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Featured News

R.I.P. W.C. Clark

W.C. Clark on Austin City Limits, 1989. Photo by Scott Newton.

W.C. Clark, the Godfather of Austin Blues, passed away on March 2 at the age of 84. Part of the bedrock of the Austin music scene, Clark performed on Austin City Limits in 1989 in celebration of his fiftieth birthday, joined by his friends and devotees Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Kim Wilson, Lou Ann Barton, and Angela Strehli. He was part of the ACL family and we will miss him.

W.C. Clark, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton improvise a jam on Austin City Limits.

Singer, songwriter, guitarist, and bassist Clark became a professional musician at the age of 16, performing his first gig at the legendary Austin venue the Victory Grill. That led to gigs with other Texas blues and soul peers and pioneers, including T. D Bell, Blues Boy Hubbard, and Houston soul star Joe Tex. He also formed his own bands, taking other rising blues and R&B artists under his wing in the likes of the Storm (with Jimmie Vaughan), Southern Feeling (wth Angela Strehli), and the groundbreaking Triple Threat Revue (with Lou Ann Barton and Stevie Ray Vaughan). Other mentees included members of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Sextons Charlie and Will. Beginning in the eighties, Clark led his own band, the W.C. Clark Blues Revue, for nearly forty years, touring the world and releasing eight albums along the way.

W.C. Clark and Friends perform “Take Me to the River.”

“W.C. was a class act and a gentleman,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “He was loved and respected by many, but fame and fortune were not his goals. He epitomized the best of the Austin music scene, and there are none others quite like him.”

Clark played his final gig at Giddy Ups on February 20, a mere thirteen days before his death, leaving behind an enviable legacy. He will be greatly missed.

W.C. Clark and Friends on Austin City Limits, 1989. L-R: Angela Strehli, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jon Blondell, W.C. Clark. Photo by Scott Newton.
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Featured News Taping Announcement

New Season 50 tapings: Jelly Roll, Nickel Creek, Jacob Collier

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce a trio of new tapings for our milestone Season 50: 2X Grammy-nominated Nashville sensation Jelly Roll makes his highly-anticipated ACL debut on April 9, showcasing his breakthrough album Whitsitt Chapel; formative bluegrass act Nickel Creek returns for the first time in a decade on May 5 for their fourth taping, showcasing their latest album Celebrants; and UK phenom, eclectic singer and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier, makes his ACL debut on May 14 on the heels of his sixth Grammy win and the release of his new LP Djesse Vol. 4.

Jelly Roll. Photo by Robby Klein.

Breakout singer-songwriter Jelly Roll (born Jason DeFord) makes his Austin City Limits debut riding country’s hottest hand: he scored a Best New Artist nomination at this year’s Grammy Awards, his 2023 debut country album Whitsitt Chapel debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s All-Genre chart and No. 2 on the Country Album chart, earning him the biggest country debut album in chart history, and he just announced a 37-date “Beautifully Broken” headlining U.S. arena tour. A native of working-class Nashville borough Antioch, Jelly is racking up a string of record-breaking hits and countless accolades, with four 2024 People’s Choice Awards, including Male Country Artist of the Year; was the most nominated male at the 2023 CMA Awards, with five nominations, winning CMA Best New Artist, and swept the 2023 CMT Awards, taking home a trio of awards to become the most awarded artist of the night. He also landed a Billboard magazine “Country Power List” cover, and the chart-topper recently received Billboard’s 2023 Breakthrough Award. His 2023 smash #1 single “Save Me”—a confessional, vulnerable expression of self-doubt—broke radio airplay records and set the stage for a new chapter in his life. Jelly Roll held the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Emerging Artist chart for 25 straight weeks, the longest run in that ranking’s history. Whitsitt Chapel— named for the small Tennessee church he grew up going to—takes listeners on a “Backroad Baptism” through songs of faith, addiction, love and life in-between with powerful highlights including “Need A Favor” and “Hungover In a Church Pew.” “A collection of songs about Saturday night sins and Sunday morning sanctity,” raves The Tennessean. “I’ve always felt like my music lived somewhere between Willie Nelson and 3-6 Mafia,” Jelly tells American Songwriter, as he straddles country, rock and rap to create songs that resonate with his legions of fans across the globe. In addition to his radio and streaming success, he has also become a pop culture phenomenon and is the subject of an acclaimed Hulu documentary charting his remarkable ascent from former inmate to music-making stardom. His self-built, unconventional industry rise and unique fan connection have garnered praise from numerous outlets, with Variety noting, “For everyone who’s facing the same struggles, Jelly Roll is their Springsteen,” and American Songwriter echoing, “with a string of accolades and an extremely dedicated following, Jelly Roll has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.” His current single, “Halfway To Hell”  currently dominates Country and Rock radio.

Nickel Creek. Photo by Josh Goleman.

GRAMMY Award-winning trio Nickel Creek—Sara Watkins (fiddle), Sean Watkins (guitar), and Chris Thile (mandolin)—is in the midst of a triumphant year following the release of their acclaimed album, Celebrants—their first new project in nine years. Recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A, Celebrants was released to critical praise and earned a 2024 Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album. Of the record, NPR Music raves, “the trio sounds and plays better than ever…these songs are nuanced and honest, not fantasy but one suited for introspection,” while Paste praises, “their instruments and voices alternately blend and shine…it’s a joy to have the gang back together,” and Spin proclaims, “giddily ambitious…breathtaking instrumental interplay between mandolin, guitar, and fiddle.” Together a sum of more than their staggering parts, Nickel Creek revolutionized bluegrass and folk in the early 2000s and ushered in a new era of what we now recognize as Americana music. After meeting as young children and steadily earning the respect of the bluegrass circuit over the course of a decade, the trio signed with venerable label Sugar Hill Records in 2000 and quickly broke through with their Grammy-nominated, Alison Krauss-produced self-titled LP. Since that effort, the group has released a trio of acclaimed studio albums: 2002’s This Side, which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album, 2005’s Why Should the Fire Die? and 2014’s A Dotted Line. Known for their high energy live shows, Nickel Creek will continue to perform through 2024 including an extensive headline tour this spring, a special co-bill with Andrew Bird for several weeks in July, and will join Kacey Musgraves throughout her North American arena tour this fall. Nickel Creek made their ACL debut in Season 26 in 2001, returned in Season 28 and in 2014 for Season 40, and we’re thrilled to welcome them back for our golden anniversary. 

Jacob Collier. Photo by Tom Bender.

Recognized by audiences, critics, and fellow musicians alike as one of the most gifted young artists of modern times, 29-year-old music prodigy and North London native Jacob Collier has already notched a seemingly endless list of achievements, including becoming the first British act in history to win a Grammy Award for each of his first four albums, along with 12 Grammy nominations, including the top honor of Album of the Year in 2021. He continues the creative streak in 2024, scoring his sixth career Grammy win at this year’s awards, marking an astonishing fifth consecutive year of nominations. Djesse Vol. 4 marks the epic climax to the four-part journey that Collier first began in 2018 with the release of Djesse Vol. 1; this final album completes the quartet with 16 sweeping tracks and an epic list of special guests and collaborators including Brandi Carlile, Stormzy, Michael McDonald, Kirk Franklin, Chris Martin, Chris Thile, Anoushka Shankar, John Legend and John Mayer; as well as the “Audience Choir,” the collective recorded voices of more than 150,000 audience members from every corner of the world across Collier’s last two years of global touring. The Guardian raves, “A thesis would be required to do Djesse Vol. 4 justice, but it is ultimately an invigorating and irrepressible record, unlike anything else you are likely to hear.” His 2016 debut LP In My Room, recorded, produced and played entirely by Collier, heralded the arrival of a staggering musical mind, traversing everything from microtonal of the Flintstones theme to folk-influenced ballads. An ensuing one-man-band international tour saw him developing an innovative live show where he played and layered twelve instruments to recreate the world of In My Room onstage. “My audiences are so musical and they participate so readily in the music,” says Collier. “When I play live, I’m not just showing up to entertain, it feels like we’re all coming together to make music in unison.” That natural pull towards musical collaboration went on to inform Collier’s plans for his ensuing Djesse series of releases. “After being on my own, I realised I wanted to work with other people and learn from them,” he explains. “I decided to make a quadruple album including every genre under the sun, where each collaborator made music that was special to me. I wanted to plunge myself into the deepest possible waters of creativity.” The resulting volumes of Djesse have delivered on Collier’s ambitious promise, featuring musical themes that encompass everything from orchestral composition to folk songwriting, R&B, rap and pop. “The key skill to collaboration is drawing things out of people that they didn’t know they had in them,” he says. “It’s all about being taken by surprise and holding the potential for things changing. “I’m just following my voice to see where it takes me next,” says Collier. “I’m keeping my mind and ears open, as there is still so much more to discover and create.”

We’re thrilled to welcome these incredible artists to the ACL stage for our milestone season. Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes a week in advance of each taping. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for notice of postings. The broadcast episodes will air on PBS this fall as part of our anniversary Season 50.

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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast

Episode premiere: ACL 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors Trisha Yearwood

Trisha Yearwood and Don Henley at the 2023 ACL Hall of Fame. Photo courtesy of Austin City Limits.

Iconic television series Austin City Limits (ACL) closes out Season 49 on Saturday, March 2 with a special installment: Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors Trisha Yearwood, celebrating the country superstar and newest inductee Trisha Yearwood with a song-filled salute featuring an all-star slate of guest performers (in order of appearance): Don Henley, Brothers Osborne, Brandy Clark, Ronnie Dunn and Jo Dee Messina. The captivating hour features a memorable induction by Eagles co-founder Don Henley along with vintage highlights from Yearwood’s multiple appearances on the ACL stage. The broadcast premieres Saturday, March 2 at 8pm ET/7pm CT on PBS (check local listings). The special will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, March 3 at 10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits. The show’s official hashtag is #acltv. A monument to music, ACL has showcased iconic performances from legends and innovators in every genre of popular song for a remarkable five decades. October 17, 2024 will mark 50 years since Austin City Limits began with Willie Nelson taping the pilot; the trailblazing series then premiered on PBS in 1975. The revered music institution 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. Produced by Austin PBS, and recorded live at ACL’s studio home ACL Live in Austin, Texas, the show remains a required stopping point for the finest acts to deliver stellar performances from the venerable ACL stage. This Peabody Award-winning program has earned its place in history and will salute its golden anniversary and incredible legacy with a yearlong celebration featuring archival gems, fan activations, all-star tapings, a PBS special, live concerts and much more.

The Austin City Limits Hall of Fame was established to recognize legendary musicians who have been instrumental in making the music series an institution. Since the inaugural ACL Hall of Fame in 2014 honoring Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan, the music-filled salutes have become fan-favorites. Austin City Limits takes viewers inside the celebration with a pair of deep-dive presentations from this year’s Inductions, recorded live in Austin, Texas on October 26, 2023. The special installments, Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors, salute newly-minted inductees John Prine and Trisha Yearwood with individual hours that showcase each artist’s Hall of Fame tribute, featuring musical tributes, along with extended highlights including induction speeches and vintage clips from the honorees’ multiple appearances on Austin City Limits.

In this special installment, ACL Hall of Fame honoree Trisha Yearwood gets her flowers in an entertaining, memorable salute. A trailblazing artist with a celebrated powerhouse voice and a beloved catalog of hits, the multiple GRAMMY, CMA and ACM Award-winner debuted on Austin City Limits in Season 17 in 1992 on the heels of her breakout self-titled 1991 debut LP. She made two additional headlining appearances in 1996 and 2000, and returned in Season 41 in 2015 as a guest of Don Henley. The hour opens with highlights from Yearwood’s early ACL performances, including her 1992 debut; sprinkled throughout the special are vintage and current interview clips with Yearwood, in addition to a bonus interview with her husband, country superstar Garth Brooks.

Don Henley salutes his longtime friend with a heartfelt induction, saying “I was a fan of Trisha Yearwood the minute I heard her voice coming out of the radio.” After teaming up as collaborators in 1992, the pair hit it off, recounts Henley: “She was small-town Georgia, and I was small-town Texas, and so we had an ingrained mutual understanding and respect.” Henley praises Yearwood’s stellar three-decade-plus run and “exceptional gift as a singer,” noting that the “hallmark of her career has been her unwavering conviction that a well-written song—no matter the style—is the foundation on which a singer stands.”

Accepting the honor, Yearwood is emotional as she shares she grew up watching Austin City Limits and recalls her reaction when she was first asked to appear on the show: “It’s an iconic moment and to actually realize you’re gonna be on that stage standing in front of that skyline—nerves—and what an honor…the thing about Austin City Limits is that you know the music here on this stage is made by real musicians, real artists—it’s all about the music here, and that’s why I’m so honored to be a part of this. And I want to say that whatever you’re doing here in Austin, you can’t ever stop, this is so important for music moving forward!”

Grammy-winning and reigning CMA and ACM Awards Duo of the Year Brothers Osborne make their first-ever appearance on the ACL stage to open the musical salute. “You always hear that you don’t want to meet your heroes, and Trisha is absolutely the exception to that,” says T.J. Osborne, joining brother John for a blazing rendition of “Wrong Side of Memphis,” the opening salvo of Yearwood’s 1992 Hearts In Armor. Newly-minted 2024 Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Brandy Clark takes the stage, hailing Trisha “the Mount Rushmore of singers,” before rendering a stunning rendition of the title track from Yearwood’s 1993 The Song Remembers When, which Yearwood hand-picked for Clark to perform. At the song’s close Yearwood appears onstage to thank Clark, telling the audience, “In my dreams I heard Brandy singing that song.” Trisha is joined by country great Ronnie Dunn, whom she calls “the best singer in the world,” and the pair take the audience to church with a gorgeous duet on her “I’ll Carry You Home,” from 2019’s Every Girl, a beautiful showcase for both singers as they powerfully trade verses on the soaring gospel-tinged anthem. Country star Jo Dee Messina steps up to the mic, grinning, “Austin City Limits is the stage where all the cool people play and she is the coolest,” then brings the crowd to its feet with an irresistible rendition of the song that started it all, Trisha’s signature “She’s In Love With the Boy,” the lead single from Yearwood’s 1991 debut album, which rocketed to #1 and established her as the first female country artist to have a debut single reach the top of the country charts. In a poignant close, Don Henley returns and joins Yearwood to reprise their fan-favorite, early ‘90s chart-topping collaboration, “Walkaway Joe,” for a luminous end.

The musical performers are accompanied by the ACL All-Stars house band, led by original ACL Hall of Fame inductee, renowned steel guitarist and musical director Lloyd Maines, and featuring guitarist David Grissom, keyboardist Chris Gage, bassist Bill Whitbeck and drummer Tom Van Schaik.

“Back in the early ‘90s, Trisha Yearwood was one of the first of the new wave of female Country superstars who took the ACL stage,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “It helped to open the door to the next generation of women in Country music, and her powerful voice and presence continue to inspire today.”

A companion HOF installment premiered in January 2024 toasting the late singer-songwriter John Prine. Actor Ethan Hawke inducted the beloved icon posthumously as music greats Tyler Childers, Valerie June, Tommy Prine, Nathaniel Rateliff, Allison Russell and Kurt Vile saluted the celebrated artist in a moving hour featuring exclusive ACL intimate tributes alongside highlights from Prine’s eight appearances on the ACL stage. 

Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors Trisha Yearwood (in order of appearance):

Archive (1992): “Like We’ve Never Had a Broken Heart”

Archive (1996): “XXX’s and OOO’s”

Archive (1996): “Walkaway Joe”

Brothers Osborne “Wrong Side of Memphis”

Brandy Clark “The Song Remembers When”

Ronnie Dunn & Trisha Yearwood “I’ll Carry You Home”

Jo Dee Messina “She’s In Love With the Boy”

Don Henley & Trisha Yearwood “Walkaway Joe”

ACL’s Season 49 premiered in October 2023 with a diverse slate featuring ACL debuts from breakout artists including folk-pop singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, indie-pop trio MUNA, rap star Lil Yachty and rising singer-songwriters Brittney Spencer and Sudan Archives. Highlights included newly-minted 2024 Grammy-winners, Jason Isbell and his band The 400 Unit in their third appearance, and bluegrass star Molly Tuttle and her band Golden Highway making their ACL debut. Returning favorites included rock superstars Foo Fighters in an epic hour, ACL Hall of Fame icon Bonnie Raitt for the first time in a decade, country standout Margo Price, indie favorite Jenny Lewis, and the long-awaited comeback, after nearly four decades, of country icon Tanya Tucker. The slate featured deep-dive hours spotlighting first-ever appearances by alternative rock superstar Alanis Morissette, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legends Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo and Latin music powerhouse Jorge Drexler in an all-Spanish language hour. Season 49 featured an unprecedented season premiere with guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela joined by the Austin Symphony Orchestra. The first tapings of ACL’s milestone Season 50 were recently announced and include returning favorites, Austin hometown hero Gary Clark Jr., celebrated singer Brittany Howard, Colombian superstar Juanes and Austin’s own Black Pumas. 

Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding upcoming Season 50 tapings, live streams 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. 

Established in 2014, the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame celebrates the legacy of legendary artists and key individuals who have played a vital part in the pioneering music series remarkable half-century as a music institution. The Hall of Fame has inducted over twenty-five artists at eight previous ceremonies including Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Lloyd Maines, Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn, Guy Clark, Flaco Jiménez, Townes Van Zandt, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Roy Orbison, Rosanne Cash, The Neville Brothers, Ray Charles, Marcia Ball, Los Lobos, Lyle Lovett, Buddy Guy, Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Wilco and Alejandro Escovedo. The eighth annual HOF welcomed Sheryl Crow and Joe Ely to its ranks.

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 49th 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. ACL celebrates 50 years as an American music institution in 2024.  

Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, the Austin Convention Center Department, Cirrus Logic and AXS Ticketing. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.

Austin City Limits Hall of Fame

In 2014, Austin PBS, KLRU-TV — creator and producer of the legendary PBS show Austin City Limits — established the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame to recognize legendary musicians and key individuals who have been instrumental in making television’s longest-running popular music show an institution. Each year a new class of honorees are inducted and celebrated at a live event taped to air on PBS. It is also a historical archive, educational resource and celebration of Austin City Limits —telling the story of the show through photos, a timeline/anthology mural and in the near future, an interactive database of vintage Austin City Limits performances and video footage of interviews, behind-the-scenes and never before seen performances throughout the decades. Honorees to-date include Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Lloyd Maines, Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn, Flaco Jiménez, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, B.B. King, Rosanne Cash, The Neville Brothers, Roy Orbison, Marcia Ball, Ray Charles, Los Lobos, Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, Buddy Guy, Lucinda Williams, Wilco, Alejandro Escovedo, Joe Ely, Sheryl Crow, John Prine and Trisha Yearwood.

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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Episode recap: Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt on Austin City Limits, 2023. Photo by Scott Newton.

ACL Hall of Fame icon Bonnie Raitt returns to Austin City Limits (ACL) for the first time in a decade in a sterling hour with a selection of time tested favorites as well as highlights from her triple 2023 Grammy-winning album Just Like That… The new episode premieres Saturday, February 24 at 7pm CT/8pm ET as part of the series Season 49. 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. The show’s official hashtag is #acltv. 2024 marks the 50th Anniversary of the revered music institution, which 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 an incredible five decades.  A monument to music, ACL has showcased iconic performances from legends and innovators in every genre of popular song for 50 years.  Produced by Austin PBS, and recorded live at ACL’s studio home ACL Live in Austin, Texas, the show remains a required stopping point for the finest acts to deliver stellar performances from the venerable ACL stage. On October 17, 1974, Willie Nelson taped the pilot episode; the trailblazing series then premiered on PBS in 1975.  This Peabody Award-winning program has earned its place in history and will salute its golden anniversary and incredible legacy with a yearlong celebration featuring archival gems, fan activations, all-star tapings, a PBS special, live concerts and much more.

On the eve of Austin City Limits’ 50th Anniversary, blues, rock and soul maestro Bonnie Raitt, a thirteen-time Grammy-winner, makes ACL history once again with highlights from her remarkable five-decade career. Raitt first-appeared on the series during Season 9 in 1984, has returned throughout the decades, and, in 2016, was inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame. For this golden occasion, the American original brings her best to the Austin stage in a magnetic set filled with numbers from her celebrated 2022 album Just Like That…, sharing stories behind her latest work alongside career highlights. She opens with a Grammy-winner, the slowburn “Made Up Mind,” 2023’s Best Americana Performance, captivating with her sultry slide guitar turns. In great voice and with her stinging fretwork as potent as ever, Raitt revisits her landmark 1991 album Luck of the Draw for the blues-rocking “No Business.” She brings the house down with her soulful vocals on the heartbreaking “Blame It On Me,” a stunner she shares is her favorite song from her latest album, grinning “I always say if we got along, I wouldn’t have anything to sing about.” 

The devoted social activist welcomes a special guest, Nashville-based singer/guitarist Sunny War to join her for a bluesy, acoustic rendering of Jackson Browne’s socially charged “World in Motion.”  Sitting at the keyboards, Raitt reveals “I’ve been wanting to sing this for Austin City Limits for a while,” as she leads into the self-penned title track of her 1989 breakthrough Nick of Time. “I ain’t afraid of getting older,” smiles Raitt, as she prefaces the fan-favorite on the passage of time. “Just dig the ride, baby.” She displays her powerhouse chops with a medley of Rufus & Chaka Khan’s 1974 devilishly funky “You Got the Love” effortlessly joined with her irresistible 1991 hit “Love Sneakin’ Up On You.” Raitt credits her ace, four-piece band (bassist Hutch Hutchinson, drummer Ricky Fataar, keyboardist Glenn Patscha, and guitarist Duke Levine plus guitarist emeritus, George Marinelli) throughout the performance, referencing the “bunch of soulful guys I got up here.”

In a set highlight, she dedicates the 2023 Grammy-winning Song of the Year “Just Like That,” to her longtime friend John Prine. “When we lost John it just pierced me so deep…This is a song I wrote inspired by singing ‘Angel From Montgomery’ every night,” she notes, referencing the beloved Prine-penned song, which she and the iconic songwriter memorably performed together during ACL’s Season 28 in 2002. She closes out the epic, 10-song set with a shuffle blues classic, a steamy cover of B.B. King’s “Never Make Your Move Too Soon,” in honor of “one of the greatest blues towns in America—Austin, Texas!” 

Bonnie Raitt and band on Austin City Limits, 2023. Photo by Scott Newton.

“After 50 years, Bonnie Raitt continues to amaze and to reach new heights as an artist and songwriter,” said Austin City Limits executive producer Terry Lickona. “She’s been an important part of the ACL story since our early days, and every time she returns, it seems to mark a new chapter for her and us. This is Bonnie at her best!”

Bonnie Raitt setlist:

Made Up Mind

No Business

Blame It On Me

World In Motion

Livin’ For the Ones

Nick Of Time

Have A Heart

You Got The Love/Love Sneakin’ Up On You

Just Like That

Never Make Your Move Too Soon

Season 49 Broadcast Schedule (upcoming):

February 24 Bonnie Raitt

March 2 Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors Trisha Yearwood

Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding upcoming Season 50 tapings, live streams 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.

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 49th 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. ACL celebrates 50 years as an American music institution in 2024.  
Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, the Austin Convention Center Department, Cirrus Logic and AXS Ticketing. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.

Categories
Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Black Pumas

Black Pumas on Austin City Limits, 2024. Photo by Scott Newton.

Bearing highly acclaimed new album Chronicles of a Diamond and draped in the sparkles of a mirror ball, Austin’s own Black Pumas returned to the Austin City Limits stage for not only their second appearance, but the first taping of our landmark 50th (say it again – 50th) season. Leaders Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada have polished the band’s psychedelic rock & soul to a blinding sheen, as exemplified by the reaction to new hits “More Than a Love Song” and “Ice Cream (Pay Phone),” as well as fan favorites “Know You Better” and “Colors.” Hosting hometown heroes is always a great way to kick off an anniversary season, and the Pumas gave us a show for the books.

Black Pumas perform on Austin City Limits, February 20, 2024. Photos by Scott Newton.

Setlist: 

Stars of the Valley – introduction

Fire – s/t

Gemini Sun – Chronicles of a Diamond

Know You Better – s/t

Black Moon Rising – s/t

Tomorrow – Chronicles of a Diamond 

Ice Cream (Pay Phone) – Chronicles of a Diamond

Angel – Chronicles of a Diamond

More Than a Love Song – Chronicles of a Diamond

Chronicles of a Diamond – Chronicles of a Diamond

Mrs. Postman – Chronicles of a Diamond

Oct 33 – s/t

Colors – s/t

Encore:

Fast Car – Tracy Chapman cover (Burton solo)

Rock and Roll – Chronicles of a Diamond

Musicians: 

Eric Burton – vocals, guitar, keyboard

Adrian Quesada – lead guitar

Steve Bidwell – drums

Brendan Bond – bass

JaRon Marshall – keyboards

Terin Ector – congas, keyboards, guitar, vocals

Angela Miller – vocals

Lauren Hornsby – vocals

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Featured Live Stream News

Live stream: Black Pumas 2/20

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce our first taping of milestone Season 50, featuring Austin’s own Black Pumas on February 20, will be live streamed for the occasion. 2024 marks the 50th Anniversary of the trailblazing series, kicking off a yearlong celebration saluting five decades of iconic performances. Eight-time Grammy nominees Black Pumas make their highly-anticipated return to the ACL stage in support of their acclaimed sophomore release Chronicles of a Diamond. ACL offers fans worldwide the unique opportunity to watch this taping live in its entirety free here at 8pm CT on Tuesday, February 20 on our ACLTV YouTube Channel. The broadcast episode will air on PBS and stream on PBS.org this fall as part of ACL’s golden anniversary season.  

When Black Pumas released their star-making self-titled debut in 2019, the soul duo set off a reaction almost as combustible and rapturous as their unbridled breed of psychedelic soul. Along with earning an astounding seven Grammy Award nominations (including Album Of The Year) and critical acclaim, singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada achieved massive success as a sensational live act, delivering a transcendent show Burton aptly refers to as “electric church.” The band’s meteoric rise  saw them playing thrilling sold-out shows across North and South America and Europe and selling more than one million albums worldwide.  Their breakout single “Colors,” a gold-certified anthem that resonated with audiences across the globe, received over 450 million streams. In creating the follow-up to one of the most celebrated debuts in recent years, the band broadened their sonic palette to include a dazzling expanse of musical forms: heavenly hybrids of soul and symphonic pop, mind-bending excursions into jazz-funk and psychedelia, and starry-eyed love songs that feel dropped down from the cosmos. Chronicles of a Diamond harnesses the lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry between Burton (a self-taught musician who got his start busking on beaches and subway platforms in his native Los Angeles) and Grammy Award-winning Quesada. Wilder and weirder and more extravagantly composed than its predecessor, Chronicles of a Diamond arrives as the fullest expression yet of Black Pumas’ frenetic creativity and limitless vision, bringing their singular vision to life with more power, passion, and daring originality than ever before. Pumas have already earned a 2024 Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance for the record’s irresistible opening track “More Than a Love Song,” along with widespread praise: “One of the most moving things about this record is his (Burton’s) voice…” says  NPR Music, adding it’s, “a little trippy, [and] a little gritty.” and the Austin American-Statesman declares “it will go down in history as one of the defining soul albums of our generation.” 

Join us here on February 20 at 8 p.m. CT for Black Pumas; the broadcast episode will air on PBS this fall as part of our golden anniversary Season 50. Tune in to your local PBS station on Saturday nights for fan-favorite encore episodes of Austin City Limits; watch live on PBS, or stream anytime at PBS.org or the PBS App.