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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Episode recap: Bonnie Raitt

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.

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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Black Pumas

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.

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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Episode premiere: Alanis Morissette

“Everything’s gonna be fine, fine, fine” with the new installment of Austin City Limits (ACL) as superstar Alanis Morissette makes her first-ever appearance on the series with an hour of fan-favorites in an ecstatic performance. The new episode premieres Saturday, February 17 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, the notoriously TV-shy 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.

A generational artist and one of the most influential singer-songwriters in contemporary music, Alanis Morissette opens an electrifying hour with “All I Really Want,” the opening track of her landmark 1995 Jagged Little Pill, one of the best-selling albums of all time. Backed by her ace five-piece band, and signature harmonica in hand, the Canadian trailblazer performs an eleven-song, career-spanning set filled with iconic anthems including “Hand In My Pocket,” “You Learn,” “Perfect” and “Head Over Feet” as she prowls the stage with her famous long brown hair flying. The opening strains of fan-favorite ”Ironic” has the crowd on their feet as the hitmaker holds out the mic for the rapt audience to carry the beloved chorus. She performs a pair of gems from 2020’s critically-acclaimed Such Pretty Forks In the Road, her ninth studio album: the soaring opening track “Smiling,” and raw interior monologue “Reasons I Drink.” The singer unleashes her powerful, feral vocals on “You Oughta Know,” the ultimate kiss-off anthem, for an empowering communal catharsis as the audience sings-along at full volume. Morissette reaches back to 1998’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie for the piercing confessional “Thank U,” a sweet set-closer in a performance for the ages.

Alanis Morissette on Austin City Limits, 2023. Photo by Scott Newton.

“In the 50 year history of Austin City Limits, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an artist take command of the stage quite like Alanis Morissette, and that’s saying a lot!” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “She never slowed down and barely took a breath, yet her powerful voice filled the room and mesmerized her legion of fans!”

Alanis Morissette setlist:

All I Really Want

Hand In My Pocket

You Learn

Reasons I Drink

Head Over Feet

Perfect

Ironic

Smiling

You Oughta Know

Uninvited

Thank U

Season 49 Broadcast Schedule (upcoming):

February 17 Alanis Morissette

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.

For images and episode information, visit Austin City Limits press room at http://acltv.com/press-room/.

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.

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News

Giveaway: Black Pumas

The taping giveaway is now closed. Austin City Limits will tape a performance by Black Pumas on Tuesday, February 20th at 8 pm at ACL Live at The Moody Theater (310 W. 2nd Street, Willie Nelson Blvd). We are giving away a limited number of passes to this taping. Enter your name and email address on the below form by Saturday, February 17th at 5pm.

Winners will be chosen at random and a photo ID will be required to pick up tickets. Winners will be notified via email. Duplicate entries for a single taping will be automatically voided. Tickets are not transferable and will be voided if sold. Standing may be required. No photography, recording or cell phone use in the studio. No cameras, computers or recording devices allowed in the venue.


When Black Pumas made their self-titled debut in 2019, the Austin-bred duo set off a reaction almost as combustible and rapturous as their music itself. Along with earning a career total of seven GRAMMY Award nominations (including Album Of The Year) and winning praise from leading outlets like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist / producer Adrian Quesada achieved massive success as a live act, touring large theaters all over Europe and North and South America and delivering a transcendent show Burton aptly refers to as “electric church.” As they set to work on their highly awaited sophomore album, the band broadened their palette to include a dazzling expanse of musical forms: heavenly hybrids of soul and symphonic pop, mind bending excursions into jazz-funk and psychedelia, starry-eyed love songs that feel dropped down from the cosmos. 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.

In creating the follow-up to one of the most celebrated debuts in recent years, Black Pumas made a point of tuning out any sense of anticipation from the outside world. “I knew the first record was good when we finished it, but I had no idea people would respond like they did,” says Quesada. “This time around there was a lot of pressure and expectation that we hadn’t felt before, which was overwhelming at times, but we did our best to tune that out and focus on trusting ourselves like we always have.” As a result, Chronicles of a Diamond wholly echoes an essential intention behind its creation. “When we started out our collaboration Adrian and I told each other we’d continue as long as the process was fun for us to do so. In that, we wanted to make something that served us first, as artists. As people get to hear the album and dig it, for us, that is the cherry on top.

Like Black Pumas, Chronicles of a Diamond once again 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 Quesada (a Grammy Award winner whose background includes playing in Latin-funk orchestra Grupo Fantasma and accompanying legendary artists like Prince). Produced by Quesada and primarily mixed by six-time Grammy Award winner Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, The War on Drugs), the ten-song LP finds Burton taking the role of co-producer and infusing his free-spirited musicality into every track. Although Black Pumas made much of the album at Quesada’s own Electric Deluxe Recorders in Austin, Chronicles of a Diamond also came to life in such far-flung cities as Amsterdam and Mexico City and San Francisco, with their longtime band joining in to shape the album’s explosive yet artfully crafted sound. “On the first record my goal was to make something that felt modern but without using any loops or programming or editing of any kind—everything was completely live,” says Quesada. “With this record, we threw out all those rules and created something that’s very much a studio album but also captures that crazy energy that happens in the live show.”

The first piece recorded for Chronicles of a Diamond, opening track “More Than a Love Song” instantly reveals the heightened creative freedom Black Pumas brought to the album-making process. The song scored the band yet another GRAMMY nomination, this time around for Best Rock Performance. After building a potent momentum with its brisk beats, effervescent strings, and brightly buzzing guitar riffs, the long-beloved live staple shapeshifts into a moment of pure unbridled exultation powered by radiant gospel harmonies and a spellbinding bit of spoken word from Burton. “My entire approach to singing was definitely informed by our live show,” Burton points out. “Whenever we take the stage it’s the classic us-against-the-world kind of thing, and in reaching for my greatest strengths I ended up discovering new ones. With this album I felt very free in my vocal performance, which has a lot to do with Adrian hearing something in my voice and helping me to explore that.”

Next, on “Ice Cream (Pay Phone),” Black Pumas present a fuzzed-out and falsetto-laced love song Burton wrote years ago, then further developed with bassist/keyboardist Josh Blue during an impromptu session at two in the morning. “When left alone I tend to work in an unorthodox way, where the colors don’t go together quite like you’d expect them to,” says Burton, whose lyrics playfully interpolate a classic jump-rope rhyme. “With that song the big distorted guitar doesn’t seem like it should work with how I’m singing, but it sounded so soulful in a way that felt just right to me.” Completed by Quesada at his studio, “Ice Cream (Pay Phone)” ultimately induces a trance-like euphoria thanks to its hypnotic rhythms and swirling guitar lines. “A lot of Eric’s ideas lately have had a meditative quality, where all these repetitive motifs are happening in the background while the song changes around them,” says Quesada. “As soon as I heard ‘Ice Cream’ I loved it, because it was so radically different from anything we’d done before, or anything I would’ve come up with on my own.”

On songs like “Mrs. Postman,” Black Pumas reaffirm their status as a vital force in moving the genre of soul music forward. A piano-driven serenade spotlighting the phenomenal versatility of keyboardist JaRon Marshall, the timeless yet exquisitely left-of-center track took shape from an off-the-cuff collaboration between Marshall and Quesada. “JaRon and I used to get together on afternoons and make hip-hop beats for fun, and ‘Mrs. Postman’ ended up coming out of one of those sessions,” says Quesada, noting that the song marks the first time Black Pumas have co-written with another musician. In adding his contribution to “Mrs. Postman,” Burton imbued his lyrics with equal parts idiosyncratic poetry and humanistic sensitivity. “I was partly thinking about how much joy the postmen can bring to people’s lives, but I also wanted to encourage the people in my family and anyone else working a blue-collar job,” he says. “I know from firsthand experience how arduous it can be, and I wanted to send a message saying, ‘I still see all the beauty and light in you.’”

As Chronicles of a Diamond unfolds, Black Pumas endlessly follow their outsize imagination into unexpected directions. To that end, the album’s sprawling title track emerged after Quesada unearthed a full-band recording they’d cut live at a San Francisco studio years earlier, then sampled and looped the most dynamic elements of that performance. Meanwhile, Burton dreamed up the lyrics to “Chronicles of a Diamond” by tapping into his deep affinity for Curtis Mayfield and penning a song from the perspective of a diamond in the back of a Cadillac. On “Angel,” the band shares a mesmerizing slow-burner graced with majestic guitar work, moody mellotron melodies, and soul-baring lyrics Burton composed in a laundromat over a decade ago. “I remember feeling overwhelmed by everything going on with my family and the neighborhood I was living in, and hoping to find sanctuary in the actual voice of an angel,” he says. “There was a laundromat nearby that served as a quiet place for me, and that song started to come to me as I stared into a still-life painting of flowers.” And on “Hello,” Chronicles of a Diamond takes on an otherworldly quality, casting a powerful spell with the track’s sublime synth tones and celestial harmonies (courtesy of Black Pumas background vocalists Lauren Cervantes and Angela Miller). “Eric brought in that odd synth loop, and I loved the idea of building a song around something so out of the ordinary for us,” says Quesada. “It was probably the most challenging song for me to finish, but mostly because I was completely obsessed with it and needed to get it right.”

On “Rock and Roll,” Chronicles of a Diamond closes out with a gloriously strange epic that Black Pumas first began developing during sound checks and mainly recorded at a spur-of-the-moment session at an Amsterdam studio. “We were on tour and I was feeling excited about life and wanted to capture that, and somehow convinced everyone that going into the studio was the most fun thing we could do with our time in Amsterdam,” says Burton. One of several tracks featuring additional production from John Congleton (a Grammy Award winner known for his work with St. Vincent and Angel Olsen), “Rock and Roll” fully channels the raw urgency of that session while encompassing so many eccentric details, including a deluge of delightfully warped vocal effects. “Eric was in my studio and we started running his vocals through my Space Echo—a tape-delay unit from the ’70s—then manipulated that into what you hear at the end of the song,” says Quesada. “At one point the track was almost ten-minutes-long; we were just having so much fun playing around and recording the craziest sounds we could come up with.”

For Quesada, one of the most memorable experiences in the making of Chronicles of a Diamond took place on a solo trip to Mexico City in the final stages of the album’s production. “I was finishing up a lot of the sonic manipulation of the tracks and needed to be completely immersed, which ended up feeling like a very full-circle moment,” he recalls. “That same summer when I first started working with Eric, it was in Mexico City that I got inspired by the whole jungle-cats motif—which is how we came up with the name Black Pumas.” First introduced by a mutual friend back in 2017, after Quesada began seeking a potential collaborator who “liked Neil Young as much as Sam Cooke,” the two musicians quickly felt a near-telepathic musical connection. “We never had to discuss much or plot out what we wanted to do with the project—it all came together so easily and naturally,” says Quesada. “The way Eric creates is so in-the-moment and fits perfectly with how my brain works, and it makes everything immediately come to life in a way that’s so exciting and inspiring.”

When it came time to create Chronicles of a Diamond, Black Pumas leaned into that intuitive understanding while pushing their artistry to an entirely new level. “Making this album was much different from playing acoustic guitar by myself and writing from a place of self-reflection like I have in the past,” says Burton. “It felt like a metamorphosis in a way that was both beautiful and difficult, but in the end feels more true to who we are as collaborators.” In sharing the album with the world, the band hopes to impart a similarly transformative sense of joy and discovery. “I hope when people hear the record they feel the same excitement that we felt while we were making it,” says Burton. “And I hope they understand that being excited about life isn’t synonymous with having everything you’ve always wanted—it’s something we can all choose today, and every single day moving forward.”

One of the most electrifying new acts to emerge in recent years, Black Pumas first brought their unbridled breed of psychedelic soul to their 2019 self-titled debut—a widely acclaimed LP whose deluxe edition landed a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year. With seven Grammy nominations now under their belt, the Austin-bred duo have made a major cultural impact with smash singles like “Colors”: a gold-certified anthem that’s amassed over 450 million streams, in addition to hitting No. 1 at AAA Radio and earning Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Best American Roots Performance.

Known for their exhilarating live show (as shown on multiple sold-out tours across North and South America and Europe), singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada first discovered their once-in-a-lifetime chemistry back in 2017, after Quesada began searching for a potential collaborator and connected with Burton through a mutual friend. Thanks to the potent collision of their distinct sensibilities—Burton is a self-taught musician who got his start busking in his native Los Angeles, Quesada is a Grammy winner whose background includes playing in Latin-funk orchestra Grupo Fantasma—Black Pumas soon set off on a meteoric rise that’s included performing at the Grammys and at President Biden’s inauguration, making high-profile appearances on shows like “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, winning Emerging Act of the Year from the Americana Music Association, and selling over a million album equivalents worldwide.

Produced by Quesada and co-produced by Burton, their massively anticipated sophomore album Chronicles of a Diamond finds Black Pumas bringing their singular vision to life with more power, passion, and daring originality than ever before.


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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Episode premiere: Noah Kahan/ Flor de Toloache

Austin City Limits showcases a pair of innovative acts making ACL debuts with singular music inspired by their geography and roots. Breakout Vermont singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, nominated for a 2024 Best New Artist Grammy, makes a highly-anticipated debut on the ACL stage with songs from his breakthrough Stick Season; sharing the hour is the groundbreaking all-female mariachi act Flor de Toloache, with numbers from their 2024 Grammy-nominated album Motherflower. The new installment premieres February 10 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, the notoriously TV-shy 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, all-star tapings, a PBS special, live concerts and much more.

Noah Kahan on Austin City Limits, 2023. Photo by Scott Newton.

Noah Kahan delivers a revelatory ACL debut showcasing highlights from his celebrated Stick Season, an album inspired by his rural New England roots. The folk-pop phenomenon is having a banner year, fostering a connection with audiences to become one of 2023’s most talked-about live acts, with sold-out stadium and tour dates throughout 2024. The 27-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist has struck a chord with his legions of fans through highly relatable songs about contemporary life—viral smashes that erupt into crowd singalongs. Taking the stage backed by his five-piece band, he opens with “All My Love,” a banjo-driven folk number, and the adoring audience sings along to every lyric. Kahan regales the crowd with the stories behind his confessional lyrics and cracks jokes with his signature, self-deprecating humor: “Put your hands up, Austin! Never mind, I don’t like it!” The crowd sings an entire verse themselves on the autobiographical  “Northern Attitude,” a gem containing the lyric “Forgive my northern attitude, I was raised on little light.” Kahan performs the pair of fan-favorite career highlights that launched his meteoric rise: the platinum breakthrough smash “Dial Drunk,” and the song that he says, “changed my life,” the double-platinum smash “Stick Season,” showcasing his deft blend of cathartic blast and ardent earnestness to full effect. 

Flor de Toloache on Austin City Limits, 2023. Photo by Scott Newton.

The New York City-based Flor de Toloache seamlessly combines tradition and innovation, breaking boundaries with their edgy, versatile, and feminist perspective on classic Latin American music. Musical partners and dual vocalists Shae Fiol and Mireya Ramos lead the all-female Latin Grammy-winning combo, which features Ramos on violin and Fiol on vihuela, joined by a trio of virtuosos on trumpet, guitar and traditional mariachi guitarron. The trailblazing group defies cultural and gender norms, becoming the first female act to receive a Latin Grammy Award in the Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album category. With white flowers in their hair and red roses adorning their mic stands, they perform a spellbinding set with their latest album Motherflower as the centerpiece. Grammy-winning producer and Black Pumas leader Adrian Quesada, a fan, makes a guest appearance on guitar for the luminous heartbreak ballad “Soledad” (Loneliness). Fiol shifts between English and Spanish language easily on “Let Down,” a highlight from their 2014 debut, a fusion of ranchera, blues and R&B, and a stunning showcase for her impassioned vocals. Ramos takes the lead vocal on “Regresa Ya,” captivating on the beautiful, self-penned ranchera. Putting tradition aside, the quintet displays their remarkable range and stunning musicianship with a dazzling medley of contemporary rock songs, incorporating riffs, melodies and lyrics from Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, No Doubt and Rage Against the Machine for an epic close. 

“There is no better example than this episode to showcase the musical diversity and variety that has been the hallmark of Austin City Limits for 50 years, said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Noah will inspire with the lyrical and melodic beauty of his songs, and Flor de Toloache will mesmerize with their own take on not-so traditional mariachi music.”

Noah Kahan setlist:

All My Love

Northern Attitude

Dial Drunk

Stick Season

Homesick

Flor de Toloache setlist:

Brinda Por Ella

Soledad

Let Down

Regresa Ya

“Nirvana medley”: Killing in the Name/ Come As You Are/ Smells Like Teen Spirit/ Kashmir/ All of My Love/ No Sigas (Don’t Speak)

Season 49 Broadcast Schedule (upcoming):

February 10 Noah Kahan | Flor de Toloache

February 17 Alanis Morissette

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.