Called “one of the greatest young songwriters we’ve got” by Blurt, Alabama native Jason Isbell first came to music fans’ notice in 2001 as a member of the Drive-By Truckers. More
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Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sande makes her highly anticipated Austin City Limits debut on Sunday, July 7th, and we’re happy to announce the taping will be live streamed worldwide at 8pm Central Time. Fans can log on to ACL’s YouTube Channel to watch live video of Sandé’s entire ACL taping from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. We hope to see you there, literally or virtually!
Most music aficionados categorize themselves as lyrics vs. music types. Both are essential to creating one-of-kind songs, but people seem to always identify most with one or the other. Fortunately for both types, this weekend Austin City Limits is bringing you an encore episode that features two artists that are known for their eloquent lyrics as well as their beautifully crafted harmonies: The Decemberists and Gillian Welch.
Portland natives The Decemberists have graced Austin City Limits twice and each time is as memorable and heartfelt as the other with their crowd participation and musically eclectic performance. In this episode we hear mostly from the group’s 2011 album, The King is Dead with special accompaniments from Gillian Welch on “Down By The Water,” and Welch and David Rawlings on the final song, “All Arise!” There’s also the appearance of “The Rake’s Song,” from 2009’s Hazards of Love, that serves as a crowd favorite and frontman Colin Meloy’s personal favorite recording.
Going with the “less is more” approach in their music, Gillian Welch and longtime partner David Rawlings have been creating their known sparse yet haunting music for two decades. Welch is also no stranger to the Austin City Limits stage – her appearance with us in Season 37 marked her third recording. Welch and Rawling perform predominantly from their 2011 album The Harrow & The Harvest, and also perform a classic rendition of “I’ll Fly Away.”
Whether you’re all about connecting with music on a lyrical level or a purely musicianship standpoint, you won’t be disappointed this weekend with this encore episode.
Be sure to check your local listings for showtimes to see this episode and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or our newsletter to keep up with updates on tapings and airings. Next week: Steve Miller Band and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
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Ticket Giveaway: Emeli Sande 7/7
* giveaway is now over.
Austin City Limits will be taping a performance by Emeli Sande on Sunday, July 7th, 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 Wednesday, July 3rd.
Passes are not transferable and cannot be sold. Standing may be required.
No photography, recording or cell phone use in the studio.
WARNING: This Saturday’s encore episode may induce the following behavior: dancing/booty shaking, laughter, uncontrollable smiling, clapping, soulful singing, and bass throwing (if you have one nearby).
What are we talking about? This week’s episode featuring multi-instrumentalist and R&B veteran Raphael Saadiq and Austin’s own Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, of course.
Referring to journalists as “lazy” when they try to fit his musical style under genre specific labels (such as neo-soul), it’s clear from this performance and his albums that Raphael Saadiq draws inspiration from a wide array of artists. Featuring special guest Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Saadiq covers hits from his 2011 album Stone Rollin’. Watch when Saadiq performs the title track, a song he initially wrote when he was 11 about a “full-figured, bluesy woman,” as his background vocalists show as much energy as Saadiq himself.
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears have been such an Austin favorite and “must-see” over the years that it wasn’t a shock when the group starting gaining national attention. In this performance you see the group at its finest, performing a mix of songs from its 2009 debut Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is! and their 2011 release Scandalous. This performance is brimming with energy, soul and flying instruments, and hits its peak at the end, when the group is joined by Dallas gospel group the Relatives for the fervid hit and crowd favorite “You Been Lyin’.”
Check your local listings for showtimes to see this episode and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or hook up with our newsletter to keep up with updates on tapings and airings! Oh, and please watch out for the bass. Austin City Limits does not condone anyone throwing instruments in the living room, but if you do, let us know because that would be an awesome story worth sharing.
Next week: the Decemberists and Gillian Welch.
We’re thrilled to announce a new pair of tapings for Austin City Limits: Jason Isbell on August 19 and the Black Angels on August 28.
Called “one of the greatest young songwriters we’ve got” by Blurt, Alabama native Jason Isbell first came to music fans’ notice in 2001 as a member of the Drive-By Truckers, acting as a major songwriting force on their acclaimed albums Decoration Day, The Dirty South and A Blessing and a Curse. He departed the Truckers and released his first solo album Sirens in the Ditch in 2007. Forming his own roots-rocking backing band the 400 Unit, Isbell garnered more huzzahs and fans with his next pair of LPs, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and Here We Rest. His new record Southeastern is his most personal and fulsomely praised yet. “Southeastern is pretty serious business,” notes The A.V. Club. “Then again, so is life and the one that Isbell has lived thus far is certainly worth documenting, especially when the songs supporting it are this stunning.”
Named in tribute to the Velvet Underground number “The Black Angel’s Death Song,” Austin’s Black Angels found themselves the spearhead of a new psychedelic revival soon after its formation in 2004. The band’s carefully crafted blend of melody and noise won over fans of both modern indie rock and old-school acid rock, and its LPs Passover and Directions to See a Ghost on the hip Light in the Attic label established it as a major force in underground rock & roll. 2008 found the band not only backing its spiritual godhead Roky Erickson for a pair of gigs, but also starting its own festival, the still-running Austin Psych Fest. Signing to the revived legendary label Blue Horizon, the Black Angels signaled a poppier direction with Phosphene Dream and its latest Indigo Meadow. NPR recently said of the band, “The music slunk through the crowd like an iridescent snake wrapping itself around each and every fan in the crowd, rattling its tail and hissing a slew of bittersweet, psychedelic nothings in the process.”
We’re excited to bring these artists to the ACL audience. Ticket details will be forthcoming – watch this space.