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ACL Presents 23rd Annual Americana Honors: A Celebration of the Best in Americana Music

Waxahatchee at Americana Awards

Austin City Limits returns to the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville for a special broadcast featuring performances from the 23rd Annual Americana Honors. For more than two decades, this celebration of roots music has honored the leading lights of the Americana field while showcasing unique performances and collaborations from pioneering mainstays and trailblazing newcomers. The program is filled with musical highlights from award-winning legends, buzzworthy new artists and longtime fan favorites, among them (in order of appearance): Duane Betts, Blind Boys of Alabama, Waxahatchee featuring MJ Lenderman, Noah Kahan, Jobi Riccio, Fantastic Negrito, Larkin Poe, Sarah Jarosz, Dwight Yoakam, Shelby Lynne, Sierra Ferrell and Emmylou Harris with Rodney Crowell. The hourlong special premieres Saturday, November 23 @ 7pm CT/8pm ET on PBS and the PBS app and varies by market (check local listings for times). Check PBS listings for local airtimes. The special will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, November 24 @10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits. The program’s official hashtags are #acltv and #americanafest. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding upcoming tapings, episode schedules and select live stream updates. The complete line-up for Austin City Limits’ full 14-week milestone Season 50, including six new episodes to air beginning January 11, 2025, will be announced shortly. 

Recorded live at Nashville’s historic “Mother Church,” the Ryman Auditorium, in September 2024, The Americana Music Association’s 23rd Annual Americana Honors & Awards ceremony is a celebration of the confluence of roots, blues, soul, folk and country music. For the thirteenth year, the producers of Austin City Limits, in conjunction with producers Martin Fischer, Michelle Aquilato, and Jed Hilly for the Americana Music Association, proudly deliver a special ACL Presents. 

Sierra Ferrell performs
Sierra Ferrell performs on the 23rd Annual Americana Honors, 2024

Duane Betts opens the hour with a tribute to his late father Dickey Betts with a rollicking version of the Allman Brothers classic “Blue Sky.” “That one’s for you, Dad. We love you,” says the next-generation guitar ace. Folk duo The Milk Carton Kids introduce Sierra Ferrell, one of Americana’s top stars, saying “Dolly Parton is who we should look to for where Sierra is headed.” Ferrell, the much-honored Artist of the Year, performs her spellbinding Song of the Year-nominated “American Dreaming” from her LP Trail of Flowers (awarded Album of the Year). The country-folk-bluegrass star also recently scored nods across all the Americana categories for the upcoming 2025 Grammy Awards. 

Waxahatchee (the performance name of acclaimed indie musician Katie Crutchfield) performs her Song of the Year-nominated “Right Back To It” from her album, Tigers Blood, also newly-nominated for a Grammy for Best Americana Album. She is joined by the record’s guest artist, singer-songwriter-guitarist MJ Lenderman for the performance. Artist of the Year nominee Noah Kahan delivers a stirring version of his 2023 breakout smash “Dial Drunk” accompanied by the Americana All-Star Band, including bandleader Buddy Miller, guitarist Larry Campbell, bassist Don Was and Jim Hoke on banjo. Americana legend T Bone Burnett introduces the Duo/Group of the Year honorees, the sibling act known as Larkin Poe, as “two sisters, who are deep practitioners of this [Americana] art form” and the powerhouse pair perform their scorching “Bluephoria” dressed in striking red outfits. Texas native and acclaimed singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Sarah Jarosz delivers a sparkling “Jealous Moon,” a Song of the Year nominee from her 2024 album Polaroid Lovers. Emerging Act of the Year nominee Jobi Riccio shines with her slowburn “For Me It’s You” from 2023’s acclaimed LP Whiplash. 

The special honors singular artists with Lifetime Achievement Awards, including The Blind Boys of Alabama, who revolutionized Gospel music with their infusion of a nontraditional, grooving rhythm section. The current line-up of the legendary group performs an ecstatic rendition of “Work Until My Days Are Done” that earns a standing ovation from the Ryman audience. The late blues and gospel pioneer Reverend Gary Davis receives the Legacy of Americana award with a salute by three-time Grammy-winning blues firebrand Fantastic Negrito. Resplendent in gold lamé, the guitar slinger shines in a sanctified take on the Rev. Davis classic “Samson and Delilah,” with revival-like intensity in a soaring performance amplified by the vocals of gospel greats the McCrary Sisters. Singer-songwriter Allison Moorer celebrates her big sister and Lifetime Achievement Honoree Shelby Lynne, calling Lynne “my personal trailblazer.” Moorer joins Lynne for a performance of “Gotta Get Back,” from her breakthrough album I Am Shelby Lynne, celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2025. C&W icon Dwight Yoakam is presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by singer-songwriter Brandy Clark, the night’s Song of the Year award winner. Yoakam thrills with his trademark Bakersfield-meets-rockabilly groove on his 1993 hit “Fast as You,” joined by Americana great Jim Lauderdale on backing vocals, and the Americana All-Star Band.

Americana favorite Margo Price introduces country legends Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell and the luminous hour comes to an unforgettable close as the two greats perform a gorgeous reading of the Gram Parsons classic “Return of the Grievous Angel” earning one more Ryman ovation. 

Longstanding house band leader Buddy Miller returns as musical director for the Americana All-Star Band, featuring Don Was—a 2024 Lifetime Achievement Honoree—Larry Campbell, Jen Gunderman, Bryan Owings, Jerry Pentecost, Jim Hoke, and The McCrary Sisters backing many of the night’s performers. 

Broadcast setlist: 

Duane Betts “Blue Sky” 

Blind Boys of Alabama “Work Until My Days Are Done” 

Waxahatchee w/MJ Lenderman “Right Back To It” 

Noah Kahan “Dial Drunk” 

Jobi Riccio “For Me It’s You” 

Fantastic Negrito “Samson and Delilah” 

Larkin Poe “Bluephoria” 

Sarah Jarosz “Jealous Moon” 

Dwight Yoakam “Fast As You” 

Shelby Lynne “Gotta Get Back” 

Sierra Ferrell “American Dreaming” 

Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell “Return of the Grievous Angel” 

Watch new Austin City Limits episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding the Season 50 second half broadcast line-up and episode schedules or follow 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. 

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News Special event

Austin City Limits Celebrates 50 Years: A Special Anniversary Taping

The trailblazing live music series Austin City Limits (ACL) announces Austin City Limits Celebrates 50 Years, a night that’s a half-century in the making.  Music luminaries and some of the brightest stars in the show’s five-decade history will return to the fabled ACL stage on Thursday, November 21st for this milestone anniversary. The celebration will feature one-of-a-kind music performances with a stellar line-up featuring Leon Bridges, Gary Clark Jr. joined by Eve Monsees, Billy Strings featuring Sierra Hull and Zach Top, Indigo Girls, Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, Brandy Clark, Rufus Wainwright, The Mavericks, Ángela Aguilar, Cam and Lloyd Maines & the ACL All-Stars, with appearances by Trio Los Panchos and Austin’s Tosca String Quartet. Longtime Austin City Limits supporters and Austin-based actors Jared and Genevieve Padalecki (Walker, Supernatural, Gilmore Girls) will co-host the celebratory evening. The music-filled night commemorates the series’ legacy as an American music institution for a remarkable half-century.

Join Austin City Limits in downtown Austin on November 21, 2024; the all-star event will take place at ACL’s studio home, ACL Live at The Moody Theater. Performances will be taped as part of a two-hour PBS primetime special saluting the program’s historic milestone, Austin City Limits Celebrates 50 Years, set to air on April 4, 2025. A fundraiser for Austin PBS, the program’s producing station, tickets for the concert event will be onsale to the public on Friday, November 1 @10am at ACL Turns 50. Support for Austin City Limits Celebrates 50 Years is made possible in part by PBS, Tejemos Foundation, Central Texas Chevy Dealers, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Visit Austin, AXS Events, Brane Audio and Dell Technologies. 

“Austin City Limits Celebrates 50 Years represents what the program stands for, has always, and will continue to—a broad, diverse, inclusive spectrum of music from all genres, showcasing legends and emerging artists alike,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona.

The music-filled night will feature choice collaborations: Four-time Grammy-winning Gary Clark Jr. will salute fellow Texan six-string great Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 1983 and 1989 pair of iconic Austin City Limits performances in a tribute joined by Austin blues guitar standout Eve Monsees; Grammy Award-winning bluegrass superstar Billy Strings, one of music’s most popular live acts, will perform joined by celebrated bluegrass mandolin player Sierra Hull and country breakout Zach Top. 

A hallmark of the celebration will be a throwback to the renowned songwriter circles that became an ACL signature in the ‘80s and ‘90s and contributed to the pioneering show’s influential legacy. A trio of storyteller songwriting greats, folk-rock duo Indigo Girls, celebrated singer-songwriter Brandy Clark and Grammy-nominated artist and songwriter Cam, will take the ACL stage together in the round to trade songs and stories in the setting that showcased unforgettable moments with many ACL forebears, including Willie Nelson, John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings and Rosanne Cash. 

ACL Hall of Fame legends with longtime ties to Austin City Limits will return for the occasion: Acclaimed singer-songwriters Lyle Lovett and Shawn Colvin, both inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2019, will perform. Lovett has appeared on Austin City Limits more times than any performer second to Willie Nelson. American original and longtime Austinite Shawn Colvin will reach into her catalog for a classic gem. Texas country music institution and pedal steel ace Lloyd Maines, inducted into the original ACL Hall of Fame class in 2014, will lead the ACL All-Stars house band.

Contemporary artists who have carved their name in ACL history will return for the occasion: A Lone Star original, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Leon Bridges, who has a pair of fan-favorite ACL appearances under his belt, returns for this celebratory night; Rufus Wainwright, an artist who made history on the ACL stage in Season 46 in 2020 with the show’s first taping minus a live audience due to the pandemic, returns this time for the communal ACL experience that is the series’ trademark. Rock and country trailblazers The Mavericks, who brought their first-ever all-Spanish language album to the ACL stage in Season 46, return for this special occasion.

Música Mexicana star Ángela Aguilar, a 2024 Latin Grammy nominee for the top honor of Album of the Year (alongside heavy-hitters including Karol G and Shakira), will make her ACL debut accompanied by her music producer, music director and pianist Cheche Alara, and Tosca String Quartet, Austin’s award-winning all-female string group, and Trio Los Panchos, the traditional bolero guitar-based legends.

Ready to write the next chapter in its storied history, ACL continues its mission of producing great television with landmark Season 50 currently airing on PBS. The anniversary broadcast season premiered on September 28, 2024 with a golden hour featuring Kacey Musgraves, and upcoming episodes feature an all-star slate of returning favorites and highly-anticipated debuts including Jelly Roll, Wynonna, Brittany Howard, Juanes, Chris Stapleton, Norah Jones, The Avett Brothers, Carin León, Johnny Blue Skies and more. The iconic live music television series was born on October 17, 1974, when Willie Nelson taped the pilot episode. That now legendary debut became the cornerstone for 50 years of groundbreaking, award-winning music television. Willie Nelson returned on the 50th anniversary of the pilot taping to commemorate Austin City Limits’ remarkable half-century milestone with a historic Texas-sized outdoor concert on October 17, 2024, on Austin’s Long Center lawn with the authentic Austin city skyline as the backdrop. Highlights from the performance will air February 15, 2025, on PBS, as a season highlight of ACL’s anniversary Season 50.

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News Special event

Austin City Limits Marks 50th Anniversary Milestone on October 17 

Austin Motel sign

The trailblazing live music series Austin City Limits (ACL) kicks off its 50th celebrations with a week of highlights leading up to the October 17th anniversary of Willie Nelson’s landmark 1974 pilot episode taping. Iconic Austin institutions and music venues will tip their hat to the fabled music program with salutes on their signs and marquees to celebrate the series’ half-century mark. El Arroyo, Austin Motel, Paramount Theatre, Hole in the Wall, Saxon Pub, Q2 Arena, Moody Center and more will participate throughout the celebratory week to show their appreciation and toast the longest-running music series in TV history, which helped secure Austin’s reputation as “the live music capital of the world.”

Austin City Limits will receive a Texas-sized salute with proclamations from both the state and the Austin City Council to officially declare October 17th “Austin City Limits Day” state and citywide in recognition of the music institution’s contributions to Austin’s live music culture and identity, and for broadcasting legendary performances into homes across America and beyond for a remarkable five decades. The proclamations will be announced from the stage at the Austin City Limits 50th Birthday Bash celebration. Adriana Cruz, Executive Director of Texas Economic Development & Tourism for the state of Texas, along with Chip Adams, Director of the Texas Music Office, will announce the Lone Star State’s proclamation; Austin Mayor Kirk Watson will declare “Austin City Limits Day” on behalf of the city of Austin.

Austin City Limits will livestream the golden anniversary concert performances by Willie Nelson & Family, along with an opening set from Austin’s own Asleep at the Wheel, live from Austin City Limits’ 50th Birthday Bash. Fans worldwide can join in the celebrations with a free livestream of the event, which will stream live in its entirety on aclturns50.com and Austin City Limits TV’s YouTube channel beginning at 7pm CT on Thursday, October 17, 2024—exactly 50 years to the day that Willie Nelson taped the show’s pilot debut. The outdoor concert, on the lawn of Austin’s Long Center, will feature Willie and Asleep at the Wheel performing in front of the city skyline that has inspired the show’s trademark set for decades. The stream will only be available live; the performance will be taped, and musical highlights will air early next year on PBS as a season highlight of the program’s anniversary Season 50.  

ACL is proud to partner with Armadillo World Headquarters (AWHQ) as the official Watch Party partner for the event. The legendary live music venue recently relaunched as a purpose-driven brand supporting Austin musicians. AWHQ will livestream the show at multiple venues across Austin, including the newly opened Armadillo Forever space at the South Congress Hotel, Pershing and Deep Eddy Cabaret.

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Live Stream News Special event

ACL to Livestream Willie Nelson & Family and Asleep at the Wheel

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce we will stream performances by Willie Nelson & Family and Asleep at the Wheel live from Austin City Limits’ 50th Birthday Bash on October 17, 2024.

The worldwide livestream will be available on aclturns50.com and Austin City Limits TV’s YouTube channel beginning at 7pm CT on Thursday, October 17, 2024 – the 50th anniversary to the day that Willie Nelson taped the pilot taping of Austin City Limits. After a record eighteen ACL appearances, Willie Nelson will return for an outdoor celebration on the lawn of Austin’s Long Center, performing in front of the city skyline that has inspired the show’s trademark set for decades. Also performing are longtime ACL favorites Asleep at the Wheel, who not only appeared in the very first episode of ACL’s first regular season in 1976, but were featured in ten more episodes over the next five decades. Both artists are members of the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. The stream will only be available live, and performance highlights will air on PBS and stream on the PBS App in 2025. The live stream is presented by the Austin City Limits 50th Anniversary sponsors: Central Texas Chevy Dealers, Tito’s and Visit Austin.


ACL is proud to partner with Armadillo World Headquarters (AWHQ), which recently relaunched as a purpose-driven brand supporting Austin artists, to serve as the official Watch Party partner for the event. AWHQ will livestream the show at multiple venues across the city, including the newly opened Armadillo Forever space at the South Congress Hotel, Pershing and Deep Eddy Cabaret. As a legendary venue in Austin’s music history, Armadillo World Headquarters was instrumental in establishing the city’s reputation as a live music hub and was a home to hundreds of performers, including Willie Nelson and Austin’s own Asleep at the Wheel, who closed out the venue’s final show December 31, 1980. More details on Watch Parties and how to attend can be found here.

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Featured News Special event

Austin City Limits Heritage Collection with Modern Rocks Gallery

As Austin City Limits (ACL) prepares to celebrate a remarkable 50th Anniversary this year, the live music program salutes the iconic work of legendary longtime staff photographer Scott Newton. Austin City Limits Heritage unveils a stunning collection of signed limited edition black & white photographic prints, capturing many of music’s most enduring figures from the early days of the longest-running music program in television history. To commemorate Austin City Limits‘ 50 years of music, Modern Rocks Gallery founder and owner (and former Modern English guitarist) Steven Walker has curated a heritage collection of fifty classic prints from Newton’s extensive ACL archive, available to fans to purchase for the first time, exclusively from Modern Rocks Gallery in conjunction with Austin PBS. These limited edition fine arts prints will be displayed to view in person at an opening night reception with Scott Newton at Austin’s Modern Rocks Gallery on Friday, April 26 from 7pm-10pm. Fans will also be able to view and purchase the prints online.

A self-taught photographer, Newton has captured memorable images on the ACL stage since Season 5 of the series in 1979 and has remained the program’s official photographer for four and a half decades. As integral to an ACL taping as the television cameras, Newton can frequently be spotted in the footlights and dodging the swinging camera crane to document the artists onstage. During his remarkable tenure, Newton has chronicled early ACL legends including Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Ray Charles, John Prine and many more. 

From left: Steven Walker, Scott Newton and Terry Lickona. Image courtesy of Emily Bolf.

“After shooting all those great shows, I finally get to share the results with my fellow music lovers!” says Newton. “This is exciting; decades of my work made accessible as wall art. It’s a dream come true.” Modern Rocks Gallery’s Steven Walker states, “I can’t help but feel a profound sense of pride having been given the honor of curating Austin City Limits Heritage Collection. It seems quite fitting that Modern Rocks Gallery hits its 10th anniversary the same year ACL celebrates 50 years of music. Not only visually striking, this collection holds significant importance. Austin City Limits is ingrained in the very fabric of Austin—it’s singular and cherished, much like Scott Newton’s photography.”

Longtime ACL executive producer Terry Lickona adds: “Scott has always captured the essence and spirit of Austin City Limits through his lens. This nostalgic collection brings to life some of the most historic moments of ACL’s formative years.”

Newton began photographing musicians at Austin’s infamous Armadillo World Headquarters in the early 1970s. His work has been championed for capturing the spirit of the live music capital of the world, and has appeared in coffee table books and hotels, and is regularly featured in publications and on acltv.com.

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Featured News Special event

ACL to stream Noah Kahan’s full performance

Live music beacon Austin City Limits (ACL) spotlights breakout Vermont singer-songwriter Noah Kahan in a special streaming event on Wednesday, December 13 at 8pm CT/9pm ET. Newly-nominated for a 2024 Best New Artist Grammy, Kahan makes a highly-anticipated ACL debut with songs from his acclaimed Stick Season. The full-set debut was recorded live on September 25, 2023 in Austin, TX and ACL is thrilled to offer fans everywhere the one-time-only opportunity to watch the performance in its entirety on ACLTV’s YouTube Channel ahead of Kahan’s broadcast debut on the legendary series premiering February 10, 2024. ACL returns with all-new episodes on PBS on January 13, 2024 as part of the second half of the series current Season 49. 

The New England native delivers a revelatory performance with a 16-song streaming set, showcasing highlights from Stick Season including the double platinum-certified title track and the platinum breakthrough smash “Dial Drunk.” The hour-plus set is unedited and Kahan regales the Austin crowd with the stories behind his confessional lyrics. The 26-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist has struck a chord with his legions of fans through highly relatable songs that resonate about contemporary life—viral smashes that erupt into crowd singalongs. The folk-pop phenomenon has had a banner year, fostering a connection with audiences to become one of 2023’s most talked-about live acts; he will soon embark on a U.S. stadium and arena tour in March 2024. A frequent collaborator, Kahan has worked with Kacey Musgraves, Zach Bryan, Post Malone, Joy Oladokun, Hozier and more. 

We’re thrilled to showcase this singular talent on the iconic ACL stage. Join us here Wednesday, December 13 at 8pm CT/9pm ET for Noah Kahan, and on PBS early next year for the broadcast episode. Tune in to your local PBS station on Saturday nights for brand new episodes of Austin City Limits or stream on the PBS App or pbs.org/austincitylimits following the initial broadcast.

Noah Kahan Austin City Limits Dec. 13 setlist:

All My Love

She Calls Me Back

New Perspective

Everywhere Everything

Your Needs, My Needs

Growing Sideways

Paul Revere

Northern Attitude

False Confidence

Call Your Mom

You’re Gonna Go Far

Orange Juice

Dial Drunk

View Between Villages

Stick Season

Homesick

Season 49 Broadcast Schedule (Second Half):

January 13 Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors John Prine

January 20 Robert Glasper | DOMi and JD BECK

January 27 Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo

February 3 Tanya Tucker | Brittney Spencer

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.

Noah Kahan

Over the past year, GRAMMY-nominated Vermont singer & songwriter Noah Kahan has exploded from his New England roots into the global mainstream and has been touted as one of 2023’s biggest and best new artists. At the core of his music are vulnerable lyrics and an unfiltered yet relatable honesty, as the critically acclaimed artist pens songs straight from the heart and cracks jokes with his signature, self-deprecating sense of humor. Across his three albums and an EP, Kahan has garnered global renown for his singular mix of Folk, Americana, and Rock, landing more than four billion streams, a Double Platinum Certification for his hit single “Stick Season,” and collaborations with the likes of Post Malone, Kacey Musgraves, Hozier, Lizzy McAlpine, Zach Bryan, Joy Oladokun, and more. His widely adored, Platinum-Certified album, Stick Season, is inspired by his New England roots and earliest musical inspirations—from Paul Simon to Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)—conveying a vivid representation of what he loves, fears, and struggles with most passionately. Noah embarked on his sold-out “Stick Season Tour” across North America since the album’s release last year, selling over half-a-million tickets and performing in the biggest venues of his career, with stadium and arena dates already sold-out for his 2024 world tour. In June, he released an extended version of Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), which has gone on to surpass sales of the original and shows no signs of slowing down. His latest single, “Dial Drunk,” has already amassed millions of streams, a Platinum Certification, and a slew of critical acclaim, cementing Noah Kahan as one of the most successful breakout artists of the year.