UPDATE – the giveaway is now closed. Austin City Limits will tape a performance by Tanya Tucker on Monday, July 10th 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 Thursday, July 6th 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.
UPDATE – the giveaway is now closed. Austin City Limits will tape a performance by DOMi and JD Beck on Saturday, July 8th 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 Thursday, July 6th at 2pm.
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.
UPDATE giveaway is now over. Austin City Limits will tape a performance by Rodrigo y Gabriela featuring the Austin Symphony Orchestra on Friday, July 7th 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 Wednesday, July 5th at 2pm.
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.
Lil Yachty on Austin City Limits, June 28, 2023. Photo by Scott Newton.
Breaking into stardom after the release of 2016 album Lil Boat featuring popular track “Minnesota”, Atlanta rapper Lil Yachty sailed into the scene with his iconic autotuned vocal style and lighthearted lyricism. Yachty makes his ACL debut with his latest album Let’s Start Here. as the centerpiece, a clear departure from his previous sound. The embodiment of a modernized pop-infused psychedelic funk album with a soul influence, the album reflects a clear tribute to the 70s soul funk scene. The innovative rap star delivered a powerful fifteen-song set backed by a six-piece band, while welcoming special guests, Teezo Touchdown, Justine Skye, and Fousheé aboard the S.S. Yachty for a thrilling musical journey. Yachty’s iconic vocals swim amongst a sea of sound being carried by the god-like vocal performance of the band’s backup singers that invoke a rich, soulful, and dynamic sound worthy of many a moment of sonically-induced goosebumps while listening. He delivered a thrilling performance reflecting the album’s musical breadth, signaling his arrival into an increasingly colorful sound inspired by meaningful musical influences—synthesizers, guitar solos, keyboards, and clap-alongs all included–welcome aboard the S.S. Yachty.
Yachty and crew sail into the first track “the BLACK seminole.” laying the foundation of the psychedelic soul sound that will be representative of the musical foundations laid within the the new record. A slowed down, psychedelic acid jazz-type instrumental that Yachty’s reverbed vocals seemingly weave in and out of, the vocals echo into the night’s first groovy guitar solo. A track that thematically pays homage to the cultural identity of the black psychedelic funk and soul sound, Yachty sings “The black seminole, a head general…a black man with mouths to feed, embracing equality throughout greed.” The rapper takes a moment to recognize the variety of talent that is represented amongst his band–a high energy all black, female band wearing matching black sweatsuits, bandanas, and shades. The crowd applauds as the musician asserts“I got all my sisters here with me,” indicating his intentional choice of the all-female power band with remarks on the strength of the female talent and citing how “Women rule the world.”
Following that shot of truth, the S.S. Yachty welcomes aboard a trio of special guests. Rising into action, “the ride-”, brings an 80’s inspired synth-sounding pop track featuring vocals from upcoming Beaumont rapper, Teezo Touchdown. Yachty’s light-filled ethereal sounding vocals complement a contrasting, in your face ‘ vocal performance by Touchdown. The Texas rapper sings holding a hand full of flowers and a head adorned with his signature wig of nails, and graces the stage in a pair of white go-go boots enthusiastically rapping into his bouquet before fist-bumping Yachty during his exit. The pair makes a playful and energetic presence on stage as they vocally bounce off each other, leading the crowd into their first wave of groovy head nodding.
The slow psychedelic sounds of funk are back in the spotlight with “The Zone~” featuring Yachty’s blossoming, kaleidoscope-like vocals that ripple throughout the track before meeting with the funky lightness of guest artist Justine Skye’s R&B inspired vocal style. A track for sailing on auto-pilot, relaxing into the magnetic mellowness of reverbed and distorted guitar and vocal tracks, the S.S. Yachty sails onto seriously smooth waters. Before diving into the climactic disco anthem “drive ME crazy!” the Atlanta rapper singles out a pair of enthusiastic fans in the front row, The stoked pair cheer as Yachty announces he will dedicate the disco anthem to them, a token of the Captain’s appreciation for his most sunny of sailors. The track reflects the absolute energetic force radiating from the sheer talent produced by the Yachty band. The disco anthem immediately brings an impactful wave of energetic groove amongst the crowd, uplifting the sea of Yachty youngsters. A disco groove irresistible to any seasoned rollbouncer slowly melts into the slowness of the synth sounds of “The Alchemist.”
Bringing the performance to the album’s musical climax, the upbeat nature of “The Alchemist.” brings an energetic presence. In typical Yachty fashion, his instinctually uplifting lyricism continues to carry as the foundation to the inherent early and current Yachty sound, singing “No need to brag, but I was built for this. I know now that most men would kill for this.” The track breaks away from the funk foundations and leans towards the pop and R&B undertones still present within the album’s influences. On the Yachty sound spectrum, the rhythmically upbeat pop influence combined with the vocals of his final guest, R&B singer Fousheé, place this track several blocks away from the intersection between psychedelic funk and soul that tends to encompass the record.
Yachty and crew bring a soulful presence fueled by a powerfully talented band of musicians that reflect the identity of the rapper’s musical experimentation inspired by traditional sounds served up a-la-Yachty. The captivating performance mobilized a sea of sing-alongs, head banging, and sheer applause for the massive talent of Lil Yachty and the musical journey. Using his debut ACL taping to showcase a departure from the conventional Yachty style, Lil Boat and crew create waves with a newfound sound that soulfully satisfies.
Austin City Limits is excited to announce that we will be live streaming our upcoming Season 49 taping with Grammy-winning guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela in their first appearance in a decade, with a one-of-a-kind performancefeaturing the Austin Symphony Orchestra on July 7 at 8pm CT. This appearance marks the first time Austin City Limits/Austin PBS has collaborated with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, one of Austin’s oldest and most respected arts institutions. ACL offers fans worldwide the unique opportunity to watch this taping live in its entirety free here on our ACLTV YouTube Channel.
In an unprecedented performance, Rodrigo y Gabriela will be joined by over thirty musicians from the Austin Symphony Orchestra to bring to life their latest release In Between Thoughts…A New World on the ACL stage. For over two decades, the Mexico City-bred duo of Gabriela Quintero and Rodrigo Sanchez have created music that invites lasting transcendence, captivating audiences across the globe with their virtuosic and wildly inventive guitar playing. In Between Thoughts marks a sharp departure from the signature acoustic sound the acclaimed act first showcased on their 2006 self-titled studio debut, and finds the pair expanding their sound with an orchestra. Conceived during the pandemic, the duo worked remotely with Vienna-based composer Adam Ilyas Kuruc and The Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, who ornamented their serpentine arrangements with lush strings and powerful percussion. Sparked from their study of Advaita Vedanta (a Hindu philosophy rooted in the concept of nondualism), In Between Thoughts…A New World arrives as one of Rodrigo y Gabriela’s most revelatory offerings to date: a spontaneously composed body of work primed to bring about the very expansion of consciousness that inspired its creation. As they delved further into the philosophy, the duo began channeling their sense of heightened awareness into song form. “The music just started flowing out, without any real intention,” says Rodrigo. “When we looked back we realized we’d come up with nine songs that told the story of our coming to understand the Advaita path, in the exact perfect order.” The album finds Rodrigo trading his acoustic guitar for electric, adding a mercurial new energy that’s elegantly amplified by the duo’s subtle use of analog synths, Mellotron, and other electronic instruments. Propelled by a fierce vitality hinting at their thrash-metal roots, the result is an album of relentless movement and endless fluidity, each moment charged with the pure thrill of discovery. “When the subject matter is something like spirituality or seeking meaning, that can very easily go along with music that’s calming or serene,” says Gabriela. “But we wanted to do something different — we wanted to bring a cinematic quality and a lot of action to the music, and make it feel as exciting as we find all this to be.”
Join us here on July 7 at 8 p.m. CT for Rodrigo y Gabriela featuring the Austin Symphony Orchestra; the broadcast episode will air on PBS this fall as part of our upcoming Season 49. 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.
UPDATE giveaway is now over. Austin City Limits will tape a performance by Lil Yachty on Wednesday, June 28th 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 Monday, June 26th at 2pm.
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.
