Somehow, it’s been twenty years since country rock eclecticians the Mavericks last appeared on Austin City Limits. Fortunately, that’s changed with the band’s third taping, an audience-free taping due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was a special show not only due to the combo’s long-overdue return, but also because the group showcased its daring, critically-acclaimed first-ever Spanish-language album En Español. There’s always been a Latin side to the Mavericks’ freewheeling musical personality, and this show allowed them to indulge in it more overtly, much to everyone’s delight.
Taking the stage in a semi-circle, the expanded band (horns, accordion, percussion, plus backing vocalist Lisset Diaz from Cuban rock band Sweet Lizzy Project) began the show with “La Sitiera,” a ballad perfect for lead singer Raul Malo’s powerful, Roy Orbison-esque vocals. Malo switched from his Jazzmaster to a nylon-string guitar for the Latin-folk rocking “Recuerdos.” The band then went back to electric guitars and English vocals for “Back in Your Arms Again” and “Easy As It Seems,” danceable songs that clearly take some inspiration from the Tex-Mex rock & roll in the Lone Star State in the sixties. Malo’s big smile after concluding the latter helped make up for the lack of audience feedback. The group then went back to En Español for “Mujer,” a delightful Latin pop tune, before covering Mexican star Juan Gabriel’s frisky “No Vale La Pena,” highlighted by Michael Guerra’s rippling accordion. Malo switched back to English for the slinky fan favorite “Every Little Thing About You,” which was spiced by lead guitarist Eddie Perez’s fiery fretwork.
The band then left the stage, leaving Malo alone to sing a song “so connected to this place” – the Willie Nelson classic “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” – a song tailor-made for Malo’s smooth croon. As was “Me Olvidé De Vivir,” an early Julio Iglesias tune (and favorite of Malo’s grandfather) made the Mavericks’ own in a folky arrangement. Diaz featured on heavenly harmony vocals for “Cuando Me Enamoro,” a lush number she co-wrote with Malo, and the hip-swaying “Come Unto Me,” a live favorite with dueling guitar and accordion solos from Perez, Malo and Guerra. The Mavericks closed the set with the rollicking “As Long As There’s Loving Tonight,” frosted with rockabilly rhythms, Jerry Dale McFadden’s pumping piano, back-to-back-to-back horn solos, Guerra’s spicy squeezebox and Malo’s ever-boisterous singing. That high-energy closer earned a round of applause from our crew, as well as some off-camera wag’s cheeky comment, “OK, good rehearsal, guys!” It was a hell of a closer, and we can’t wait for you to see the hourlong broadcast airing November 21 as part of our upcoming Season 46 on your local PBS station.
Sometimes you just have to say: it’s about damn time. It took a while, but singer, songwriter, and opera composer Rufus Wainwright finally made his long-awaited debut on Austin City Limits. Performing songs from his highly acclaimed tenth studio album Unfollow the Rules, and backed for this occasion by Denton, TX psych rock outfit Midlake (and their alter-ego the Texas Gentlemen), Wainwright delivered an incredible performance – a history-making, first-ever no-audience ACL taping in accordance with Covid-19 protocols.
Son of fellow bards Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, Wainwright remarked “My dad did this show twice,” after nailing set opener “Trouble in Paradise,” the sparkling, witty pop tune that opens Unfollow the Rules. “I am now officially an adult.” The newly minted (47-year-old) grown-up leaned into the new record’s Laurel Canyon influence with “Damsel in Distress,” a wonderfully melodic song inspired by his friend and neighbor Joni Mitchell. Then it was time for the self-described “deep end” of the album, in particular the title track, a dramatic ballad inspired by his young daughter Viva. That amazing performance was followed by the country funk of “You Ain’t Big,” a lively poke at Middle America. Wainwright then moved to the piano for an older tune – the pretty title track of his second album Poses.
Strapping on a guitar (“I’m gay, so guitars kind of scare me”), Wainwright performed a pair of folky tunes: “Peaceful Afternoon” (written for his husband) and “Only the People That Love.” He pulled out the stops while getting overtly political for “Sword of Damocles,” a lush ballad aimed at promoting responsible presidential leadership, before shifting gears completely with “My Little You,” a solo piano “little ditty” dedicated to his daughter. He stayed at the keyboard for the powerful “Early Morning Madness,” an anthemic tune that really showed off his vocal and piano skills. He followed with the Nilsson-esque rocker “Devils and Angels (Hatred)” which included a backing track featuring strings and vocals by his sister Martha Wainwright.
“This one I really didn’t practice for,” Wainwright said at the piano, but you’d never know it from his beautiful take on Unfollow the Rules closer “Alone Time.” The band ended their portion of the show with “another uptempo number about how everything is so terrible,” the acerbic “Going To a Town,” from Wainwright’s 2007 album Release the Stars. The troubadour closed the performance alone at the piano with a gorgeous pair of tunes: the jaunty mash note “The Art Teacher” and a stunning rendition of Leonard Cohen’s classic “Hallelujah.” It was a simply spectacular performance, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall as part of our upcoming Season 46 on your local PBS station.
You’d be forgiven for thinking Yola is from the American South. But singer, songwriter and multiple Grammy nominee (including four nods in the Americana category) actually hails from Bristol, England. She recorded her debut Walk Through Fire with Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach for his Easy Eye Sound label, garnering much love and acclaim, as well as those Grammy noms. Now her path leads her to her debut taping for Austin City Limits, which doubles as our first taping for Season 46, live streamed around the world.
The singer and her band took the stage and immediately began “Lonely the Night,” a midtempo bit of melancholy that near-perfectly inhabits the midpoint between soul and country – a sweet spot Yola owns. Donning her acoustic guitar, Yola’s vision further crystallized in follow-up “Ride Out in the Country,” one of the tunes that brought her to the public’s attention (as evidenced by the crowd’s enthusiasm), and given a tight, simmering reading here. “Shady Grove” took a more relaxed route, alluding to the folk music from which the title is adapted. Her album’s title track came next, with Yola sharing the story of its surprising inspiration: a house fire in which she was caught, which she remarkably translated into a smoldering love song with the help of Auerbach and legendary songwriter Dan Penn. She went back to folk rock for “Love All Night (Work All Day),” a tribute to doing what’s necessary to sustain one’s passion. Acknowledging the inspiration of Graham Nash and the Hollies, she then injected a dollop of soul into the Hollies’ “The Air That I Breathe,” ironically a song on which Nash himself did not perform. The audience loved it anyway. “That was fun, wasn’t it?” she teased.
Yola put down her guitar for “Faraway Look,” perhaps her most well-known hit (so far), giving the ballad the full force of her magnificent voice. After introducing the band, she sang the upbeat, uplifting “Love is Light” and the sadder (but still upbeat) “Still Gone.” Yola then flipped her back pages for the rocking “What You Do,” a track from her 2016 debut EP Orphan Offering. “It Ain’t Easier” followed, a powerhouse ballad that once again unleashed her full vocal power. Yola and her group closed the main set with a song by “my all-time hero,” Elton John – namely the grand ballad “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” which was unsurprisingly right up her alley. The crowd sent her off with a huge roar of applause.
Needless to say, Yola wasn’t done quite yet. She and the band came back onstage with “I Don’t Wanna Lie,” an old-fashioned soul groover that became an audience singalong. She brought the show home with Aretha Franklin’s explosive take on the classic Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell tune “You’re All I Need to Get By.” The audience went wild once again, as Yola walked off in triumph. It was a great show and a great season debut, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall on your local PBS station.
There’s no one in music quite like Tank and The Bangas. The New Orleans R&B, funk and hip-hop ensemble impressed ACL with a stunning show at the Austin City Limits Music Festival a couple of years ago, so it was inevitable they would appear on the show. The band made their debut on the ACL stage in support of this year’s acclaimed major label LP Green Balloon, and their presence couldn’t have been any more appropriate – Tank and The Bangas’ joyful performance capped off our 45th taping season on a high note.
The Bangas took the stage to the delight of an already pumped audience – a perfect welcome for a band from the Big Easy. After a rumbling synth intro, singer/rapper/poet Tarriona “Tank” Ball arrived in a fur cape for “Spaceships,” displaying a variety of voices as she parodied hip-hoppers – or anyone, really – obsessed with the green. A classically-inclined piano intro from Norman Spence II brought on “Quick,” a roaring tune that featured two saxophones doubling power chords and ambiguous lyrics that also incorporated work from hip-hop producer extraordinaire 9th Wonder. After Tank enjoined the audience to “make some noise,” the band immediately launched into “Nice Things,” a slinky feast of soul. The ballad “Hot Air Balloon” followed, building to a fiery sax solo from Albert Allenback, before “Smoke.Netflix.Chill,” a sweet come-on if there ever was one.
A funky groove signaled the sardonic “Do Something,” a song that starts out as a riposte to empty platitudes, before becoming an anthem of personal empowerment. The party hit another level with “Boxes and Squares,” a beautifully volatile mix of funk, hip-hop and doubled jazz sax solos. The hard funk continued on “Nile, Den and Latah,” the band bringing their entire bag of tricks to bear on a tune that got the audience hopping. The crowd was able to catch their breath (barely) with “Ants,” which found Tank rapping over a smooth seventies R&B groove. The Bangas kept the music roiling and solos flying as Tank unleashed her powerful vocal chords on “Ripperton,” in tribute to the eponymous R&B favorite, first name Minnie. To say the audience went wild is an understatement.
All that energy had to go somewhere, and that was final song “Brady’s,” in which the band took the audience on a handclapping, swaying, hopping ride through its world: sweet harmonies, crashing drums, rock guitar, relentless groove, singalong “na-na’s” and Tank’s versatile, everywhere-at-once vocal stylings. “Bye!” said Tank, and the show was over, though from the crowd’s reaction they wanted more. It was a titanic way to end our milestone forty-fifth season of Austin City Limits, and we can’t wait for you to see it when this episode when it airs early next year on your local PBS station.
Every year the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Honors feels like a homecoming. This year was no exception, with so many friends and family with us to help celebrate. For this year’s sixth Hall of Fame class, we inducted singer/songwriter Shawn Colvin, blues giant Buddy Guy and Texas icon Lyle Lovett, the man who nearly holds the record for the most appearances on the ACL stage (he’s one behind Willie Nelson), and their pals came out to start the party. It was a night to remember.
Austin drum corps Austin Samba set a festive mood to kick off the evening. KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, CEO & General Manager Bill Stotesbery welcomed the crowd and introduced ACL’s longtime executive producer Terry Lickona. He briefly recapped the show’s iconic history before ceding the stage to the evening’s host, Texas troubadour Robert Earl Keen and the ceremony was quickly underway.
photo by Gary Miller
Keen introduced the evening’s first inductee – veteran Austinite Shawn Colvin. The legendary Jackson Browne inducted Colvin with a moving speech about her musical history and the genius that has marked it. “He’s my hero,” said Colvin, “and he just inducted me into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.” She accepted the honor with a heartfelt speech about what Austin and the show have meant to her, before she and Browne took up their acoustic guitars for the lovely “These Four Walls,” which she called a tribute to her town. Following that, Colvin welcomed Wimberley native Sarah Jarosz, who used her mandolin for the classic lick of Colvin’s Grammy-winning smash “Sunny Came Home.” After Jarosz left the stage, Colvin was joined by guitarist Steuart Smith and bassist Larry Klein, both of whom produced records for her, and formed a touring trio with her in the nineties. “This is the first time we’ve played together in 25 years,” she declared, before the threesome nailed a version of her later-period hit “Polaroids.” Jarosz joined the trio for “Diamond in the Rough,” Colvin’s radio breakthrough – which was also enhanced by fellow inductee Lyle Lovett’s surprise appearance on harmony vocals and a thrilling Smith guitar solo. The musicians quit the stage to grand applause.
photo by Gary Miller
Keen came back onstage to introduce the next inductee: the one and only Buddy Guy. The blues legend was inducted by his old friend and Austin blues icon Jimmie Vaughan, who talked about discovering Guy as a kid from the album Folk Festival of the Blues, and how that put him on the path he’s followed since. “Better late than never!” exclaimed Guy as he accepted his award, garnering a big laugh. The Chicago axeman paid tribute to his own influences – Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Lightnin’ Hopkins – before thanking the audience and his fellow artists for helping to keep the blues alive. Guy and Vaughan then joined the former’s band onstage, launching into “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues,” one of many signature Buddy Guy tunes. Blues singer Shemekia Copeland came next, duetting with Guy on his latest hit “Cognac,” which made getting tipsy absolutely sensual. One of Guy’s recent mentees, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram then took the stage for a rip through “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” one of the classics from Guy’s own mentor Muddy Waters. Closing out his segment, Guy and Ingram welcomed back Copeland and Vaughan and Guy donned an electric sitar for “Skin Deep,” a deep soul ballad in the style of “Feels Like Rain” that reminded us all that we share more than we differ.
photo by Gary Miller
After an intermission (which featured another performance from Austin Samba), Keen returned to introduce his old friend Lyle Lovett. Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn surprised the crowd with an unannounced appearance to induct his pal, calling him “a humble maestro,” “the storytelling heir to Faulkner, Rogers and Twain,” speaking eloquently and humorously about the impact his music and friendship has had on his life. After thanking Penn, Lovett delineated how long his history with Austin City Limits goes back, from watching the show since its first season to closing out Studio 6A in 2010, before thanking the show and his family – his mother was in attendance. Then Lovett announced seminal Texas songwriter, and key Lovett influence, Willis Alan Ramsey, who sang, with help from the large band, his friend’s anthem “If I Had a Boat.” Dallas native Edie Brickell was next, taking on Lovett’s tart country ballad “I Loved You Yesterday.” The maestro himself came back onstage, thanking his crew and the Large Band, before paring the latter down to fiddler Luke Bulla, mandolinist Keith Sewell and bassist Viktor Krauss for “12th of June,” inspired by his family past and present. The Large Band returned and Lovett welcomed Keen back to the stage to sing “This Old Porch,” a song the pair of them wrote nearly 40 years ago – a fitting tribute to enduring friendships and a long-running career. Keen then invited the other inductees and guests on stage for the final song. Lovett took the opportunity to introduce the large band, including his longtime backup singer Francine Reed, who garnered the biggest round of applause.
photo by Gary Miller
Then it was time for the closing number – “That’s Right, You’re Not From Texas,” one of Lovett’s most famous songs and one perfect for a chorus of famous backup singers. The audience went wild as streamers came down from the ceiling, as another successful Hall of Fame taping came to a close. We can’t wait for you to see it when it airs as a special New Year’s broadcast on your local PBS station.
Few artists have hit the superstar stratosphere as fast as Billie Eilish. The 17-year-old L.A. native’s 2019 debut album When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? debuted at the top of the Billboard charts, and has thus far spawned five top 10 singles, including the #1 “Bad Guy,” making her officially the first artist born this millennium to achieve both a No. 1 album and single. With a packed house primed and ready, we were thrilled to welcome this young artist for her ACL debut.
The show began with a darkened stage, atmospheric electronics and cries of “We love you, Billie” from the audience. Multi-instrumentalist (and her brother and primary collaborator) Finneas and drummer Andrew took the stage first, before Eilish herself sauntered onstage as the electronic pulse of her dark-pop smash “Bad Guy” began. The audience sang the lyrics louder than she did as she bounced around the stage in a chartreuse Rob Zombie shirt. “My Strange Addiction” followed, with Eilish directing the enthusiastic call and response. Though keeping to her minimalist sound, “You Should See Me in a Crown” added a harder pound to the rhythm, giving both star and crowd a reason to jump. “Scream as loud as you possibly can!” she commanded, and the audience obliged. “Idontwannabeyouanymore” proved she could handle a ballad, before “Copycat” pumped the beat back up. “Everybody go as low as you can go,” Eilish asked, so the audience could explode back up, feeding the energy back to her. The misty “When I Was Older” filled the theater with mystery and magic, belying her post-performance claim that people don’t like the tune (but that she does and will continue playing it anyway). The sprightly, sardonic “Wish You Were Gay” changed the tone in any case.
The dramatic pop song “Xanny” served as a showcase for her lush singing, though the worshipping crowd shadowed nearly every note. The big beats returned for the cheeky “All the Good Girls Go to Hell,” which found brother Finneas joining her at the front of the stage. The shimmering “Ilomilo” followed, leading into the acoustic guitar-driven “Bellyache,” which once again turned into a spirited duet with the crowd. Eilish and company brought the pathos for “Ocean Eyes,” her 2015 breakout single and a fan favorite, judging from the waves. “I have only two more songs to do, and then you guys get to go home,” she said following that triumph, and clearly the audience wasn’t ready to oblige. She introduced her accompaniests and reminded the audience to be in the moment for the next song. Sitting on a stool, Eilish delivered “When the Party’s Over” with absolute conviction matched only by the young women in the front row. Barely a second passed before a glam rock gea introduced the singalong thrum of “Bury a Friend,” ending with a crowd-sung shout of the album title: “When we go to sleep, where do we go?” As a quiet outro played, the teenage megastar hopped offstage to give as many people hugs as she could, before leaving the stage. It was a show unlike any other we’ve presented, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs early next year on your local PBS station as part of our Season 45.
