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Austin City Limits Announces Season 51 Broadcast TV Schedule

FINNEAS on Austin City Limits

Trailblazing live music series Austin City Limits is proud to write the next chapter in its remarkable 50+ year run, forging ahead with the announcement of the series’ Season 51 broadcast season. ACL presents an all-star slate of highly-anticipated debuts and callbacks, including FINNEAS as the season opener and multiple 2025 Grammy nominees, including The Marías, My Morning Jacket, Charley Crockett, Waxahatchee, Samara Joy, Kelsea Ballerini, Cam and Jon Batiste. ACL will also celebrate the legendary Austin blues club Antone’s 50th anniversary as well as the series’ own 50+ year history of showcasing the blues in a special hour, Austin City Limits Celebrates Antone’s & the Blues, featuring a stellar slate of all-stars taking the ACL stage in a new installment. 

ACL returns on Saturday, October 4 at 7pm CT/8pm ET with a revelatory hour showcasing ten-time Grammy-winning artist and producer FINNEAS making his solo headlining debut with a collection of songs from his critically acclaimed sophomore album For Cryin’ Out Loud! FINNEAS first appeared on the ACL stage in Season 45 in 2019 alongside his sister Billie Eilish and ACL presents the gifted singer and songwriter’s solo work in this outing. 

Facing headwinds from the recent PBS funding cuts effective October 1, Austin City Limits’ longtime executive producer Terry Lickona recently spoke with Billboard magazine regarding the impact of the federal funding cuts to public media. Willie Nelson, who taped the series’ original pilot in 1974, and has appeared on the program more than any other performer, told Billboard: “Austin City Limits and PBS were and are an essential part of education, understanding, curiosity and empathy, which are the essentials and building blocks of humanity.” Beck, who has made multiple appearances on the series, commented: “Austin City Limits is one of the only film and TV outlets that documents great musicians at the peak of their powers. In decades to come, the shows are going to be some of the best documents and snapshots of this era of music.” To support Austin City Limits, donate to Austin PBS.

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 recently celebrated its milestone 50th Anniversary in 2024, and ACL continues its extraordinary run as the longest-running music series in television history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for an incredible half-century. Produced by Austin PBS, and recorded live at ACL’s studio home ACL Live in Austin, Texas, the live music beacon is a public media institution that presents quality live music performances featuring artists from all genres of popular music. 

The Marías on ACL TV – Photo by Scott Newton

ACL’s Season 51 spotlights multiple fan-adored acts with epic hours: Groundbreaking singer, songwriter and producer FINNEAS takes center stage with new songs from his sophomore solo album For Cryin’ Out Loud! in a captivating season premiere. The hitmaker dazzles with highlights and new gems reflecting his compelling sonic journey in a must-see hour. Genre-blending LA indie pop band The Marías, a favorite of the festival circuit with buzzed about appearances at Coachella, Lollapalooza and ACL Fest, make their series debut in a spellbinding hour featuring songs from their acclaimed album Submarine. The bilingual group blends English and Spanish lyrics anchored by smoke velvet vocals, hypnotic guitar and lush jazz percussion. Jon Batiste makes his return to the ACL stage for the first time since his electrifying 2021 Season 47 debut. The seven-time Grammy-winner and Academy Award-winning musician and entertainer showcases a rootsy new collection of songs, Big Money, in an ecstatic, high-energy hour. NAACP Image Award winner and 5x Grammy winner Samara Joy shines with gorgeous vocals and exciting arrangements in her ACL debut, performing songs from her breakthrough album Linger Awhile and her latest studio album Portrait.

My Morning Jacket on ACL TV – Photo by Scott Newton

In an epic installment, rock legends My Morning Jacket return for the first time in nearly a decade on the occasion of their induction into the 11th Annual ACL Hall of Fame, joining the esteemed acts inducted since 2014. Special guest Oscar-winning filmmaker and best-selling author Cameron Crowe honors the fan-favorite Kentucky band, and MMJ take the stage with classics and new highlights from their latest album is in a thrilling hour with one of music’s great live acts.

Two standout country artists dazzle with their genre-bending sounds in a revelatory hour: The celebrated and chart-topping Kelsea Ballerini is luminous in her first-ever appearance performing a selection of hits and highlights from her acclaimed Patterns; Singer and songwriter Cam (who kicked off 2025 with a Grammy win for her songwriting contributions to Beyoncé’s landmark Cowboy Carter) shares the hour, in a sublime ACL debut showcasing heartfelt songs from her upcoming new collection All Things Light. 

Another trailblazing pair of Grammy-nominated and road-tested roots acts get the ACL treatment in a magnetic hour: Texas troubadour Charley Crockett, who made a sensational ACL debut in 2021’s Season 47, carves his name in ACL history once again performing songs from Lonesome Drifter, the first installment of his Sagebrush Trilogy (followed by recently released Dollar A Day). He shares the episode with breakout singer-songwriter Waxahatchee in a sparkling ACL debut showcasing the best of her acclaimed Tiger’s Blood.  

The legendary Antone’s “Home of the Blues” celebrates its half-century legacy in 2025, and ACL is proud to salute this influential Austin music institution’s milestone, along with the series’ own 50-year history of blues love, with a special Texas-sized installment, Austin City Limits Celebrates Antone’s & the Blues. This supercharged hour features a murderers’ row of blues all-stars and torchbearers who ignite the ACL stage with epic performances. Guest performers include Jimmie Vaughan, Kingfish, Charlie Sexton, Bobby Rush, Big Bill Morganfield, Grace Bowers and more, backed by a 14-piece house band of legendary players. 

“As public media and PBS face severe funding cuts, ACL continues to lay the groundwork for the future in our 51st season,” said executive producer Terry Lickona. “A new generation of artists showcases their remarkable talents, mixed with a touch of down-and-dirty blues celebrating Austin’s iconic music venue, Antone’s.”

Season 51 2025 Broadcast Line-Up (second half of season to be announced separately):

October 4FINNEAS
October 11The Marías
October 18 Austin City Limits 11th Hall of Fame Honors My Morning Jacket
October 25Charley Crockett | Waxahatchee
November 1Samara Joy
November 8Austin City Limits Celebrates Antone’s & the Blues
November 15Kelsea Ballerini | CAM
November 22Jon Batiste

Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. The complete line-up for the full 14-week season, including five new episodes to air beginning January 2026, 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, IG and TikTok. Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.

Austin PBS broadcasts 35,000 hours of curated content across four channels, devoted to education, arts and culture, and news and public affairs. We also provide a safe space for kids to learn and grow through our Austin PBS KIDS 24/7 channel. The station is home to beloved, award-winning Austin PBS Original series such as Austin City Limits, Overheard with Evan Smith, Central Texas Gardener, and its new weekly news program, Austin InSight, which blends in-depth reporting, incisive interviews, and Austin PBS’s unique approach to storytelling in an expanded commitment to news and public affairs content.

Tune into Austin PBS through one of our 4 channels, or stream online with the PBS App. Become a member and receive Austin PBS Passport, which gives station supporters access to even more content online—binge entire series before they air or catch up on programs you may have missed.

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Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Honors Garth Brooks premieres May 3

© 8 Ten, Inc.

Austin City Limits caps off its 50th Anniversary celebrations with the broadcast premiere of Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Honors Garth Brooks Saturday, May 3 @8pm ET/7pm CT (check local listings). After the broadcast, the special will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online at pbs.org/austincitylimits for four weeks.

The Country music singer and songwriter brings a stadium-size show to the ACL stage for this landmark occasion, thrilling with fan-favorites and the stories behind his beloved hits in an entertaining, singalong hour recorded live at ACL’s studio home ACL Live in Austin, Texas. 2025 marks the 50th Anniversary of Austin City Limits, which premiered on PBS in 1975. The program celebrates its extraordinary run as the longest-running music series in television history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for a half-century.

A trailblazing artist whose ties to ACL go a long way back, Garth Brooks made his series debut in 1990 during Season 15, on the heels of his breakout 1989 debut album. The hour opens with highlights showcasing Brooks’ distinctive ACL performances over the decades; sprinkled throughout the special is new commentary from Brooks, his wife, country superstar Trisha Yearwood, and longtime ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, who handles induction honors. Brooks holds his cowboy hat to his heart as he accepts the honor with impassioned remarks and sings the program’s praises, saying Austin City Limits’ heartbeat is raw and true. He even cites favorite episodes that inspired his own career from early on. “You can bring all the smoke and mirrors you want, and trust me—I’ve used ‘em all,” laughs Brooks, “but you come here and it’s the real deal.”

“Always try to associate your name with a name greater than your own,” says Brooks.  “Being associated with ACL has been one of the greatest assets of my career.  I can’t thank Terry and the gang enough for all the years and all the love.” 

“You can’t tell the story of Austin City Limits without Garth Brooks,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Garth gets it. He gets what makes Austin City Limits special, and why it’s an honor for an artist to step onto that stage and deliver the best performance of their life. And it’s an honor for us to share that stage with artists like Garth, who have so much to offer.”

Since its inception in 2014, the ACL Hall of Fame has honored legendary artists who have played a pivotal role in the pioneering music series’ outstanding half-century as a music institution. The inaugural awards in 2014 honored Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Garth Brooks has multiple Austin City Limits performances under his belt; he made his series debut in 1990 and returned a decade later to both open and close ACL’s milestone Season 25 with two hourlong episodes. 

Brooks returned to ACL in 2021 for a memorable pair of intimate, non-broadcast events to close Studio 6A on the University of Texas campus, the fabled soundstage where the program first started recording in 1974. Brooks carved his name into ACL’s history with the final performances in the historic studio that was the show’s home from 1974 to 2010, before a move to downtown Austin. The singular artist performed the special benefit shows solo acoustic to a sold-out audience of 200 fans per night.

The Austin City Limits Hall of Fame has inducted over twenty artists at nine 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, Alejandro Escovedo, Sheryl Crow and Joe Ely. The ninth annual Hall of Fame in 2023 welcomed John Prine and Trisha Yearwood to its ranks.

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ACL PRESENTS: WILLIE NELSON & FAMILY

American Icon Returns to Celebrate 50 Years of Austin City Limits Marking 50th Anniversary of 1974 Pilot Episode 

Hourlong Homecoming Special Premieres February 15

Iconic live music television series Austin City Limits (ACL) was born in 1974 when Willie Nelson taped its pilot episode. This became the cornerstone for 50 years of groundbreaking, award-winning music television. Now, the series North Star, Willie Nelson, returns fifty years later with a uniquely iconic performance to commemorate Austin City Limits remarkable half-century milestone. The ACL Hall-of-Famer and his Family band perform a mix of classics from his timeless catalog in this memorable, career-spanning hour; the special installment premieres Saturday, February 15 @8pm ET/7pm CT as part of the series anniversary Season 50. 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. 2025 continues the yearlong 50th Anniversary of the revered music institution, which celebrates its extraordinary run as the longest-running music series in television history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for an incredible half-century.

For this special ACL Presents, a Texas-sized performance with Willie Nelson & Family was recorded from downtown Austin’s Long Center concert lawn, marking only the fourth time the show has ever taped an outdoor performance. In Austin City Limits five decades, no artist has personified the program’s eclectic, freewheeling spirit more fully than the man with the braids, the bandana and the guitar named Trigger. An American original and ACL Hall of Fame icon, Nelson has appeared on the show more than any other performer; for this extraordinary occasion, he carves his name in ACL history once again to celebrate the show and commemorate his 1974 pilot performance. The trailblazing live music program was given the green light, premiering on PBS in 1975. “The house that Willie built” is now an institution that has become the longest-running music series in television history.

With a smile as wide as the Rio Grande, Willie calls out “50 Years! Let’s go for 50 more!” as he kicks off the hour with his perennial opener “Whiskey River,” the same song he launched the pilot taping with five decades ago. That landmark performance captured the musician’s sheer joy of playing for a live audience; that same joy is palpable in this new hour as Willie is accompanied by the five-piece Family band, including son Lukas Nelson and longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael (who also performed on the pilot episode). With the real-life Austin skyline, familiar from the backdrop of ACL broadcasts, illuminated behind them, Willie & Family take the audience on a journey of memories and highlights, with beloved numbers that established him as a songwriting legend: “On the Road Again,” “Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Crazy,” “Night Life” and “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.” Willie cups his hand to his ear and the multi-generational audience takes the chorus as Willie answers back “I hear you!” with a grin.  On set staples “Still Is Still Moving” and “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” the Texas native reminds fans that his trusty six-string sidekick Trigger still has a lot left to say.

The set also features the pinnacles of his artistry as an interpreter: “Georgia on My Mind,” anchored by harmonica master Mickey Raphael’s counter melodies; a gorgeous “Always On My Mind” highlights his inimitable phrasing, the weight of his words in this golden chapter taking on a new poignancy. “Here’s a song me and Waylon Jennings wrote one night,” says Willie before launching into “Good Hearted Woman,” a classic he performed in his 1974 series debut. He forges a remarkable connection with the ACL crowd and calls for the audience to join in; they reply with joy and respect during the many sing-along moments. He performs a new song, a rendition of Tom Waits’ “Last Leaf,” a meditation on mortality that, in true Willie style, lands as resilient as it does reflective. A singular artist, the outlaw legend performs his new-classic anthem “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” signaling this is a celebration, not a capstone. The hour wraps with “The Party’s Over,” the same song Willie closed the original pilot with. He receives an outpouring of love and an extended standing ovation before tossing his hat and bandana into the thrilled crowd. ACL writes Willie’s name in the sky as a drone show lights up the night sky with his famous image and the stars over Austin shine bright for a magical close. The hour captures an enduring artist continuing to perform live and do what he loves for as long as he can and Austin City Limits is proud to share the journey.

“There would be no Austin City Limits without Willie Nelson, so it was a dream come true for us to celebrate our 50th with Willie with a special show 50 years to the day from when he taped the original pilot episode,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “For me, it was an emotional, magical night – one we’ll never forget.”

Episode setlist:

Whiskey River (1974 pilot)

Whiskey River

Stay All Night

Still Is Still Moving

Bloody Mary Morning

Medley: Funny How Time Slips Away / Crazy / Night Life

Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys

Angel Flying Too Close To the Ground

On the Road Again

Always On My Mind

Just Outside of Austin (Lukas Nelson)

Georgia On My Mind

Good Hearted Woman

Last Leaf

Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die

The Party’s Over

The Party’s Over (1974 pilot)

Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding the Season 50 second half broadcast line-up and episode schedules or follow 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.

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PREMIERE: Sturgill Simpson Presents Johnny Blue Skies

Sturgill Simpson Presents Johnny Blue Skies on Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits showcases Sturgill Simpson Presents Johnny Blue Skies as the iconoclast returns for Austin City Limits Anniversary Season 50

Austin City Limits is proud to feature shapeshifter Sturgill Simpson in a highly-anticipated return to our stage for the first time in nearly a decade: presenting as “Johnny Blue Skies,” he brings songs from his recent album Passage Du Desir as well as tried-and-true numbers from the Simpson playbook. The new episode premieres Saturday, February 8 @8pm ET/7pm CT as part of Austin City Limits anniversary Season 50. 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. 2025 continues the yearlong 50th Anniversary of the revered music institution, which celebrates its extraordinary run as the longest-running music series in television history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for an incredible half-century.

It’s fitting that Sturgill Simpson—or is that “Johnny Blue Skies”?—is featured during Austin City Limits’ milestone Season 50; he is a singular artist who exemplifies the freewheeling, eclectic spirit that is in the series DNA. Respected, beloved and fiercely independent, Sturgill Simpson finally returns to ACL after making his series debut in 2015. He delivers a career-spanning set of musical highlights and choice selections from his first album in three years, Passage Du Desir, recorded under his Johnny Blue Skies moniker. 

A distinctly original artist, Simpson has relentlessly pushed against expectations, earning widespread acclaim and countless accolades including a Grammy Award in 2017 for Best Country Album and six Grammy nominations across four genres: country, rock, bluegrass and Americana. 

Simpson takes the ACL stage with a hot band—Laur Joamets (guitar), Miles Miller (drums), Kevin Black (bass) and Robbie Crowell (keys), and opens the captivating hour with a Passage Du Desir highlight, “Jupiter’s Faerie,” a beautiful tribute to a lost friend. The Kentucky native returns to, and expands upon, the metamodern country sounds that made him an outsider Nashville star in the early 2010s with a blistering take on his early career highlight “It Ain’t All Flowers,” driving the number into a psych-rock jam. He performs a trio of songs from 2019’s Sound & Fury, his red Gretsch blazing on the muscular, Southern soul burn “Best Clockmaker on Mars.” 

“Since this is the 50th season and the gentleman that started this show recorded this…we’re gonna play it,” says Simpson before launching into “I’d Have To Be Crazy,” a classic he included on his 2013 debut High Top Mountain. He pays tribute to the outlaw country scene that inspired him, acknowledging his debt to Willie Nelson, and to Austin cosmic cowboy Steve Fromholz, with an impassioned reading of the Fromholz-penned number Nelson made famous in the ‘70s; it’s a perfect showcase for Simpson’s rich, distinctive baritone. Simpson reaches back to his breakout debut for the racing rockabilly of big-finish set-closer “Railroad of Sin” as the fascinating hour reveals a genre-bending artist who’s still exploring and pushing the boundaries of where his music can go. 

Sturgill Simpson setlist:

Jupiter’s Faerie

Welcome To Earth (Pollywog)

It Ain’t All Flowers

Best Clockmaker On Mars

I Don’t Mind

All Said And Done

A Good Look

One For the Road

I’d Have To Be Crazy

Railroad of Sin

Season 50 Broadcast Schedule (Second Half):

January 11 Norah Jones | Hurray for the Riff Raff

January 18 The Avett Brothers

January 25 Mickey Guyton | Carín León

February 1 Chris Stapleton

February 8 Sturgill Simpson Presents Johnny Blue Skies

February 15 ACL Presents: Willie Nelson & Family

Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding the Season 50 second half broadcast line-up and episode schedules or follow 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.

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Austin City Limits Spotlights Chris Stapleton in New Season 50 Episode

Austin City Limits brings out the big guns for Season 50 with a highly-anticipated hour spotlighting one of music’s finest: Chris Stapleton. The ten-time Grammy-winning powerhouse delivers a scorching set of country-rock classics and gems from his  2025 Grammy-nominated LP Higher. The new episode premieres Saturday, February 1 @8pm ET/7pm CT as part of Austin City Limits anniversary Season 50. 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. 2025 continues the yearlong 50th Anniversary of the revered music institution, which celebrates its extraordinary run as the longest-running music series in television history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for an incredible half-century.

Kentucky-born Chris Stapleton is a 10x GRAMMY, 19x CMA and 19x ACM Award-winner; he is the CMA Awards reigning Male Vocalist of the Year for a record-extending eighth consecutive year. In this long-awaited return to ACL since his debut in Season 43, the country hitmaker has become a bonafide superstar and one of the genre’s most celebrated artists. He delivers a career-wide set in an electric performance featuring hits and highlights including numbers from his latest album, Higher, which earned the 2024 Album of the Year honor at the ACM Awards and is nominated for Best Country Album at the upcoming 2025 Grammy Awards. In an intimate performance joined by wife Morgane Stapleton on harmony vocals and backed by an ace six-piece band, Stapleton flexes his outlaw soul and blazing guitar licks, powering through songs of desperation and desire including “South Dakota,” “Think I’m In Love With You,” “You Should Probably Leave,” and the current Grammy-nominated song for Best Country Solo Performance, “It Takes a Woman.” Stapleton thrills with knockout vocals on the slowburn gut punch “Cold” from 2020’s chart-topping Starting Over and the can’t-get-enough crowd is on its feet. He pays tribute to a pair of  his influences: “We are in Texas so we should probably play a shuffle,” says Stapleton, “this one’s from one of my dear friends that I miss very much…” before launching into the late Texas music legend Guy Clark’s weed boogie “Worry B Gone;” Stapleton then tips his hat to another hero, Tom Petty, with a rousing rendition of the late rock icon’s “I Should Have Known It.” The hour closes with the fan-favorite “Millionaire,” as Stapleton is joined in close harmony with his partner and collaborator Morgane for a stellar close.

Chris Stapleton on Austin City Limits, 2024. Photo by Scott Newton.

“Everybody loves Chris Stapleton!” says ACL executive producer. “He brings attitude, heart and grit to Country music but in a way that appeals to fans of authentic music everywhere.”

Chris Stapleton setlist:

South Dakota

Arkansas

Cold

Worry B Gone

Think I’m In Love With You

It Takes A Woman

Joy Of My Life

I Should Have Known It

Starting Over

You Should Probably Leave

Mountains Of My Mind

Millionaire

Season 50 Broadcast Schedule (Second Half):

January 11 Norah Jones | Hurray for the Riff Raff

January 18 The Avett Brothers

January 25 Mickey Guyton | Carín León

February 1 Chris Stapleton

February 8 Sturgill Simpson Presents Johnny Blue Skies

February 15 ACL Presents: Willie Nelson & Family

Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding the Season 50 second half broadcast line-up and episode schedules or follow 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.

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Austin City Limits Spotlights Trailblazers Mickey Guyton and Carín León

Mickey Guyton and Carin Leon

A pair of trailblazers make dynamic Austin City Limits debuts in an exciting new hour: Country maverick and Texas native Mickey Guyton and chart-topping global Latin music superstar Carín León. Guyton performs hits and highlights from her acclaimed sophomore LP House on Fire, while León thrills with an eighteen-piece band and songs from his 2025 Grammy-nominated album Boca Chueca, Vol. 1. The new episode premieres Saturday, January 25 @8pm ET/7pm CT as part of Austin City Limits anniversary Season 50.

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. 2025 continues the yearlong 50th Anniversary of the revered music institution, which celebrates its extraordinary run as the longest-running music series in television history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for an incredible half-century.

Mickey Guyton on Austin City Limits, 2024. Photo by Scott Newton.

Texas-raised country queen Mickey Guyton lights up ACL with an irresistible performance showcasing her magnetic stage presence and powerhouse vocals. She opens the career-spanning set with the empowering title track of 2021’s breakthrough Remember Her Name, which made history as Guyton became the first Black artist to earn a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album. Guyton blazed this trail years before fellow Texan Beyoncé garnered the same honor with her landmark Cowboy Carter; when the R&B icon took the genre by storm this year she sent Guyton flowers and thanked her for opening the doors. Guyton performs a gorgeous version of Beyoncé’s “If I Were A Boy,” a song she presciently covered on her 2021 debut. “Y’all I’m just so blessed to be here right now,” shares a buoyant Guyton before launching into a pair of highlights from her latest release House on Fire, including the title track and the feelgood “Make It Me.” Guyton closes out the radiant set with her hit anthem “All American” as the crowd joins in on the soaring refrain “We got the same stars, the same stripes Just wanna live that good life Ain’t we all, ain’t we all American? 

Carín León on Austin City Limits, 2024. Photo by Scott Newton.

Sharing the hour is another history-making artist: Global Mexican star Carín León had a banner 2024, earning a standing ovation at the Grand Ole Opry with a set sung entirely in Spanish; he made history as the first Latin artist to perform at both Coachella and Stagecoach. In a 2024 profile, The New York Times called him a “a supremely gifted singer who blows through musical and cultural divides with fearlessness and determination.” León won the first-ever Latin Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Mexican Music Album at the 2024 Latin Grammys for his Boca Chueca, Vol. 1, and was nominated for Best Música Mexicana Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards.  León has lifted the genre to new heights of popularity in the United States as one of the most popular artists of the streaming era, with billions of streams on Spotify. A native of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, León is dressed in a cowboy hat and accompanied by an incredible 18-piece band including a full brass section, accordion, piano, acoustic, electric, requinto and steel guitar for his ACL debut. León performs a thrilling set featuring highlights from his latest album and his 2023 breakout Colmillo De Leche, seamlessly joining elements of banda, norteño, ranchera and country and sparking multiple crowd sing-alongs. “Dreams come true, y’all,” he says in Spanish. “I’m here tonight filming ‘ACL.’ To more nights like this…”

“Today’s Country music comes in many different shapes, styles, and colors, and that diversity has long been a hallmark of Austin City Limits for five decades,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Mickey Guyton would be a superstar in any genre, and Carín León’s voice transcends musical boundaries in a way that’s never been done before.”

Mickey Guyton setlist:

Remember Her Name

Higher

Better Than You Left Me

If I Were A Boy

House On Fire

Make It Me

All American

Carín León setlist:

Me la Avente

Como Lo Hice Yo

Casi oficial

No Es Por Acá

Te Lo Agradezco

Despídase bien

Primera Cita

Season 50 Broadcast Schedule (Second Half):

January 11 Norah Jones | Hurray for the Riff Raff

January 18 The Avett Brothers

January 25 Mickey Guyton | Carín León

February 1 Chris Stapleton

February 8 Sturgill Simpson Presents Johnny Blue Skies

February 15 ACL Presents: Willie Nelson & Family


Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding the Season 50 second half broadcast line-up and episode schedules or follow 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.