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Featured News

Austin City Limits Announces Performers for 2015 ACL Hall of Fame

Austin City Limits announces guest performers for the 2015 ACL Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Thursday, June 18th: country legend Vince Gill, acclaimed singer-songwriter Jason Isbell, multi-platinum country artist Patty Loveless, British singer-songwriter Laura Marling, Los Lobos frontman David Hidalgo, Grammy-winning conjunto band Los Texmaniacs and Texas singer-songwriter JT Van Zandt.

Hosted by multiple GRAMMY Award-winning country star Dwight Yoakam, who will also perform, the celebration honors the second class of inductees with one-of-a-kind music performances and tributes, as five trailblazing artists are inducted: Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn, Guy Clark, Flaco Jiménez and Townes Van Zandt. The event is open to the public this year and will take place at ACL’s studio home, Austin’s ACL Live at The Moody Theater. A limited number of tickets are available at acltv.com/hall-of-fame. Musical highlights and inductions from the ceremony will be broadcast in a special episode as part of ACL’s Season 41 which premieres in the fall on PBS.

More information about performances and additional guest stars will be announced prior to the event. Inductees Asleep at the Wheel and Flaco Jiménez will also perform at the ceremony and country icon Loretta Lynn will accept her honor in a special video for the occasion. Renowned steel guitarist and producer Lloyd Maines, inducted last year into the ACL Hall of Fame, returns as Music Director, leading an Austin all-star house band.

The newest class of inductees also recognizes—in the non-performer category—the original ACL crew, who will be honored at the event, and who played an important role in the launch and continuing success of the influential series and some of whom are still part of the crew today. The Austin City Limits Hall of Fame celebrates the legacy of legendary artists and key individuals who have been instrumental in the pioneering music series remarkable 40+ years as an American music institution. The inaugural induction ceremony took place April 26, 2014 and honored Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Bill Arhos, Darrell Royal and Lloyd Maines. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is an annual event, honoring a new class of inductees each year.

Austin City Limits and the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame are produced by KLRU-TV, Austin PBS. KLRU is a non-profit organization providing public television and educational resources to Central Texas as well as producing quality national programming. Net proceeds from this event benefit KLRU.

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Encore Broadcast Episode Recap News

Encore: Beck

This weekend, Beck rocks ACL with an epic, career-spanning full-hour performance. One of the most creative artists of his generation, Beck shines in an exceptionally entertaining hour, showcasing a mix of vintage fan favorites and more recent gems. Promoting his mightily acclaimed LP Morning Phase, Beck and his crack band of longtime friends and collaborators shift from quiet contemplation to rousing party jams with chameleonic skill and unabashed enthusiasm. The L.A. native goes into troubadour mode for the beautiful, emotional “Blue Moon,” “Waking Light” and “Let It Go,” showcasing his depth as a songwriter. But he also blows the doors off with the dynamic, houseshaking hits “Loser” and an epic blast through his anthem “Where It’s At.”

Tune in this Saturday for this soon to be classic episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Click over to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL goodies. Next week: Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples.

photo by Scott Newton

 

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Featured Live Stream News

Shakey Graves taping livestreams on May 6

Austin City Limits is pleased to announce that we will be streaming our taping with Shakey Graves live on Wednesday, May 6, 8pm CT/9pm ET. The taping will webcast in its entirety via our YouTube channel.

Austin-based singer/songwriter Shakey Graves will be playing songs from his acclaimed 2014 LP And the War Came. An actor who had a recurring role on Friday Night Lights and appeared in several Robert Rodriguez films, the erstwhile Alejandro Rose-Garcia started making music as part of New York City’s “anti-folk” scene. Since returning to Austin, Shakey Graves has become so closely associated with his hometown that for the last three years, Austin has celebrated “Shakey Graves Day” by mayoral proclamation. With And the War Came, he extends the ground emotionally and sonically broken by his 2011 self-released debut Roll the Bones, which still ranks near the top of Bandcamp’s digital best-seller charts. As noted by Exclaim, And the War Came “displays remarkable growth as a songwriter, guitar player and arranger without entirely leaving behind the one-man-band, lo-fi aesthetic that made his debut such a captivating listen.”

The broadcast version of this show will air this fall on PBS.  Join us for this live webcast of the Austin City Limits debut of Shakey Graves.

 

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News

Giveaway: Shakey Graves 5/6

UPDATE: Giveaway is now over. If you did not receive an email with passes to the taping, you can watch the live stream on our Youtube Channel.

Austin City Limits will be taping a performance by Shakey Graves on Wednesday, May 6th, at 8 pm at ACL Live at The Moody Theater (310 W. 2nd Street, Willie Nelson Blvd).  We will be giving away a limited number of space available passes to this taping. Enter your name and email address on the below form by 9 am on May 4th. Winners will be chosen at random and a photo ID will be required to pickup tickets. Winners will be notified by email. Passes are not transferable and cannot be sold. Standing may be required.

No photography, recording or cell phone use in the studio. No cameras allowed in venue.

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Encore Broadcast Episode Recap News

Encore: Jack White

As a bandleader, Jack White has visited the Austin City Limits studio before, ripping it up with the Raconteurs back in 2006. Here White returns to our stage as a solo artist to demonstrate exactly why he’s one of today’s most exciting musicians.

Ever the risk-taker, White hits the stage bathed in blue light and accompanied by not one but two bands comprised of Nashville’s best musicians. Working without a net, White eschews a set list and draws from nearly every project of his prolific career. So this episode treats you to some White Stripes (“I’m Slowly Turning Into You,” “We’re Going to Be Friends,” “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”), a little Raconteurs (“Top Yourself”), a pinch of Dead Weather (“Blue Blood Blues”), a blues cover (Blind Willie Johnson’s “John the Revelator”) and White’s contribution (“You Know That I Know”) to The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams, a collection of Williams lyrics set to music by contemporary songwriters.

Of course, much of the show is dedicated to songs from Blunderbuss, White’s much-acclaimed solo debut. Watch him burn through “Freedom at 21” and “Missing Pieces” with his all-male group the Buzzards, then blaze through “Hypocritical Kiss” and “Love Interruption” with his all-female band the Peacocks. The mostly acoustic title tune serves as the transition point, as Buzzards give way to Peacocks before the guitars finish feeding back and “Love Interruption” begins.

photo by Scott Newtong

See more about the show here, then check your local PBS listings to find out when to tune in to see for yourself. Keep up with ACL news and happenings on our Facebook and Twitter feeds, as well as our news page, or sign up for our newsletter. Next week: Beck.

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Featured Live Stream News

Cassandra Wilson taping to stream live on Apr. 28

Austin City Limits is pleased to announce that we will be streaming our taping with Cassandra Wilson live on Tuesday, April 28, 8pm CT/9pm ET. The taping will webcast in its entirety via our YouTube channel.

 Grammy-winning American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer Cassandra Wilson makes her ACL debut, armed with her acclaimed new LP Coming Forth by Day (Legacy Recordings), an homage dedicated to the beauty, power, and genius of Billie Holiday. The album boasts a surprising cast of characters: produced by Nick Launay (Nick Cave’s producer), string arrangements by Van Dyke Parks, guitar from T Bone Burnett and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner, and rhythm section from The Bad Seeds (drummer Thomas Wydler and bassist Martyn P. Casey).  Critic Gary Giddins describes Wilson as “a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack who has expanded the playing field” by incorporating blues, country and folk music into her work.  A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Wilson moved to New York City in the early 80s, met saxophonist Steve Coleman and became one of the founding members of the M-Base Collective. She signed with Blue Note Records in 1992 and released the landmark album Blue Light ‘Til Dawn, which paved the way for a new generation of jazz singers seeking an approach and repertoire that challenged the supremacy of the American Standard songbook.

The broadcast version of this show will air this fall on PBS.  Join us for this live webcast of the Austin City Limits debut of Cassandra Wilson.