Category: Taping Recap

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Dayglow tapes an effervescent ACL

photo by Scott Newton

Sloan Struble, AKA Dayglow, may only be twenty-one, but as his brand new album Harmony House proves, he writes expert pop tunes like a pro. He’s also moved easily from solo auteur to confident bandleader, as his debut ACL taping (live streamed around the world) can attest. 

After a typically rousing Terry Lickona introduction, the stage remained empty, as an electronic pulse teased the imminent arrival of the musicians. The band came on one by one, with Struble himself taking the stage last and bouncing around to the happy energy of album opener “Something.” Struble took a moment to introduce the band, before displaying the modern/nostalgic dichotomy that makes his music sound so fresh: “Medicine” opens with a noisy burst of electronica before settling into a warmly organic 70s pop groove. “This is actually our biggest show ever,” noted Struble. “I know it’s limited capacity, but this is the biggest crowd we’ve ever played for.” The band then revisited the first Dayglow album Fuzzybrain for the Latin-feeling “Nicknames,” complete with ending cowbell solo. Struble noted how cool it was that he first visited the original ACL studio as a University of Texas freshman, and now he found himself onstage at ACL Live recording his own episode. Powered by that giddy joy, there was no choice but to go into the bubbly, danceable “Hot Rod,” frosted with harmony leads from Struble and guitarist Colin Crawford. Saxophonist Marshall Lowry then joined the quintet onstage, adding some deliciously 80s pop saxophone to the melancholy “December.” Struble took to his even more-80s styled keyboard for the song’s coda, segueing directly into the upbeat “Moving Out.” 

Donning an acoustic 12-string guitar, Struble explained how he makes his records in his bedroom and how he first got his music noticed through the music-sharing platform Tunecore. That music was from Fuzzybrain, the beautifully tuneful title track of which came next. Shouting out longtime ACL makeup artist Glenda Facemire, Struble, acting on a tip from her, good-naturedly patted away the perspiration while introducing the next acoustic guitar-driven song, Harmony House’s “Woah Man.” He went back to his Strat for the peppy, sweetly melodic “Listerine,” before going into the breakout song that launched his career:  “Can I Call You Tonight?,” as perfect a pop song as has hit the airwaves in some time. Unless, of course, you count the next song, the groovy but melody-rich “Crying on the Dancefloor,” also from Fuzzybrain, and featuring Lowry on soprano sax. After two songs in a row from the first album, though, it was time to revisit the new one with the lovely, old-fashioned ballad “Into Blue.” “Thank you for being here – this is awesome!” Struble declared, whose frequent declarations of “Let’s rock” punctuated his enthusiasm. “Definitely a bucket list moment!” The band then closed the main set with the latest Dayglow pop sensation, the effortlessly effervescent “Close to You,” during which the smiling, dancing Struble nearly had more fun than is allowed by law.

Struble bounced happily off the stage, but it wasn’t over yet. The band returned with a delightful surprise: a faithful, heartfelt cover of Tears For Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” a song just right for them. Right as it ended, however, Dayglow kicked into an original, the first album-bopper “Run the World!!!!” “I want to run the world!” Struble asserted, and while he may not get his exact wish, as long as he keeps making music this catchy and fun, the music world may well be within his grasp. It was a great show, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall as part of our Season 47 on your local PBS station.

photo by Scott Newton

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Featured News Taping Recap

Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall bring Marfa to ACL

photo by Scott Newton

There’s nothing like starting a new Austin City Limits taping season with something special. Singer/songwriters Jack Ingram and Miranda Lambert have spent time on our stage before, but not quite like this. Coming together with friend and fellow tunesmith Jon Randall, the Texas natives hit the small West Texas town of Marfa to create The Marfa Tapes, a stripped-down and intimate set of songs generated around a campfire (“to let the dust get in ‘em,” said Lambert) that could only come from a band of pals with time to kill and talent to burn. Now the trio has chosen to perform these songs in our studio, in their first-ever full-length show, a week prior to the record’s release, for a season kickoff like no other we’ve had. 

“Welcome to Marfa!” said Ingram as Randall broke into the Western swing rhythm of “Two Step Down to Texas,” a jovial celebration of Austin with Lambert on lead vocals and Ingram on whistle solo. Atop their stools and under their cowboy hats, the trio shifted to waltz time for “Am I Right or Amarillo,” a Randall-led tune that sounds like a honky-tonk classic you haven’t heard in ages. “We’re so happy to be the first show back at ACL,” noted Lambert from the stage. “It’s a dream to be here. Thank you for enjoying the campfire – we hope you laugh a little, cry a little and drink a lot!” The tune “Ghost” followed, its nod to one of Lambert’s ex-paramours carried by the threesome’s stirring harmonies. Ingram took the spotlight next with the metaphorical “Anchor,” remarking that “these guys are the only ones who’d write a song with me about drowning…and love.” After elucidating some of the twenty years of history the three friends have shared, Lambert introduced the lovely single “In His Arms,” written, she said, while staring into the Marfa sunset. 

The atmosphere moved from sunset to starlight, as Ingram and Lambert told the story of the group’s first night in Marfa. That resulted in Lambert’s award-winning hit “Tin Man,” which the trio then performed with round robin vocals, Randall to Lambert to Ingram. “Let’s give Jon a big hand,” said Ingram about his session ace friend. “He’s carrying a lot of these guitar parts.” The man who got his start playing guitar for Emmylou Harris in her eighties band the Nash Ramblers then explained how The Marfa Tapes was recorded: three microphones, some guitars, and a few drinks. That led into the song “Waxahachie,” a ditty that grew out of an argument over which Texas highway leads to it – an argument settled by Lambert’s mom. (For the record: it’s IH 35.) Randall then knocked out the bluesy riff for “Geraldene,” a snarky shot across the bow of a would-be predator. The trio immediately shifted gears with “The Wind’s Gonna Blow,” a close-harmony ballad that was the first tune written for the project. That led to “Amazing Grace (West Texas),” a sparse, heartfelt tribute to the locale in which the record was made.  

Ingram told a story about fading into the night merely by walking away from the campfire the threesome shared, which prompted Lambert to remark, “I don’t like it when he disappears like that.” That was the genesis of “I Don’t Like It,” turning the songstress’ casual complaint into a meditation of the fragility of love. “We’re putting these songs down just the way we did in Marfa,” Lambert noted about the performance’s raw and unfiltered nature. Nobody complained, especially when Ingram led the trio into the closing time ode “We’ll Always Have the Blues.” The next song paid loving, if irreverent, tribute to the late Guy Clark by citing his classic “Homegrown Tomatoes” in a song by the same name. “We were not drinkin’ when we wrote this song,” Lambert insisted (to Ingram’s casual denial), before launching into the cheeky “Tequila Does,” a song that first appeared on Lambert’s most recent album Wildcard before finding its second home on its writers’ LP. 

For the final number, the trio raised a glass to another lost legend – Austin music pioneer Jerry Jeff Walker, who passed away in 2020. That meant, of course, closing the show with “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother,” penned by Ray Wylie Hubbard, made famous by Walker and sung by the three friends in their best outlaw style – with a little help on the chorus from the crowd. With that rowdy exit, Ingram, Lambert and Randall left the stage, leaving behind a performance other seasons will be hard-pressed to match as kickoffs go. We can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall on your local PBS station as part of our Season 47.

All photos by Scott Newton
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Featured News Taping Recap

The War and Treaty bring messages of love and hope to ACL

photo by Scott Newton

We here at Austin City Limits were so blown away by the performance of The War And Treaty on ACL Presents: Americana 18th Annual Honors last year that we knew we had to feature them for a full set on the show. Basing the set around their acclaimed new LP Hearts Town, the Michigan-bred husband-and-wife duo of Michael and Tanya Trotter did not disappoint, hitting real heights with their earthy, rock-infused soul. 

Backed by an eight piece band and set up on stage so they could look at each other at any time, the Trotters kicked off the show with the jazzy groove of “Yearning,” as much a seduction as a plea. The tempo revved up for the rocking “Jealousy,” as the pair acknowledged the titular emotion, before kicking it out the door. The Trotters deftly altered the mood with “Liquid Lies,” which started as a sultry simmer before going into a full-tilt boil. “We’re here to sing to you, America,” stated Michael. “We’re here to sing not just to Austin, but we’re here as representation of what thriving and overcomers look like. So let’s give ourselves a hand.” Then they went into the dramatic “Beautiful,” a tune from Hearts Town recorded with Americana star and ACL two-timer Jason Isbell, subbed for here by W&T back-up singer Will Merrill during the song’s round robin vocals. The band then got funky with “Maryland,” a frisky tribute to the state from which Tanya hails with a round of solos from guitarist Matt Laurence, keyboardist Brett Sandler, trumpeter Joe Jordan and saxophonist Chuck Mullican. 

The party definitely needed a cool down after that performance, so the band reached back to its debut EP Down to the River for the ballad “Til the Morning.” Of course, “cool down” is a relative term for this group, as the fire definitely burned in the couple’s impassioned singing. Bassist Max Brown then picked up an acoustic guitar for the folky “Jubilee,” dedicated to Anne Wade, a high school-age singer/songwriter the Trotters are mentoring. The group shifted to old school R&B for “Hey Pretty Moon,” a gorgeous tune inspired by Ray Charles. After that powerhouse, it was time to raise the roof once again, which they did with the jazzy, New Orleans-flavored “Little Boy Blue,” as much a showcase for Mullican and Jordan as the singers. Michael then led the band into the clever pop of “Hustlin’,” “which is what we’re doing now.” TW&T then launched into the title track of their new album, the truly heartwarming “Hearts Town.” 

The band dipped into a Stax/Volt groove for “Five More Minutes,” a song inspired by the PTSD U.S. Army veteran Michael brought back from his two tours in Iraq that’s scoring radio play here in Austin, and no wonder: it’s a perfect blend of melody and groove. Michael then asked the audience, both in person and at home, for a moment of silence for everyone lost in 2020, due to the pandemic or otherwise. In particular, TW&T wanted to pay tribute to the late John Prine, a friend and mentor who showcased the band at his Grand Ole Opry appearance. It was the perfect lead-in to “Take Me In,” the band’s beautiful ballad of inclusion and unity. The band ended the song by leaning into their gospel side, running through “Amazing Grace” and “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.” The show closed with the fiery “Need Someone to Love,” a sweeping climax that embraced the crowd, the crew, the streaming audience and the whole world with its message of love. It was a fantastic way to end the night, and we can’t wait for you to see it when The War And Treaty’s episode airs early next year as part of our Season 46 on your local PBS station. 

photos by Scott Newton
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Featured News Taping Recap

Ruthie Foster gives ACL a glorious infusion of soul

photo by Scott Newton

It’s no surprise Austin singer/songwriter Ruthie Foster has an album in her catalog titled The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster. Anyone who’s heard her sing, listened to her songs, or watched her lead a band, has no doubt of the veracity of that title. We here at Austin City Limits have known how phenomenal she is since her 2003 debut on the show, so we were thrilled to welcome her back for her second knockout taping, which included new songs from an upcoming 2021 album and Foster classics. 

“I know we’ve been dealing with some tough times, so I wanted to start with this song,” Foster noted, opening with a new track, “Four a.m.,” a folky ode to late-night composition featuring keyboardist/mandolinist Scottie Miller on counterpoint vocals. Foster introduced viewers to “Pearl,” her minty green Gretsch guitar, and welcomed a powerhouse trio of backing vocalists to the stage, Sheree Smith, Tamara Mack and Torri Baker, for “Brand New Day,” a funky, gospel-flavored number that would shine a light in any dark world. Foster and company then shifted directly to gospel, specifically a joyful take on “Up Above My Head,” a classic from one of her early influences, the pioneering singer and guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe. “I really do believe there’s a heaven,” she sang, making a believer out of everyone. Foster continued demonstrating how to make a song her own with a surprising seventies soul ballad rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” She then put down Pearl and led the band into the empowerment anthem “Phenomenal Woman,” showcasing both her powerhouse vocal chops and her confident joy. 

After that showstopper, it was time to magnify the mood with “Singing the Blues,” a groovy R&B song co-written with Stax soul legend William Bell. “Feels like Freedom” followed, another anthem that Foster borrowed from the catalog of an unnamed singer/songwriter after first hearing it. The easygoing soul/pop tune “Love is the Answer” came from a source closer to home: her bassist Larry Fulcher, who revealed he wrote it in a dream. Foster and her ace four-piece band – which also included guitarist Haddon Sayers and famous Austin session drummer Brannen Temple – then dipped into the catalog of the mighty Staples Singers for “The Ghetto,” a gorgeous, piercing bit of social commentary. While that song brooded, however, “Healing Time” – co-composed by Foster, Sayers and Miller – celebrated, bringing an upbeat soul groove to its message of positivity and healing. “I feel that one,” smiled Foster. “Y’all feel that one?” 

“I want to send more healing vibes to you and your families,” Foster said, addressing everyone watching the live stream around the world. That meant the rousing  “Woke Up This Morning,” a socially conscious soul/gospel number that raised the roof with more good vibes that seemed to surprise Foster herself. “Somebody opened the door and let Hallelujah in the house!” She then asserted, “Let’s go down to Mississippi for a while,” bringing the blues into the house with the raw, earthy “Runaway Soul.” Miller and Sayers both contributed superlative solos, the backup singers took everyone to church, and Foster outdid herself with a vocal performance that would make the dead rise and give thanks. It was a magnificent end to a wonderful show, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs next January as part of our Season 46 on your local PBS station. 

photos by Scott Newton
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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Ray Wylie Hubbard

photo by Scott Newton

Forty-six years in the making, the long-awaited taping of the great Texas songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard was worth the wait. One of the original Texas outlaws, Hubbard is arguably best known for his early ‘70s composition, the much-recorded anthem “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother.” The Oklahoma native/longtime Lone Star resident relaunched his career in the nineties, and in one of music’s most remarkable second acts, has been prolifically recording critically-lauded work ever since. So we were thrilled to finally have the revered Texas troubadour on our stage for his first-ever headline appearance in a rousing performance that was livestreamed around the world. 

Hubbard and his ace four-piece band, which includes his son Lucas on guitar, drummer Kyle Schneider, Bukka Allen on keyboards and Gurf Morlix on bass, kicked things off with the bluesy “Rabbit,” on which he declares that, while he doesn’t know what “between the devil and the deep blue sea” mean, “maybe it means I’m funky and cool – maybe it means I’m on Austin City Limits!” “So that’s what a smattering of applause sounds like,” said the jovial raconteur, noting the lack of a live audience due to the pandemic. The songwriter drove his band even deeper into the swamp with “Snake Farm,” the title track to his 2006 album. After band intros, Hubbard launched into “Drunken Poet’s Dream,” a co-write with Hayes Carll the pair performed together during Carll’s ACL appearance in Season 36. Hubbard then turned his attention to Co-Starring, his acclaimed recent major label debut, featuring guest appearances from titans Joe Walsh, Ringo Starr, Chris Robinson and more. He showcased a trio of tracks from the record in a row, including the bluesy grind of “Bad Trick,” a song penned with his wife Judy. He donned a 12-string for “Rock Gods,” a heartfelt tribute to Tom Petty and his peers who’ve entered the Pearly Gates, and a meditation on how death comes to us all. After those sobering thoughts, Hubbard led the band into the funky rocker “Fast Left Hand,” highlighted by earthy solos from Allen’s Hammond organ and the younger Hubbard’s guitar.

“If this is the first time you’ve seen me on Austin City Limits, you might get the idea that I’m an acquired taste,” Hubbard remarked. “So this song should weed you out.” That bon mot dropped, the singer/songwriter pulled out the outlaw swamp rocker “Mother Blues” from 2012’s The Grifter’s Hymnal – the story of a stolen Les Paul Goldtop, two romances rooted in an afterhours gig, and the wisdom of keeping your gratitude higher than your expectations. He and the band launched into his 2017 classic “Tell the Devil I’m Gettin’ There As Fast I Can,” a “kind of rock & roll fable” that, as Hubbard explained with a wink in the intro “hopes God grades on a curve.” Longtime drummer Schneider then thumped out the rumbling groove of an anthem, “Wanna Rock and Roll,” the album closer from 1992’s Lost Train of Thought, a tune later recorded by the red dirt rockers Cross Canadian Ragweed that earned Hubbard enough royalties “to buy a fence. That’s very important where I live.” 

Hubbard ended the show with “Desperate Man,” a song he co-wrote with country superstar Eric Church (and the title track of Church’s 2018 LP) – a bluesy rocker that encapsulates as well as any his characters’ outlaw ethos. It was a great way to end a great show, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs early next year as part of our Season 46 on your local PBS station. 

photos by Scott Newton
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Featured News Taping Recap

Jackie Venson’s stunning ACL debut

photo by Scott Newton

Austin City Limits began as a showcase in 1973 to highlight the fertile Austin, Texas regional music scene, and we returned to our origins last night, showcasing the debut of Austin standout Jackie Venson. The next-generation singer-songwriter-guitar ace has made major waves in her hometown and across the globe over the past few years and we were proud to host her first taping, live streamed around the world. 

Wearing a black dress designed by her sister bearing a multitude of names of Black victims of police violence, with the words “Say their names” written down her arm, Venson made a statement even before launching her magnetic set. Performing a number of songs from her upcoming new album Vintage Machine, Venson and her five-piece band opened with “Awake,” a slow-grooving thumper frosted with her delay-soaked Epiphone Les Paul. The staccato beats of “Home” paid tribute to her hometown, before bassist Nick Clark led the musicians into cranking up the groove for the title track “Vintage Machine,” which appropriately felt like a Princely throwback. Comments lit up on the livestream with one viewer raving, “​Never heard Jackie before, tuned in because I follow Austin City Limits, this is fantastic.” The perpetually grinning Venson turned to the subject of l’amour for “Keep On,” a reggae tune that still left plenty of room for her frisky axe work. That song crashed directly into the next, a grungy rocker called “Witchcraft,” which immediately blazed into the funky rocker “Next Life.” After shouting out ACL, Venson and the band went into her current single “Make Me Feel,” a slow burn ballad that accented its desire with its composer’s burning licks. 

As backup singers Akina Adderley and Kate Priestley left the stage, Venson donned an acoustic guitar and delivered a moving speech in support of Black Lives Matter – “Not the hashtag, not the slogan, not the organization – the people.” Then she played “Back to Earth,” a sophisticated pop song that kept to her words’ spirit, if not the details. Venson then put on a Stratocaster with the comment, “We’re gonna do you Texas style.” She welcomed “Austin’s empress of soul” Tameca Jones to the stage, and the pair dazzled on the blues classic “Texas Flood,” made famous by another Austinite, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, who also performed the song on his own ACL debut back in 1984. “I think I would’ve been smited if I’d played that song on anything but a Strat,” she remarked. After replacing that guitar with her Les Paul, Venson cranked the funk back up for “Fight,” a socially conscious song featuring a jazzy solo from keyboardist Eddy Hozibal. Rock came back in a big way for “Transcends,” leading Venson to introduce her close-knit band. 

The band went back to its tasty blend of funk and rock for the bristling (and inaccurately titled) “LoFi,” before revisiting Venson’s pop side for “Surrender.” The guitar slinger headed into the home stretch with “Go My Way,” a positivity-infused tune that deftly blended R&B of the past and the present. Drummer Rodney Hyder then jumped into the funky backbeat of “Joy,” the show-closer that put all of Venson’s eggs – soulful grooves, pop melodies and powerhouse guitar – into one basket to bring it all home. It was a great debut, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs November 14 as part of our Season 46 on your local PBS station.  

photos by Scott Newton