Category: Taping Announcement

We’re proud to announce the final taping of Season 41, the Austin City Limits debut of the Tedeschi Trucks Band on December 14th.

Formed in 2010 by guitarist Derek Trucks and singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi, who appeared twice on ACL under her own name, the 12-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band has quickly become the vanguard of modern roots music. Hailed as “a deeply skilled groove machine (Los Angeles Times) that “booms like a soul thunderclap” (Boston Herald), the band has cemented their reputation for thrilling audiences worldwide with its legendary live performances and award-winning albums. In just five years, Tedeschi Trucks Band has toured extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, and Japan, with headline performances at both The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the venerable Newport Jazz Festival, co-headlining tours with B.B. King and The Black Crowes, and packed houses from Red Rocks Amphitheatre and NYC’s Beacon Theatre to the Hollywood Bowl and London’s Royal Albert Hall.

TTB’s debut release Revelator earned both a Grammy Award and multiple Blues Music Awards. 2011’s dynamic live follow-up, Everybody’s Talkin’, delivered a double-disc classic reminiscent of legendary concert recordings like The Allman Brothers Band’s At Fillmore East. Its sophomore studio effort, 2013’s Made Up Mind, bolstered the Jacksonville, Florida-based group’s growing reputation as the preeminent soul, rock and blues leader. The band’s highly anticipated third studio album Let Me Get By will be released in early 2016.

Sharing a level of respect and camaraderie rarely found in rock and roll, TTB has found a magical combination that delivers nightly an unforgettable, can’t-miss concert experience.

Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes about a week before the taping. Follow us on

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Austin City Limits is proud to welcome hip-hop/R&B icon Ms. Lauryn Hill to the stage Nov. 7 for her debut taping, in a rare television appearance.

Acclaimed artist Ms. Lauryn Hill achieved astounding success as a member of hip-hop trio The Fugees, whose 1996 breakthrough The Score featured the multi-platinum hits “Ready or Not” and “Killing Me Softly,” won a pair of Grammys and remains one of the best-selling hip-hop records of all time.  She launched her solo career in 1998 with the release of the landmark album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and became the first woman or hip-hop artist to earn a record-breaking five Grammy Awards.  The album has sold nearly 20 million records, is regarded as one of the most important releases of the last 25 years, and was entered into the Library of Congress this year as a timeless and classic recording that is the embodiment of who we are as a people and a nation.

Most recently, Ms. Hill executive produced and recorded six songs for the 2015 release Nina Revisited: A Tribute to Nina Simone, including a stunning take on Simone’s signature track “Feeling Good.”  We’re thrilled to welcome Ms. Hill to the Austin City Limits stage.

In  addition to performing at ACLTV Ms. Lauryn Hill will also headline the Fun Fun Fun Fest Orange Stage on Sunday, November 8th. Passes for the festival are available for purchase at funfunfunfest.com.

Want to be part of our audience? The ticket giveaway information is up now – please go to our website to enter.

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce the final tapings of our 41st season, including the debut of Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats on November 22 and the return of Heartless Bastards to our stage on November 23.

Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, the self-titled LP by the Denver, CO based band, practically explodes with deep, ecstatic soulfulness. “The born-again spirit of vintage soul music poured out of the man, measurable mostly in gallons,” raves NPR of the group’s powerful front man. So it’s entirely fitting that the release arrived on Stax Records, because at certain moments Rateliff seems to be channeling soul greats like Otis Redding and Sam & Dave. Delve beneath the rawboned surface of the new album’s deep-gut grooves, snaky guitars, churning Hammond and irresistible horns, and you’ll find a sensitive, introspective artist who tells it like it is. Yet even as Rateliff honors the gritty, rapturous sound of the legendary Memphis label, he’s also setting out into audacious new territory. “Nathaniel Rateliff is a passionate performer with a gift for singing and winning over an audience,” noted Consequence of Sound, “and that comes through on this record.” “I’m trying to do something that’s emotionally charged and heartfelt,” Rateliff says, “and I want the experience to be joyous. I can remember dancing around to some song that was breakin’ my heart, dancin’ with tears in my eyes. I love that feeling, and I wanna share it with people, and hopefully they’ll feel it too.” Join us on Nov. 22 and experience one of 2015’s finest new arrivals.

Heartless Bastards have spent the past decade in motion, boldly pushing their unique brand of rock ‘n’ roll into new shapes over four acclaimed albums and nearly non-stop roadwork. Now, with Restless Ones, the band sets out once again, blazing a path to a place of shifting moods, seasoned songcraft, and unbridled spontaneity. The Austin-based band’s fifth studio recording finds singer/songwriter Erika Wennerstrom exploring as-yet-unvisited avenues of sound and sensation, her bravery and ambition readily apparent in the emotional timbre and the sheer physicality of her songs. “We took a lot of chances,” Wennerstrom says, “taking the sounds in different directions in order to grow. I don’t ever want to make the same album twice.” Tracked in August 2014 during a 10-day session at El Paso’s renowned Sonic Ranch, Restless Ones “is a statement of collective confidence and ambitious vision,” says Magnet. “These songs capture an outstanding band hitting its stride,” says AllMusic, “and growing more comfortable with the craft of record-making along with singing and playing great, passionate music.” Rich with purpose, passion, and commanding musicianship, Restless Ones captures an idiosyncratic band exploring their craft and soul in an effort to reach a place that’s both true and transcendent. Heartless Bastards continue to drive their monumental music ever forward, towards hidden vistas and horizons still unseen. Follow their journey with us on Nov. 23 – and don’t miss their show at the Mohawk in Austin on Nov. 21!

Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes about a week before the taping. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for notice of postings.

UPDATE: Austin City Limits and KLRU regret to inform you that the ACL taping with D’Angelo and The Vanguard, scheduled for Saturday, November 7th, has been cancelled. Thank you for your understanding.

Austin City Limits is proud to announce two new tapings as part of our upcoming Season 41: the ACL debuts of Kendrick Lamar on Oct. 30 and D’Angelo and The Vanguard on Nov. 7.

Perhaps the most acclaimed rapper on the planet, Kendrick Lamar comes to our stage on Oct. 30. The Compton native – born a year before the genre-defining N.W.A. LP Straight Outta Compton – began writing rhymes when he was 13. The young rapper would become an underground phenomenon, releasing mixtapes and independent albums that made him one of the top-selling digital artists. In 2012 he signed with Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope and released the landmark, platinum-selling good kid, m.A.A.d city. The LP debuted at #2 on the Billboard album chart, garnered seven Grammy nominations and spun off multiple top 40 singles, including “Swimming Pools (Drank”) and “Poetic Justice.” After touring with Kanye West, appearing on Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2 and performing a packed set at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, Lamar followed up with the smash single “i,” which won Grammys for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 2015 ceremony. The hit also set the stage for Lamar’s widely acclaimed latest LP To Pimp a Butterfly, which Rolling Stone called “a masterpiece of fiery outrage, deep jazz and ruthless self-critique” and Spin named the “Great American Hip-Hop Album.” The record debuted at #1 on Billboard’s chart, firmly establishing Lamar as one of the biggest hip-hop artists in the world. We’re thrilled to welcome Kendrick Lamar to be part of ACL history.

On Nov. 7 we welcome musical genius D’Angelo and his band The Vanguard. Born in Richmond, Virginia, D’Angelo migrated to New York City at 18 to develop his skills as a singer, songwriter, musician and producer.  After signing a publishing deal in 1991 and a record contract in 1993, his 1995 debut Brown Sugar breathed new life into R&B and yielded gems including the title track, “Lady,” “Cruisin’,” and more. Its 2000 follow-up Voodoo received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, while the single “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” earned the Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. After a silence of over a decade, broken only by the release of 2008’s compilation The Best So Far…, D’Angelo and The Vanguard delivered Black Messiah to the unsuspecting, yet receptive, masses on December 15, 2014. Reaffirming the need for raw, righteous, and real soul, its impact could immediately be felt when it landed at #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart and #5 on the Top 200. The critics spoke as well, with The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, NPR, and countless others extolling the album for both its music and message, thus usurping countless “Best of 2014” music lists. D’Angelo and The Vanguard hit the road, earning rave reviews for live shows Rolling Stone called “ a master class in soul” and Wall Street Journal described as “rendering a strain of soul music reminiscent of Sly Stone in the ‘60s, George Clinton in the ‘70s or 1980s Prince, onstage D’Angelo is a dynamo of the James Brown variety.” We’re excited to experience the same magic as we welcome D’Angelo and The Vanguard to the ACL stage for the first time.

In addition to performing at ACLTV D’Angelo and The Vanguard will also headline the Fun Fun Fun Fest Orange Stage on Sunday, November 8th. USP, 3 Day, and Single Day Passes for the festival are available for purchase at funfunfunfest.com.
Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes about a week before the taping. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for notice of postings.

Austin City Limits is proud to announce the taping debut of Vintage Trouble.

The California quartet – comprising Ty Taylor (vocals), Nalle Colt (guitar), Richard Danielson (drums) and Rick Barrio Dill (bass) – play live-wired, straight-shootin’, dirty-mouth’d, pelvis-pushing juke music. Or, as Rolling Stone put it, “imagine James Brown singing lead for Led Zeppelin and you’ll get an idea of Vintage Trouble’s muscular, in the pocket sound.” The New York Times noted, “Like Otis Redding, Vintage Trouble makes music that is a little bit of everything…you can slow dance, groove, rock and let it all go.”

Following the release of its 2011 debut album, The Bomb Shelter Sessions, the band was soon selling out headline shows worldwide, opening for The Rolling Stones and touring with The Who, and performing on virtually every late night show, including Later…with Jools Holland and Late Show with David Letterman – all before the band had even signed to a major label. Signing to Blue Note Records, home of Norah Jones, Van Morrison, Al Green and countless jazz titans, the quartet released 1 Hopeful Rd., produced by label president Don Was and featuring the singles “Doin’ What You’re Doin’” and “Run Like the River.” Paste raves, “Doin’ What You’re Doin’” grooves like Al Green with background doo-wops. Taylor’s falsetto range stars in ‘Shows What You Know’ and the band could convincingly resurrect the blues-infused power ballad with songs like ‘If You Loved Me.’” Vintage Trouble followed up the release of its major label debut by touring with AC./DC in Europe and the U.S., before hitting the road for its own headlining shows.

Classic Rock notes, “You want the real vintage rock’n’soul deal? Look this way, and then make sure you catch them live.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, and it underlines how thrilled we are to welcome Vintage Trouble to the ACL stage.

Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes about a week before the taping. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for notice of postings.

Austin City Limits is proud to announce new tapings for the month of October: Leon Bridges on Oct. 8 and Angélique Kidjo on Oct. 17, both making their ACL debuts.

Rising star Leon Bridges makes his first ACL appearance on Oct. 8. The river of soul music flows on deep and strong, and the 26-year-old Forth Worth native is immersed in its lifegiving current. “As a kid I grew fascinated with modern R&B. In high school I’d try singing songs by Ginuwine and Usher,” he explains, “and I thought well, maybe they weren’t in my range.” With a few early compositions tucked under his belt, a seeming dichotomy surfaced: Bridges’ tunes sounded less like the modern R&B he’d grown up loving than classic soul. He began a period of apprenticeship playing coffeehouses in and around Fort Worth, slowly finding and refining his voice. After Austin Jenkins and Joshua Block from White Denim saw Bridges performing, they insisted Leon enter the studio to cut a few tracks. That initial three-day session yielded the recordings that led Bridges to ink with Columbia Records, who released his debut album Coming Home, featuring its title track as the lead single, in June of 2015 to critical and public acclaim. “I’m not saying I can hold a candle to any soul musician from the ’50s and ’60s,” Bridges says, “but I want to carry the torch.” Join us on Oct. 8 to watch his flame burn bright.

On Oct. 17, we welcome Angélique Kidjo, dubbed “Africa’s premier diva” by Time and “the undisputed queen of African music” by the London Telegraph. The Benin native’s accolades span a 20-year discography and thousands of concerts around the world. She has won Grammys for her 2008 album Djin Djin and her 2014 album EVE, and enjoyed a long history of notable collaborations with greats like Carlos Santana, Bono, John Legend, Josh Groban, Peter Gabriel and more. On her new album Sings, recorded with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Kidjo re-imagines nine classic songs from her expansive repertoire and two new songs, blending European classical traditions with the powerful rhythmic sounds of her native West Africa. “I love the challenge of doing new things,” explains Kidjo. “I never want to get too comfortable with what I’m doing, and I love my work too much to repeat myself.” Having already appeared on PBS in the concert documentary Lightning in a Bottle: One Night in the History of the Blues, we’re proud to welcome Angélique Kidjo to the ACL stage.

Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes about a week before the taping. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for notice of postings.