Category: Taping Recap

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Taping recap: Khruangbin

photo by Scott Newton

There hasn’t been a band as unique as Khruangbin striding across the music landscape in some time. With a sonic wave that draws in disparate elements of Thai funk, classic soul, dub, hip-hop, Afghan music, psychedelia and pretty much any other sound that strikes their fancy, the Houston trio has found a huge global audience through a combination of hard roadwork and being really, really good at what they do. So it was with no small pleasure that we welcomed the group to the ACL stage for their first taping, which we streamed live around the world. 

Interestingly, Khruangbin presented a seeming career retrospective, starting with some of their earliest work before heading to tracks from last year’s critically acclaimed LP Mordechai. After Terry Lickona’s introduction, the trio took the stage with bassist Laura Lee resplendent in silver, guitarist Mark Speer casually cool in white with colored accents, and drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson, Jr. in his usual black cape. The group began almost gently with “The No. 3,” from their 2014 10-inch EP The Infamous Bill, a song that serves as an introduction to the Khruangbin aesthetic: reverb-heavy psychedelic guitar, simple but singular bass grooves, and DJ’s steady-as-a-statue drum rhythms. (One live stream viewer playfully noted, “Metronomes use DJ to keep time.”)  It’s a vision both minimalist in arrangement and maximumalist in musicality. The band continue to pull from Bill for the next two songs, the groovy psych funk of “The No. 4” (a reworking of a song from their very first cassette EP) and the surf-inflected soul of the title track. The band then visited their debut album The Universe Smiles Upon You, first with the effortlessly funky, “disco country” (according to a live stream watcher) “People Everywhere (Still Alive),” a song that highlights the sly contrast between Lee’s funky strut and Speer’s laidback stoicism. “Still alive,” Lee repeated into the mic as an affirmation, adding the aside “after 2020.” Khruangbin stuck with the same record for “White Gloves,” a smouldering, starkly pretty near-ballad that would melt an ice cap. “Zionsville” followed, like an easy listening classic played by the hippest musicians in H-Town, as prelude to “August 12,” a clever blend of dub, spaghetti western soundtrack music, psychedelic funk and proto-punk.

With that, Khruangbin moved to “Friday Morning,” an acid soul ballad from their breakthrough LP Con Todo El Mundo that shifts from close harmony vocals to an epic guitar solo. With that brief stop, it was on to Mordechai, their most lauded and successful record so far. The minimal lyrics of “First Class” acted almost as another instrument to the wah-wah soaked tune, shimmering like the sun rising over the clouds. Lee’s bass took the lead for “Father Bird, Mother Bird,” a surprisingly brief but melodically languorous groover. The pace picked up considerably for the catchy Latin rock of “Pelota,” which garnered the biggest round of applause yet. The trio then went into the particularly mesmerizing, genre-defiant “Shida,” all reverbed guitar licks, DJ’s rocksteady rhythms and Lee’s enigmatic vocal interjections. The band closed the set with “So We Won’t Forget,” a disco-laced pop song that kept to the Khruangbinic virtues while saluting the good times the music brought them and the audience. With that the band quit the stage to enthusiastic applause, every clap of which they earned. It was an amazing set unlike anything else on our stage, and we can’t wait for you see it when it airs November 6 on your local PBS station. 

Khruangbin, Austin City Limits taping, Sept. 13, 2021. Photos by Scott Newton.
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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Brandy Clark

photo by Scott Newton


Brandy Clark is, quite simply, one of the most exciting singer/songwriters to come out of Nashville. A multiple Grammy nominee, CMA award winner, and GLAAD Media award winner, Clark has written massive hits for Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, and more, as well as scoring her own hits thanks to her highly acclaimed latest album Your Life is a Record. It was inevitable that she would grace the ACL stage, and we were thrilled to live stream the performance around the world. 

Clark and her five-piece band opened with “Who You Thought I Was,” a lovely mid-tempo yearner with Kaitlyn Raitz’s cello in place of steel guitar. After noting that she grew up watching ACL (“a real bucket list gig for me”) and PBS, Clark visited the “Pawn Shop” for the kind of classic story song that all great C&W writers master. She followed that with “Love is a Fire,” an absolutely gorgeous ballad that would melt the coldest of hearts. The mood didn’t stay somber for long, however, as Clark sang “Long Walk,” a repurposing of the phrase “Take a long walk over a short pier” (learned from her mother, who was in attendance) and intended as a riposte to trolls everywhere. With “Same Devil,” a duet with Brandi Carlile on Your Life is a Record, Clark broadened her reach, putting a spotlight on everyone struggling with inner – and outer – demons. She pulled back for a more personal angle for the ballad “You Can Come Over” (“but you can’t come in”), leveling straight into the thematically similar but emotionally pricklier “Love Can Go to Hell.” Then it was time for more sociopolitical commentary, via the famous phrase “Bigger Boat” from Jaws, a film Clark admitted to being obsessed with as a youth. 

It’s almost impossible for artists not to acknowledge Covid in some way, and Clark was no exception with the luminous “Remember Me Beautiful,” a powerful elegy to those lost. She then put her own spin on the classic C&W prison song with the clever, funny “Stripes.” The melancholy breakup tune “Can We Be Strangers” broke everyone’s heart all over again, before “Pray to Jesus” refocused on sardonic social commentary. With “Get High,” Clark 

told a story about an old high school friend that, as she’s discovered, is the same friend lots of us had – the type of person who grows up and deals with being overwhelmed by visiting Mary Jane at night. She got even funnier with the two-stepping “Daughter,” a sly poke at the sort of man who uses women and spits them out – “Karma’s a bitch, and I hope you have a daughter.” Her penultimate song “Like Mine” nodded to anthem territory, throwing its arms around everyone with a “heart like mine.” 
Clark ended the set with “Hold My Hand,” a stately, fan-favorite ballad from her first album 12 Stories that sent us out gently into the night. It was a perfect way to end her debut taping, and we can’t wait for you to see her in action as part of our forty-seventh season this fall on your local PBS station.

photos by Scott Newton
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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Charley Crockett

photo by Scott Newton

There’s no country music quite like Texas country, and there’s no Texas country musician quite like Charley Crockett. The multi-faceted Lone Star native spent years in different states and styles before bringing it all home and putting his self-described Gulf & Western imprint on our state’s honkytonk legacy, with his upcoming album Music City USA. Since Texas country is the music on which Austin City Limits cut its teeth, we were only too happy to host his debut ACL taping, which we live streamed around the world. 

Crockett and his band the Blue Drifters opened the show with a mariachi trumpet, signaling the Latin-flavored chickaboom of “Run Horse Run,” which segued directly into the rhythmically similar “5 More Miles.” “It’s the pleasure of my life to be here at Austin City Limits tonight,” the San Benito native proclaimed. He kicked into the honkytonk shuffler “Goin’ Back to Texas,” moving his feet as much as the dancers out front. “Borrowed Time” followed in a similar vein, with keyboardist/trumpeter Kullen Fox adding a rippling accordion solo. Fox kept the squeezebox strapped on for “Lead Me On,” a soulful ballad written by Austin blues legend Miss Lavelle White.  Crockett stuck with covers, introducing a trio of superb C&W songs by late Texas country singer James Hand: “Midnight Run,” “Lesson in Depression” and “In the Corner,” all recorded on Crockett’s Hand tribute LP 10 For Slim: Charley Crockett Sings James Hand. Like his hero, Crockett sings like he’s lived every word. 

Having paid his respects to a seminal influence, the singer dipped back into his own material for the two-steppin’ “Welcome to Hard Times.” “We’d like to try a brand new one out on ya,” Crockett noted before the lovelorn waltz “I Need Your Love,” from his upcoming album Music City USA. Having left the audience’s hearts sufficiently bent, the singer sang a (slightly) more reassuring song with “Don’t Cry” – “Because I love you, I’ll always be comin’ back home.” He then went in an even more traditionalist direction, summing up the theme of country music in general with the Texan two-stepper “Lies and Regret.” Crockett nodded to his roots with “The Valley,” a song paying tribute to the Rio Grande Valley in which he was born; “I’m very proud of that fact, but it’s the kind of place that if you want to make something of yourself, you have to wander pretty far afield.” The Drifters added a Latin sway to the rhythm of “Trinity River,” accented once again by Fox’s trumpet work. The band then switched genres with “This Foolish Game,” a slow burning Texas blues number that gave lead guitarist Alexis Sanchez a chance to shine.

Appropriately enough, Crockett followed the blues with R&B, specifically the soul ballad “Ain’t Gotta Worry” and the organ-frosted hipsway “In the Night.” “Oooh, doggie,” Crockett declared in response to the dancers’ efforts. “Wildcat – rowrr!” He returned to country for “Music City USA,” nodding to the clash of cultures that gave rise to American music, as well as the honkytonker “Jamestown Ferry,” originally a hit for Tanya Tucker. Crockett and the Drifters closed the set with the freight-train rhythm and tuneful refrain of “Paint It Blue.” The musicians quit the stage, but the audience chanted “Charley! Charley!” until the man of the hour returned alone with his guitar. “I never thought I’d get here,” admitted Crockett, before talking about his early days as a street singer and potential record deals with labels who didn’t understand him (or did and just didn’t want him to be himself). He then closed the show with “Are We Lonesome Yet,” the kind of tune that would have earned him a fat songwriting contract in the days of Harlan Howard and Hank Cochran. That was the perfect way to end Crockett’s sterling debut, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall on your local PBS station. 

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photo by Scott Newton
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Featured News Taping Recap

Jon Batiste celebrates soul on debut ACL taping

photo by Scott Newton

Jon Batiste may be best known to millions as the bandleader for Stephen Colbert’s late night talk show, but the full spectrum of his talents has to be seen in his own shows to be believed. The New Orleans native has a long career as a jazz and soul musician, having released his debut album in 2003 at 17. The Juilliard-educated singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has performed all over the world in dozens of contexts, streamlining down to this year’s stunning eighth studio album We Are. Thus we were understandably excited to finally have this remarkable musical polymath make his ACL debut, and Batiste rewarded everybody’s anticipation with a performance for the ages.

The cowboy-hatted ten-piece band hit the stage with a Caribbean groove before Batiste himself arrived in his own Stetson, leading the ensemble into the title track of We Are, the leader’s funky, celebratory anthem of the African diaspora, with Batiste even flexing a verse from Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy”. The high energy onstage and off signaled that this would be a show that started cranked up to eleven, and would just get higher from there. Batiste sat at the piano (briefly) to kick off the amped-up single “I Need You,” bringing gospel fervor, New Orleans funk and the leader’s cameo on saxophone together. The crowd barely had a chance to catch its breath before the unmistakable sound of a New Orleans second line floated in the air, heralding the arrival of that city’s Hot 8 Brass Band from the back of the hall. The melodica-wielding Batiste left the stage to join the band in the middle of the crowd for the Love Riot chant – “I feel good/I feel free/I feel fine just being me!” – and had the crowd in his pocket as he cued them to wave the white handkerchiefs distributed before the show began. 

Batiste came back onstage for “Boy Hood,” a tribute to his youth in the Big Easy that mixed rap, soul balladry, a trombone solo from the Hot 8, and portions of Bob Marley’s “One Love,” Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” and Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me,” which Batiste made into both a reminder that all people are in it together and into choir practice for the crowd. Batiste paced the stage, waiting for the next tune, which was “Whatchutalkinbout,” a seamless blend of rap and rock that let guitarists Brandon Niederaruer and Ari O’Neal cut loose with duelling solos. As the Hot 8 rejoined the proceedings, Batiste picked up his Bo Diddley-style axe for “Tell the Truth,” a soulful raveup that spotlighted firebrand percussionist Négah Santos. Batiste took the opportunity to preach positivity to the people, before tossing his guitar aside, adding a piano solo, and commanding the mic once again. “This is not a concert for me,” Batiste asserted after the song concluded. “This is not a concert. This is a spiritual practice. I play music to be with y’all.” 

The Hot 8 once again started a second line groove, letting the leader get in some dancing time, before he turned over the vocals to singers Tamara Jade, Desiree “DesZ” Washington and Susan Carol (playfully dubbed the Jonettes). Batiste then had the crowd go as low down as they could – “quad workout, baby!” – before, naturally, a massive audience jumpfest for the coda of “Tell the Truth.” Batiste and the horns snuck off the stage during the celebration, leaving the band to jam on some serious funk that showcased every member, including bassist Thad Tribbett, keyboardist David Grant, drummers Joe Saylor and Lunar RAE, Santos, and the two six-stringers. 

Having exchanged his red suit for a blue striped ensemble, Batiste returned, dazzling at the piano on a variety of jazz, classical and ragtime pieces, including Chopin’s “Minute Waltz,” “Chopsticks,” Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer,” Bach’s “Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major,” and New Orleans standard  “St. James Infirmary Blues,” among many others, some lasting no more than a phrase. That last piece concluded with Batiste and the Jonettes back on vocals, leading a Cab Calloway-style call-and-response with the crowd. He finished his medley with some boogie woogie that transitioned into Jerry Lee Lewis pound. Batiste then revisited his recent Oscar-winning soundtrack for the animated film Soul with “It’s All Right,” turning it into a medley by recasting the Isley Brothers’ “Shout” in Soul’s image, before returning to “It’s All Right,” driving the audience wild. 

Then it was time for a surprise guest, as Austin favorite son Gary Clark Jr. casually walked up onstage, picked up his guitar, and traded solos with Batiste on the slinky soul tune “Cry.” “Y’all ready to get free?” Batiste asked the crowd, to off-the-charts applause. Naturally, that exchange was a harbinger for “Freedom,” a classic feel-good anthem that got band and crowd dancing with abandon. Then it was back to the second line, as the white handkerchiefs came back out, the Hot 8 Brass Band returned, and Batiste joined the fans on the floor, leading the entire room in the joyful catharsis of a reprise of “I Need You.” The Hot 8 took us out, as the crowd went wild once again. 

Amazingly, Batiste returned to stage after the finale, sitting at the piano for a captivating take on his ballad “Don’t Stop,” from 2018’s Hollywood Africans – a mic drop if we’ve ever heard one. It was an incredible show destined to be a Season 47 highlight and we can’t wait for you to see it when it hits your local PBS airwaves this fall. 

photos by Scott Newton
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Featured News Taping Recap

Billy Strings rocks progressive bluegrass at his debut ACL

photo by Scott Newton

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Billy Strings has taken the bluegrass world by storm in the past few years, winning a Grammy for his acclaimed 2019 LP Home. But it’s not just his deep love of tradition that’s made him the genre’s new superstar – it’s his willingness to push, even rip into, the edges of the envelope, folding in influences from rock, jazz and psychedelia. All of his attributes were on full display on his debut Austin City Limits taping, which we live streamed around the world to his thousands of loyal fans.

Backed by his band of aces, longtime touring partners Jarrod Walker (mandolin), Billy Failing (banjo) and Royal Masat (bass), Strings – William Apostol to his mom – took the stage with a hearty “Austin City Limits, how are ya?” Then it was straight into “Dust in a Baggie,” an early Strings tune right out of the tradition of songs about prison time and the lamentations thereof. Strings then explained how he grew up watching bluegrass legends like Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley on ACL, recorded by his parents on their VCR until, as his mother reminded him, the young Billy shoved a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich into the machine. That kicked off “Hide and Seek,” on which he displayed how far he’s expanding his chosen milieu, putting his jazzy acoustic guitar through delay, phase and distortion effects – much to his audience’s delight. Fire breathed, Strings and company slowed things down with the lovely, melancholy “Show Me the Door,” penned by Walker. The tempo sped back up to normal bluegrass levels with “Must Be Seven,” a celebration of leaving the past in the rearview mirror. “Red Daisy” pumped up the velocity to freight train levels for a song squarely in the old school tradition. 

After that barnburner, everyone needed another chance to catch breath, so Strings and band performed another ballad with “Love Like Me.” The anthemic “Fireline” followed, with its tough demeanor and rock-inflected solos from Strings, Failing and Walker. While Walker switched mandolins, Strings “just picked one while we’re waiting,” with a great solo instrumental that showed off his Doc Watson side. Mando changed and tuned, the band then went into the sociopolitical “Watch It Fall,” one of the hit singles from Home. Then it was back to tradition for “Slow Train,” featuring some of the musicians’ most fleet-fingered solos. Next, Strings got introspective on “Away From the Mire,” a song about letting go of past regrets and future anxieties that featured an epic psychedelic guitar solo. From the crowd’s enthusiastic reaction, it’s a fan favorite. After another blazer with “Long Forgotten Dream,” Strings capped off the set with “Meet Me at the Creek,” a high-energy closer with lots of room for virtuoso soloing from all players that incorporated everything from folk standards to heavy metal power chords. The fans went wild, needless to say. 

Greeted almost like conquering heroes, the band surrounded a single, old-fashioned Grand Ole Opry microphone for the encore. Cheekily acknowledging the city in which they were performing, Strings and company went into a bluesy take on Willie Nelson’s “Devil in a Sleeping Bag,” to the great delight of the audience. The group then ended the show with the four-part harmonies of the satirical spiritual lesson “If Your Hair’s Too Long, There’s Sin in Your Heart.” The audience gave them a standing ovation as they took a bow and quit the stage. It was a great show, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall on your local PBS station.   

photos by Scott Newton
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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Jade Bird

photo by Scott Newton

The Texas connection continued for the fourth taping of our 47th season, with young Welsh native and current Austin resident Jade Bird delivering a stellar debut. Previewing her highly-anticipated second LP Different Kinds of Light, out in August, the singer, songwriter and guitarist brought her melodic, eclectic rootsy rock pop to the ACL stage for her debut taping, which was live streamed around the world. 

After a rousing Terry Lickona intro, the white-adorned Bird and five-piece band took the stage and came out swinging with “Headstart,” her popular new single. “Are you ready to rock, Austin?” she declared, and went blazing into the next one: the sniping rocker “Uh Huh.” The ever-smiling songwriter lowered the energy level slightly – very slightly – with “Honeymoon,” the first song from the new record, before going into the folky “Punchline,” a song inspired by the small town in Wales in which she grew up. Noting that her sets tended to volley between emotional highs and lows, Bird shifted to the melancholy “Houdini,” an acoustic guitar-driven tune influenced by the tendency of “the male figures in my life to go on walkabout.” Most of the band left the stage, leaving only Bird and guitarist Bennett Lewis to sing a two guitar/one microphone cover of Radiohead’s “Black Star,” a gorgeous arrangement borrowed from Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings. She then took to the piano for “Something American,” an early song that both celebrates her love of American music and presages her road to conquering the States. The band returned for the jaunty “Prototype,” a tune Bird’s grandmother says is a hit, because it’s one of her happy songs, and who are we to argue? 

Continuing to showcase the forthcoming record, Bird kicked the energy level back into the red with the one-two punch of the sweet “Now’s the Time” and the anthemic, angry “Candidate.” She then revisited her first LP for the snarling “I Get No Joy,” a high energy diatribe she dedicated to the year 2020. “I’ve dreamed of playing this venue for a very long time,” she declared, before putting her heart into the seething ballad  “My Motto.” Bird followed that with “Red, White and Blue,” a solo song from the new record that she had never played live before, inspired by guitarist Luke Prosser’s encounter with a Vietnam war veteran. Prosser and fellow guitarist Bennett Lewis returned with special guest singer Savannah Conley for a luminous take on legendary singer/songwriter and Bird hero Dolly Parton’s “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” – Bird, Conley and Prosser’s harmonies would have done the Carter Family proud. Conley remained onstage as the band came back for the rocking “Trick Mirror,” another tune from the upcoming record. Bird then went back to her first LP for “Lottery,” a kiss-off to an ex set to an exuberant rock melody. “I can’t even tell you what a magical night this has been for me,” the joyful Bird exclaimed, before ending the main set with the wry, catchy “Love Has All Been Done Before.” 

After enthusiastic applause from the crowd, Bird came back with a Telecaster in hand, as she and the band romped into “Open Up the Heavens,” another basher from Different Kind of Light. She closed the evening with “Going Gone,” a spirited rocker from her first album that took off like a missile, bringing the house down. What a way to end this fabulous show! We can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall on your local PBS station.

photos by Scott Newton