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Featured New Broadcast News

ACL announces Season 48 lineup

Brandi Carlile on Austin City Limits, Season 48., Photo by Scott Newton.

Iconic television series Austin City Limits proudly announces the fall return of the program and the initial Season 48 broadcast line-up with seven all-new installments to begin airing October 1 at 8pm CT/9pm ET as part of the esteemed broadcast’s fourteen episode season. ACL brings fans a new season, packed with a stellar slate of ACL legends and highly-anticipated debuts from some of today’s most talked-about live acts. The program, recorded live at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas, 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 48 years as the music institution nears a remarkable half-century milestone. 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.

Austin City Limits returns this fall with a season opener featuring celebrated singer-songwriter and six-time Grammy Award recipient Brandi Carlile in her third appearance on the ACL stage. The acclaimed Americana artist is at the top of her game in a sterling hour, and delivers a career-spanning performance alongside selections from her latest In These Silent Days, backed by a nine-piece band. 

The new season continues with a number of highly-anticipated debut appearances from a diverse slate of artists. ACL spotlights a pair of 2022 Grammy Best New Artist nominees: Japanese Breakfast, featuring acclaimed indie singer-songwriter Michelle Zauner, perform songs from their breakthrough Jubilee; sharing the hour with 21-year old British singer-songwriter Arlo Parks in a soaring set filled with numbers from her Mercury Prize-winning Collapsed in Sunbeams. A pair of indie sensations shine in a captivating double-bill with synth-pop duo Sylvan Esso performing songs from Free Love, a 2022 Grammy nominee for dance/electronic album, as well as the forthcoming No Rules Sandy; and indie-pop duo Lucius debut songs from their latest Second Nature, stunning with spellbinding harmonies. ACL showcases a pair of standout Canadian singer-songwriters: Montreal native Allison Russell makes her ACL debut with a radiant set featuring songs from her 2022 triple Grammy-nominated solo debut album Outside Child, backed by an all-female band; sharing the hour is The Weather Station, the performance name of Toronto indie-folk singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman, in a mesmerizing set featuring selections from Ignorance, which topped many 2021 year-end-best-of album lists. Two Texas originals are paired in a highly-anticipated hour: Fast-rising country star Parker McCollum makes his ACL debut with songs from his major label debut Gold Chain Cowboy and in a special appearance, ACL veteran and Americana great Robert Earl Keen, who announced his retirement from touring this year, returns for a poignant final bow featuring beloved classics from across his over four-decade career.

A season highlight is the long-awaited return of ACL Hall of Famer Lyle Lovett, joined by his iconic Large Band, making his first appearance in a decade with songs from his first new album in 10 years, 12th of June. Cuban funk sensations Cimafunk and The Tribe round out the first half of Season 48 with an ecstatic hour; the nine-piece powerhouse band make a thrilling ACL debut with standouts from their soulful album El Alimento in a must-see installment.

“We’re especially proud of what is truly a historic line-up for our new season, and we’re only half-way there,” said longtime ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Never before have we showcased such an amazing mix of such diverse and eclectic female artists, each making their mark on contemporary music with their own unique talents. We continue our musical journey from Country to Funk, plus the return of a tried-and-true favorite.”

Season 48 Broadcast Line-up (second half of season to be announced separately)

October 1 Brandi Carlile

October 8 Japanese Breakfast/Arlo Parks

October 15 Sylvan Esso/Lucius

October 22 Allison Russell/The Weather Station

October 29 Parker McCollum/Robert Earl Keen

November 5 Lyle Lovett and His Large Band

November 12 Cimafunk and The Tribe

Watch live, stream anytime, The complete line-up for the full 14-week season, including seven new episodes to air beginning January 2023, 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 48th 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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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Lucius

Lucius on Austin City Limits, July 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

Lucius leaders Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig graced the ACL stage once before, singing backup for Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy’s family band Tweedy in Season 40. We knew then they would bring their own band to the show, and thus were thrilled to witness it actually happening. The band brought its unique blend of pop, electronica, disco and singer/songwriter folk to us having played a series of shows with our recent guest Brandi Carlile, and the seasoning showed with a sparkling set full of songs from across their decade-plus career. 

Sporting their trademark identical hairstyles, Wolfe and Laessig descended in tandem from the drum riser to lead the band into the funky, hip-swinging “Second Nature,” the title track of their latest album, with synchronized stage moves to match their entwined harmonies. The pair picked up blinged-out keytars for the equally discofied, fuzz guitar-frosted single “Next to Normal,” to enthusiastic applause. Wolfe and Laessig then moved back in time to their 2013 debut LP Wildewoman for the groovy, dramatic “Tempest,” beating floor toms (and encouraging the crowd to clap along) and sharing the vocals with bassist Solomon Dorsey and guitarist Alex Pfender. The band returned to Second Nature for the soaring pop anthem “Promises” and the heartfelt, powerfully-sung ballad “The Man I’ll Never Find,” which made use of the sparkling pony mic that allowed Laessig and Wolfe to sing face to face. Lucius shifted to waltz time for the gorgeous “Dusty Trails,” a shimmering showcase for the band’s distinctive vocal blend. At one point the band dropped out and the frontwoman backed away from the mic for a minute of unamplified, a cappella glory, which the audience loved. 

Lucius then stepped away from their original material for their lush cover of Gerry Rafferty’s “Right Down the Line,” recorded for their “unplugged” record Nudes – interestingly, the second time the song has been sung on our stage, following its appearance in Bonnie Raitt’s Season 38 set. The pony mic went away and the set leapt back to Wildewoman for the guitar-powered audience singalong, “How Loud Your Heart Gets.” Back came Second Nature and the keytars for the synth-heavy “Heartbursts,” which found Pfender and Dorsey joining Wolfe and Laessig at the front of the stage. The heart-wrenching “White Lies” followed, a yearning ballad perfect for waving lighters in the dark. In an unusual move, Lucius ended the main set with “Supernatural Girl,” an unreleased but glorious anthem that saw the band exit the stage and join the thrilled audience in a hail of soaring “ahhhhs” and synthesized and strummed feedback. 

“Are we feeling nice and floaty and spacy now?” Wolfe asked, revealing that they hadn’t been part of the crowd since their first record and noting the continuing importance of Austin City Limits to live music, to exuberant applause. The dynamic duo launched into fan-favorite “Two of Us On the Run,” a tribute to their friendship and collaboration. The pair strutted back onstage as the band immediately kicked into the rocking grooves of “Turn It Around,” a song from the group’s 2012 self-titled debut EP. The song ended but the beat continued, Wolfe and Laessig singing the high harmony that signaled the 1970s Donna Summer electro-disco classic “I Feel Love,” to the absolute delight of the audience. The familiar pulse served as soundtrack for the introduction of the band, before returning to the song, climaxing with Laessig and Wolfe taking a tandem bow. The crowd went wild, as well they should have. It was an excellent show, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall as part of our Season 48 on your local PBS station.   

Lucius tapes Austin City Limits, July 18, 2022. Photos by Scott Newton.

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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile on Austin City Limits, July 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

There are few artists in music in the twenty-first century more respected and beloved than Brandi Carlile, and we’re always glad to have her back on Austin City Limits. Having gone from strength to strength and triumph to triumph since she first played our show back in 2010, the award-winning singer, songwriter, producer and activist made her third appearance with a stunning show centered around her much-admired seventh LP In These Silent Days. 

The set began with a “Twintro,” as Carlile’s longtime musical, harmony and songwriting partners Tim and Phil Hanseroth came onstage from opposite sides for some six-string crosstalk. The rest of the band came up to fill up the sound, then Carlile herself arrived, picked up her guitar, and launched the hard rocking “Broken Horses.” The band followed up with the twins manned stompboards as well as their axes for the breathless folk rock of “The Thing I Regret,” a Firewatcher’s Daughter tune and a showcase for their harmony blend with their bandleader. Singers/string players Monique and Chaunte Ross (last seen on our stage in May with Allison Russell) and Kyleen King came onstage for the homespun family devotional of “You and Me On the Rock,” leading Carlile to exclaim, “All these joyful noises!” Joined by cellist Sara Nelson for the full four-piece string section, Carlile took to the piano with the twins around her for lush three-part harmonies on the beautiful love song  “This Time Tomorrow.” Carlile picked her acoustic back up for “The Mother,” a sweet and witty fan favorite from her prior LP By the Way, I Forgive You, enhanced by the string quartet. The tributes to motherly devotion continued with “Mama Werewolf,” a frisky country rocker that “told the truth about what kind of mother I really am.” 

“I think we should get trippy,” Carlisle noted as she brought singer/songwriter/guitarist Celisse to the stage (thereby explaining the pink sparkly guitar rig with “Celisse loves you” written on it) for a gorgeous, psychedelic take on the David Bowie classic “Space Oddity,” with harmony guitars from Celisse and Tim Hanseroth and a sleek segue into a powerhouse version of Radiohead’s “Creep,” capped off by the guest’s crowd-approved guitar solo. The only way to follow that one-two punch was a complete change of pace, thus the acoustic-wielding Carlile and the twins gathered around an old-fashioned microphone for “Cannonball,” a harmony-driven folk delight from her breakthrough The Story. The singer then went back up to the piano for “Right On Time,” her hit from In These Silent Days, replaced by pianist Shooter Jennings as she came back to her guitar to send the song into spectacular flight. The band kept the lighter-waving vibe alive with “Sinners Saints and Fools,” another powerful, defiant anthem from Days that the musicians – especially the strings, percussionist Jeff Haynes and guitarist Tim Hanseroth – sent into orbit. There was only one way to end the set after that: with musician intros and “The Joke,” the incredible song of love and empowerment that’s become Carlile’s signature tune, and one earning her rapturous applause. 

There was no way anyone was ready to let her go after that, however. The band kicked off the encore with Celisse on a bluesy version of Joni Mitchell’s classic “Woodstock,” to loud applause. Afterward, the string section came forward and gathered around the old-fashioned mic and the band ripped through Carlile’s Woody Guthrie-esque folk rocker “Hold Out Your Hand,” a great opportunity for audience sing- and clapalongs. Accompanied only by strings, piano, Hanseroth harmonies and her own acoustic guitar, Carlile ended the show with the benediction “Stay Gentle,” seguing smoothly into a solo version of the classic standard “Over the Rainbow.” Blessings thus bestowed, Carlile beckoned the band back onstage for a final bow to passionate applause. It’s clearly the foundation of a classic episode, and we can’t wait for you to see this season highlight when it airs this fall as part of our Season 48 on your local PBS station. 

Brandi Carlile, the Hanseroth twins and band tape Austin City Limits for the third time, July 13, 2022. Photos by Scott Newton.

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Featured News Taping Announcement

New taping: Lyle Lovett and His Large Band 8/24

Lyle Lovett. Photo by Michael Wilson.

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce the long-awaited return of a favorite Texas son on August 24th—singer, songwriter and ACL Hall of Fame legend Lyle Lovett—appearing with his iconic Large band to showcase 12th of June, his first new album in ten years.  

Lovett first appeared on ACL in 1985, and has notably appeared on the series more times than any act with the exception of Willie Nelson. He returns for his ninth headlining appearance on the ACL stage, after having been memorably inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2019 by actor Sean Penn. The highly-anticipated 12th of June, produced by Chuck Ainlay and Lovett, is his first for new label Verve Records and features a mix of new originals, including the singles “12th of June” and “Pants Is Overrated,” standards by Nat King Cole and Dave Frishberg, and a Horace Silver instrumental, representing Lovett’s dynamic live performances with his Large Band. Coupled with his gift for storytelling, the new album continues to highlight Lovett’s ability to fuse elements of jazz, country, western swing, folk, gospel and blues in a convention-defying manner that breaks down barriers.

When Lyle Lovett introduces his band, he makes a point to cite the place each artist calls home. Home—both a physical space and a metaphorical concept that includes people, space and time—plays formidably into Lovett’s new album 12th of June. His first new recording in a decade tells the stories of specific people in specific places, some operating on a different plane. And while he’s sung about cowboys and creeps, bird-snarfing preachers and the guy who reads a newspaper over your shoulder, a sense of place is as important as the people who populate his songs. “My songs are rarely fiction,” he says. “That’s how I approach my work. My songs are from my life. I am the character in these songs. I get to spend my life for the most part doing a job where I get to be myself.” That has been a guiding principle for Lovett even before he announced his arrival with Lyle Lovett more than 35 years ago. Having studied journalism in college, he sharply draws his who and where. A sense of home and place have proven the base of operations for him to imagine a set of characters to operate. Lovett’s discography isn’t like a Robert Altman film. It’s like an Altman filmography, a collection of true fictions, akin to the happenings in the Yoknapatawpha of Faulkner or the Dublin of Joyce. Like a paper boat set loose in the San Jacinto, 12th of June—the album—cuts a smooth and distinctive path, bobbing through life and death and food, contemplation and humor – signatures that have informed Lovett’s songbook since he started writing songs in his native Klein, Texas, and in College Station, where he attended Texas A&M in the 1970s. He learned from writers who appreciated character, setting, and economy of language. They did it all with ample melody, too.  “This album reflects the music I grew up around,” he says. “My music is like me: I live on land that belonged to my grandfather. I live next door to my mother. I think the music reflects where I’m from and who I am.”

Lyle Lovett has broadened the definition of American music in a career that spans 14 albums. Whether touring with his Acoustic Group or his Large Band, Lovett’s live performances show not only the breadth of this Texas legend’s deep talents, but also the diversity of his influences, making him one of the most compelling and captivating musicians in popular music. Since his self-titled debut in 1986, Lovett has evolved into one of music’s most vibrant and iconic performers. Among his many accolades, including four Grammy Awards, he was given the Americana Music Association’s inaugural Trailblazer Award, was named Texas State Musician and is a member of both the Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Association Hall of Fame and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Lovett made his ACL debut in 1985 as a member of Nanci Griffith’s backing band and he’s made eight headlining appearances: 1987, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2004 and the final taping in ACL’s original Studio 6A in 2011.  He’s appeared on two Songwriters Specials in 1994 and 2008, and in tributes to Walter Hyatt in 1997 and Townes Van Zandt in 1998, and as a featured guest of Leo Kottke in 1988, Delbert McClinton in 1997 and Shawn Colvin in 2001.  Lovett was handpicked by his longtime friend Willie Nelson to perform at his own induction into the inaugural ACL Hall of Fame in 2014. Lovett was inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2019. We’re thrilled to welcome him back to our stage.

Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes as we get a week out from each date. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for notice of postings. The broadcast episode will air this fall on PBS as part of our upcoming Season 48.

Please look for safety updates regarding entry to Austin City Limits tapings. Austin PBS will continue to monitor local COVID-19 trends and will meet or exceed protocols mandated by local governments.

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Featured Live Stream News

Live stream: Lucius

Austin City Limits is happy to announce we will be live streaming the debut appearance of beloved indie pop stars Lucius on July 17 at 8 pm CT. ACL offers fans worldwide the unique opportunity to watch this taping here in its entirety on our ACLTV YouTube Channel. The broadcast episode will air this fall on PBS as part of our upcoming Season 48.  

Acclaimed indie pop band Lucius are in the midst of a landmark year with the release of their widely acclaimed new album, Second Nature, out now via Mom + Pop. Produced by Dave Cobb and Brandi Carlile, the record is a portrait of singer and songwriters Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe’s shared reflection, chronicling each other’s seismic life shifts—motherhood, divorce, unplanned career pauses—and setting it to music. “It is a record that begs you not to sit in the difficult moments, but to dance through them,” Wolfe says. “It touches upon all these stages of grief—and some of that is breakthrough, by the way. Being able to have the full spectrum of the experience that we have had, or that I’ve had in my divorce, or that we had in lockdown, having our careers come to a halt, so to speak. I think you can really hear and feel the spectrum of emotion and hopefully find the joy in the darkness. It does exist. That’s why we made Second Nature and why we wanted it to sound the way it did: our focus was on dancing our way through the darkness.” Released earlier this spring to critical praise, the Los Angeles Times raves, “dazzling…Second Nature mines an ’80s-pop sound with lush synths and sleek disco grooves under the women’s laser-guided vocals,” while Variety declares, “with Second Nature…they’re no longer 20 feet or even a couple of yards from stardom, but re-claiming the spotlight for themselves” and Relix proclaims, “stunning…a 10-song, smart-pop masterpiece.” Known for their perfectly harmonized vocals and electric live shows, Lucius is in the midst of an international headline tour and will join Brandi Carlile for several marquee concerts this summer. In addition to their work as a band, power vocalists Laessig and Wolfe are in-demand collaborators and have also recorded with Sheryl Crow, Harry Styles, The War on Drugs, Ozzy Osborne and John Legend and toured extensively alongside Roger Waters.

Lucius has also announced a flyaway contest to win a chance to see the band’s ACL taping in person. Enter here to win, and the official contest rules can be found here. The prize package includes: 

  • 2 passes to the Lucius Austin City Limits taping on Sunday, July 17
  • 2 night hotel stay at the Carpenter Hotel, July 16-18
  • 2 roundtrip American Airlines flights from anywhere in the continental United States to Austin, Texas on Saturday, July 16 and return flight Monday, July 18

Join us July 17 at 8 p.m. CT for Lucius, and this fall on PBS for the broadcast premiere of Austin City Limits’ upcoming Season 48. 

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Featured Live Stream News

Live stream: Brandi Carlile

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce we will be live streaming our highly-anticipated show with acclaimed singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile on July 13 at 8 pm CT. ACL offers fans worldwide the unique opportunity to watch this taping live here in its entirety on our ACLTV YouTube Channel. The broadcast episode will air this fall on PBS as part of our upcoming Season 48.  

For her third taping, Brandi Carlile returns as a six-time GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, performer, producer, #1 New York Times Bestselling author and activist, who is known as one of music’s most respected voices. Her latest album, In These Silent Days, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart, Top Rock Albums chart and Tastemaker Albums chart and continues to receive overwhelming acclaim. Produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings, In These Silent Days was inspired by the mining of Carlile’s own history while writing last year’s #1 New York Times Best Selling memoir, Broken Horses (Crown), and conceived of while she was quarantined at home with longtime collaborators and bandmates Tim and Phil Hanseroth. The ten songs chronicle acceptance, faith, loss and love and channel icons like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Elton John and Joni Mitchell—the latter two who, by some sort of cosmic alignment of the stars, have turned out to be close friends in addition to being her biggest heroes and inspirations. Of the album, Variety praises, “Carlile effortlessly glides between octaves while, somehow, still sounding completely conversational—the everyday diva we didn’t know we needed until she showed up at our door…a vocal tour de force,” while Billboard asserts, “the emotion that Carlile projects is unbridled, unfettered joy in the face of hard times—and it’s the exact boost of positivity that will make you want to listen again and again.” The New York Times writes, “Larger than life and achingly human…she empathizes, apologizes and lays out accusations. She’s righteous and she’s self-doubting. She proffers fond lullabies and she unleashes full-throated screams,” while NPR Music declares, “absolutely breathtaking, across the whole album Brandi Carlile pulls out all the stops. It’s just extraordinary…she’s just claiming rock god status.” In addition to her six GRAMMY Awards, Carlile has also been recognized with Billboard’s Women In Music “Trailblazer Award,” CMT’s Next Women of Country “Impact Award” and received multiple recognitions from the Americana Music Association Honors & Awards including Artist of the Year for the past two years. 

Join us here on July 13 at 8 p.m. CT for Brandi Carlile, and this fall on PBS for the broadcast premiere of Austin City Limits’ upcoming Season 48.