold-out US tour. The quintet’s boundary-less mix of indie-rock, bluegrass, classical music, jazz, folk, and pop has attracted critical acclaim, a slot opening for Paul Simon, two songs on the new T Bone Burnett–produced Hunger Games album, and a loyal, growing audience, including fellow musicians like Steve Martin, Elton John, and Marcus Mumford. We’re pleased to welcome the Punch Brothers to Austin City Limits.

Keep an eye on the blog, our Facebook page and Twitter feed regularly for news on the public ticket giveaway. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter as well.

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Episode Recap Featured News

Coldplay takes ACL to Paradise

This weekend we are excited to present a special episode featuring Coldplay.  Recorded last September, the performance features the band debuting several new songs off their latest release Mylo Xyloto, including “Paradise,” “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” and “Hurts Like Heaven,” as well as old favorites like  “Viva La Vida.”

MTV News called it a special night “when a band with a major arsenal finds a way to take its giant energy and squeeze it down into a much smaller space, without losing any of their arena-packing magic.”

Originally presented as a New Year’s Eve special to ring in 2012, the Coldplay show was a milestone for Austin City Limits. Coldplay gave us an extra-special performance, and we’re thrilled to bring it back this spring.

Coldplay performs on Austin City Limits

You can see for yourself this Saturday – check your local listings for the time your PBS station will broadcast this awesome episode. You can also go here for biographical info, pictures and the setlist. Don’t forget to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages and to sign up for our newsletter for more ACL TV sweet stuff. Next week: a guitar-saturated encore episode with Sonic Youth and the Black Keys.

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Featured Taping Recap

Crowd goes wild for Alabama Shakes

We love introducing you to your next favorite band. And we’re pretty sure Alabama Shakes is going to become that for you once you see their smoking hot soul.

While we had a few guests in the audience last night from out of town thanks to SXSW, it was a primarily Austin crowd – many getting to experience the Shakes for the first time.

The evening started off with “Going to the Party,” which flowed directly into “Hold On.” The power of “Hold On” was hard for the audience to resist,  as evidenced by Brittany Howard’s broken guitar string. “I think I was playing it too hard” she said as she switched to another guitar for “Hang Loose.”

The band continued with “I Found You” and “Always Alright,” which led  SoundcheckMag  to write, “You know a band is truly great when you feel like you’ve heard every song one thousand times before.”

Howard spent time introducing “Boys & Girls” to explain it was about a time in her childhood when she was told she could no longer be friends with a boy because they were too old. This touching song brought the energy in the room to a whole new level and sparked an amazing rendition of “Be Mine,” which will have people talking for years to come. ATXSocial said “Damn, Alabama Shakes just rocked it!”

They followed with “Rise to the Sun,” “You Ain’t Alone” and “I Ain’t the Same,” each one building off the last for a soulful storm of emotion. Once the crowd was in a frenzy, Alabama Shakes slipped into “Making Me Itch,” adding a little sexual tension to the set. They carried that over into the next song – just before “Heavy Chevy,” Howard demanded, “I want to see some shakers and some movers!”  And our ACL audience delivered.

The band returned to the stage for an encore, including “On Your Way.” And in just about an hour, the Alabama Shakes had won hundreds of new fans.

‏ @MatthewLillard “Watching the birth of a legend right now. @Alabama_Shakes. Buy stock early. A legend is born in Austin. No shit. Divine genius.”