Category: New Broadcast

Austin City Limits closes out Season 42 with a big rock finish—a season finale featuring UK alt-rock sensations Foals and Texas legend Alejandro Escovedo. Foals play tunes from their album What Went Down, while Escovedo, joined by an all-star band that includes R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, showcases songs from his acclaimed release Burn Something Beautiful.

One of the UK’s most popular bands, Foals make their debut on the Austin City Limits stage with songs from their acclaimed fourth album What Went Down, awarded Best Album by NME in 2016. Hailed as “fierce, amorphous rock” by The Guardian, the British quintet formed in Oxford in 2005 and have gone on to conquer festival stages including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds in their native UK, and Coachella and the Austin City Limits Festival stateside. Foals perform a blistering five-song set featuring their breakthrough anthem “Mountain At My Gates,” and closing with the seething “What Went Down,” which features a crowd visit from charismatic frontman Yannis Philippakis that thrills the besotted Austin fans.

“Foals has a reputation for their amazing live performances,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, “and I had more people come up to me after this show than any other to say it was the best one all season. That should give you some idea what to expect!”

Called a “rock and punk godfather” by Rolling Stone, Alejandro Escovedo first appeared on Austin City Limits in 1983, and returns for a fifth, unforgettable performance. The Texas trailblazer performs songs from Burn Something Beautiful, his 11th studio album, joined by alt-rock luminaries including R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and the Minus 5’s Scott McCaughey, who co-produced the new release, rounded out by a team of rock stalwarts: ex-Fastbacks guitarist Kurt Bloch, Decemberists’ drummer John Moen, and singers Kelly Hogan (Neko Case) and Karla Manzur. Escovedo and Buck lock guitars for the shimmering “Suit of Lights” featuring a gorgeous vocal spotlight by Hogan, and the six-string army blazes at full-force on the fiery, infectious punk of album opener “Horizontal.” The luminous set is a celebration of the rock ‘n’ roll life and a testament to the enduring power of a rock ‘n’ roll survivor.

“In so many ways, Alejandro epitomizes what Austin City Limits is all about,” says Lickona. “His music expanded, deepened and evolved over the years much the same way ACL has. It’s always a special night when he takes our stage.”

Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Tune in next week for a special encore, featuring Album of the Year Grammy nominee Sturgill Simpson and Austin scene vets Asleep at the Wheel.

Austin City Limits presents a soul-stirring hour of high voltage gospel with the legendary CeCe Winans and soul sensations St. Paul & The Broken Bones.

Gospel superstar CeCe Winans dazzles with a joyful spirit and a powerful voice in her first-ever appearance on the ACL stage. The ten-time Grammy-winning legend takes us to church with a buoyant set backed by her eleven-piece band, performing songs from Let Them Fall in Love, her first album in nearly a decade. Winans opens with the Motown meets southern soul burner “Hey Devil!” – a playful rebuke to temptation, tossing in a chorus of “Hit the Road, Jack” for good measure. A set highlight is new gem “Lowly,” a feel-good raver filled with soaring choruses and delightful interplay between Winans and her backup singers. She delivers a powerhouse take on “Why Me Lord,” the Kris Kristofferson classic, bringing the house down. Closing out her exuberant set with “Dancing in the Spirit,” the gospel giant leads a jubilant sing and dance-along that has the audience on their feet singing her praises.

Named “one of rock’s hottest live acts,” by Rolling Stone, the Birmingham, Alabama soul outfit St. Paul & The Broken Bones fire up the crowd in a thrilling ACL debut, armed with songs from their acclaimed sophomore release Sea of Love. Dynamic frontman Paul Janeway, decked out in a cherry-red suit with checkerboard trim, promises the crowd “we gon’ take you there,” and he delivers. The blistering set offers non-stop scorchers with a show-stopping performance by Janeway, whose voice has earned comparisons to soul greats Al Green and Otis Redding, and whom, NPR says, “channels a fire-and-brimstone energy”. “Let’s take it to the heavens,” says the colorful bandleader for the rousing set-closer “Burning Rome,” as he drops to his knees, preaching his soul-fire gospel and making a believer out of everyone.

“A CeCe Winans performance is almost a religious experience in itself, but no matter your beliefs, you’ll be inspired to sing, shout and dance by this show,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “St. Paul & The Broken Bones is unlike anything you’ve ever seen or heard. Taken together, this is an unmitigated hour of joy!”

Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Tune in next week for a brand new episode, featuring the ACL debut of British rock sensation Foals and the return of rocking Texas singer/songwriter Alejandro Escovedo.

Austin City Limits presents a captivating hour with two of contemporary country music’s brightest: Margo Price in her ACL debut and Hayes Carll making a return appearance.

Rising star Margo Price had a banner 2016 with the release of her acclaimed solo debut Midwest Farmer’s Daughter. Recorded at Memphis’ fabled Sun Studios and released by Jack White’s Third Man Records, the album topped critics’ year-end-best lists with Rolling Stone raving, “It’s the kind of record that hits you in the gut: staggeringly honest, as devastating as it is joyful and whip-smart.” Opening her stellar ACL debut with the honky tonk comeuppance “About To Find Out,” Price puts a fresh spin on classic Nashville with her sharp songwriting, steely vocals and dynamic road-tested live persona. “Hands of Time,” about a heartbreaking run of bad luck, leads into the crowd-pleasing set-closer “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle),” as Price ventures into the audience surrounded by newfound fans.

“A wry Texas troubadour with a knack for crooked grace and a clever turn of phrase” (New York Times), Hayes Carll returns for his first appearance since his ACL debut in 2010. The native Texan recalls his troubadour roots with his first album in five years, the critically acclaimed Lovers and Leavers, after having garnered a 2016 Grammy nomination for Best Country Song. Carll dedicates the artful set-opener “Sake of the Song” to a creative influence, the late, great Guy Clark, calling him the “lion of the songwriting world.” His natural gift for storytelling is evident in his startlingly personal six-song set, with its highlight “The Magic Kid,” a song about his son’s determination to be a magician, stealing the show and demonstrating Carll’s own brand of magic. He reaches back to his 2005 breakthrough Little Rock to close out the set, showcasing the fascinating and fearless evolution of a songwriting giant.

“If you’re not a fan of Nashville’s pop country trends, this show will be a breath of fresh air,” says longtime ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Margo writes and sings with a classic country touch, but what she writes about totally speaks to today. Hayes carries on the proud tradition of Texas songwriters, and this is his best work to date.”

Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Tune in next week for a brand new episode, featuring the return of Band of Horses and the debut of Parker Millsap.

Austin City Limits presents an irresistible hour with the ever-entertaining Cyndi Lauper, as she performs her mega-hits alongside classic country covers from her recently released Detour, her acclaimed eleventh studio album.

The pink-haired Lauper charms one and all in a sparkling hour featuring some of her best-known songs and the story behind her current country-flavored Detour. “I know a lot of you are thinking: what does Queens, New York have to do with anything country?” says the native East Coaster as she explores her love of vintage country & western, putting her unique spin on Wanda Jackson’s “Funnel of Love,” Skeeter Davis’ “The End of the World,” Patsy Montana’s “I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart,” and Bob Montgomery’s “Misty Blue”.  Lauper knocks out numbers from her own back catalog including a fevered version of “Money Changes Everything,” from her 1983 breakthrough She’s So Unusual, with the energetic hitmaker bopping across the stage, fueled by the enthusiastic Austin crowd. She delivers a gorgeous take on the 1984 ballad “Time After Time,” her first No. 1 hit.  Her signature anthem, the buoyant “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” turns into a riotous audience sing-a-long as the dancing Lauper proclaims from the stage, “We’re all entitled to a joyful life!”  The colorful star closes out the masterful set with a breathtaking a cappella version of her enduring—and timely—anthem, “True Colors,” extolling the virtues of diversity, with Lauper imploring the crowd to “be brave and kind—we need each other.”

“With Cyndi Lauper, what you see is what you get,” said longtime ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “And what you get is a totally unabashed, uninhibited, full-throated performance by one of the most unique artists in show business. Who knew she had such a perfect voice for such great country music classics? My only regret is there wasn’t time to include more of her side-splitting sense of humor.”

Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Tune in next week for a brand new episode featuring the ACL debut of rising star Margo Price and the return of Texas favorite Hayes Carll.