News - Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits Announces Season 51 Broadcast TV Schedule

Post author By Lily Angelle
Post date August 27, 2025

Trailblazing live music series Austin City Limits is proud to write the next chapter in its remarkable 50+ year run, forging ahead with the announcement of the series’ Season 51 broadcast season. ACL presents an all-star slate of highly-anticipated debuts and callbacks, including FINNEAS as the season opener and multiple 2025 Grammy nominees, including The Marías, My Morning Jacket, Charley Crockett, Waxahatchee, Samara Joy, Kelsea Ballerini, Cam and Jon Batiste. ACL will also celebrate the legendary Austin blues club Antone’s 50th anniversary as well as the series’ own 50+ year history of showcasing the blues in a special hour, Austin City Limits Celebrates Antone’s & the Blues, featuring a stellar slate of all-stars taking the ACL stage in a new installment.

ACL returns on Saturday, October 4 at 7pm CT/8pm ET with a revelatory hour showcasing ten-time Grammy-winning artist and producer FINNEAS making his solo headlining debut with a collection of songs from his critically acclaimed sophomore album For Cryin’ Out Loud! FINNEAS first appeared on the ACL stage in Season 45 in 2019 alongside his sister Billie Eilish and ACL presents the gifted singer and songwriter’s solo work in this outing.

Facing headwinds from the recent PBS funding cuts effective October 1, Austin City Limits’ longtime executive producer Terry Lickona recently spoke with Billboard magazine regarding the impact of the federal funding cuts to public media. Willie Nelson, who taped the series’ original pilot in 1974, and has appeared on the program more than any other performer, told Billboard: “Austin City Limits and PBS were and are an essential part of education, understanding, curiosity and empathy, which are the essentials and building blocks of humanity.” Beck, who has made multiple appearances on the series, commented: “Austin City Limits is one of the only film and TV outlets that documents great musicians at the peak of their powers. In decades to come, the shows are going to be some of the best documents and snapshots of this era of music.” To support Austin City Limits, donate to Austin PBS.

ACL airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings) and full episodes are made available to stream online at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast. Austin City Limits recently celebrated its milestone 50th Anniversary in 2024, and ACL continues its extraordinary run as the longest-running music series in television history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for an incredible half-century. Produced by Austin PBS, and recorded live at ACL’s studio home ACL Live in Austin, Texas, the live music beacon is a public media institution that presents quality live music performances featuring artists from all genres of popular music.

The Marías on ACL TV – Photo by Scott Newton

ACL’s Season 51 spotlights multiple fan-adored acts with epic hours: Groundbreaking singer, songwriter and producer FINNEAS takes center stage with new songs from his sophomore solo album For Cryin’ Out Loud! in a captivating season premiere. The hitmaker dazzles with highlights and new gems reflecting his compelling sonic journey in a must-see hour. Genre-blending LA indie pop band The Marías, a favorite of the festival circuit with buzzed about appearances at Coachella, Lollapalooza and ACL Fest, make their series debut in a spellbinding hour featuring songs from their acclaimed album Submarine. The bilingual group blends English and Spanish lyrics anchored by smoke velvet vocals, hypnotic guitar and lush jazz percussion. Jon Batiste makes his return to the ACL stage for the first time since his electrifying 2021 Season 47 debut. The seven-time Grammy-winner and Academy Award-winning musician and entertainer showcases a rootsy new collection of songs, Big Money, in an ecstatic, high-energy hour. NAACP Image Award winner and 5x Grammy winner Samara Joy shines with gorgeous vocals and exciting arrangements in her ACL debut, performing songs from her breakthrough album Linger Awhile and her latest studio album Portrait.

My Morning Jacket on ACL TV – Photo by Scott Newton

In an epic installment, rock legends My Morning Jacket return for the first time in nearly a decade on the occasion of their induction into the 11th Annual ACL Hall of Fame, joining the esteemed acts inducted since 2014. Special guest Oscar-winning filmmaker and best-selling author Cameron Crowe honors the fan-favorite Kentucky band, and MMJ take the stage with classics and new highlights from their latest album is in a thrilling hour with one of music’s great live acts.

Two standout country artists dazzle with their genre-bending sounds in a revelatory hour: The celebrated and chart-topping Kelsea Ballerini is luminous in her first-ever appearance performing a selection of hits and highlights from her acclaimed Patterns; Singer and songwriter Cam (who kicked off 2025 with a Grammy win for her songwriting contributions to Beyoncé’s landmark Cowboy Carter) shares the hour, in a sublime ACL debut showcasing heartfelt songs from her upcoming new collection All Things Light.

Another trailblazing pair of Grammy-nominated and road-tested roots acts get the ACL treatment in a magnetic hour: Texas troubadour Charley Crockett, who made a sensational ACL debut in 2021’s Season 47, carves his name in ACL history once again performing songs from Lonesome Drifter, the first installment of his Sagebrush Trilogy (followed by recently released Dollar A Day). He shares the episode with breakout singer-songwriter Waxahatchee in a sparkling ACL debut showcasing the best of her acclaimed Tiger’s Blood.

The legendary Antone’s “Home of the Blues” celebrates its half-century legacy in 2025, and ACL is proud to salute this influential Austin music institution’s milestone, along with the series’ own 50-year history of blues love, with a special Texas-sized installment, Austin City Limits Celebrates Antone’s & the Blues. This supercharged hour features a murderers’ row of blues all-stars and torchbearers who ignite the ACL stage with epic performances. Guest performers include Jimmie Vaughan, Kingfish, Charlie Sexton, Bobby Rush, Big Bill Morganfield, Grace Bowers and more, backed by a 14-piece house band of legendary players.

“As public media and PBS face severe funding cuts, ACL continues to lay the groundwork for the future in our 51st season,” said executive producer Terry Lickona. “A new generation of artists showcases their remarkable talents, mixed with a touch of down-and-dirty blues celebrating Austin’s iconic music venue, Antone’s.”

Season 51 2025 Broadcast Line-Up (second half of season to be announced separately):

October 4	FINNEAS
October 11	The Marías
October 18	Austin City Limits 11th Hall of Fame Honors My Morning Jacket
October 25	Charley Crockett \| Waxahatchee
November 1	Samara Joy
November 8	Austin City Limits Celebrates Antone’s & the Blues
November 15	Kelsea Ballerini \| CAM
November 22	Jon Batiste

Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. The complete line-up for the full 14-week season, including five new episodes to air beginning January 2026, will be announced at a later date. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding live streams, future tapings 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. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.

Austin PBS broadcasts 35,000 hours of curated content across four channels, devoted to education, arts and culture, and news and public affairs. We also provide a safe space for kids to learn and grow through our Austin PBS KIDS 24/7 channel. The station is home to beloved, award-winning Austin PBS Original series such as Austin City Limits, Overheard with Evan Smith, Central Texas Gardener, and its new weekly news program, Austin InSight, which blends in-depth reporting, incisive interviews, and Austin PBS’s unique approach to storytelling in an expanded commitment to news and public affairs content.

Tune into Austin PBS through one of our 4 channels, or stream online with the PBS App. Become a member and receive Austin PBS Passport, which gives station supporters access to even more content online—binge entire series before they air or catch up on programs you may have missed.

Tags Finneas, Jon Batiste, my morning jacket, Season 51, The marias

Wyatt Flores, Jon Batiste and Role Model to Tape Austin City Limits

Post author By Lily Angelle
Post date August 25, 2025

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce a trio of highly-anticipated new tapings for our Season 51: on September 19 country singer-songwriter Wyatt Flores makes his ACL debut with highlights from his breakout Welcome to the Plains; on October 3, seven-time Grammy Award-winning and Academy Award-winning singer, songwriter and composer Jon Batiste returns to the ACL stage to preview songs from his rootsy new album Big Money; and in-demand musician Role Model joins us for his ACL debut on October 7, riding high with his album Kansas Anymore amid one of the summer’s hottest tours.

Photo couresty of Natalie Rhea

Wyatt Flores’ debut album, Welcome to the Plains, takes listeners to the corner of the world that this 24-year-old Red Dirt country songwriter knows best—Oklahoma. A 14-song trek through tales of fiery love, small-town truths and lighthearted mortality, the album captures the grounded, sincere storytelling forged by Flores partly during formative years in his hometown of Stillwater. “Welcome To The Plains is all about my fight to come home,” says the Mexican American artist. The project details Flores’ journey as he balances the struggle of leaving a small town versus the highs and lows of life on the road. Produced by Beau Bedford (Orville Peck, Shane Smith & The Saints), the album opens with the scene-setting title track, co-written by Old Crow Medicine Show bandleader Ketch Secor. Flores sketches a new take on home in the foot-stomping country-folk title tune. The album has received widespread critical acclaim and earned Flores an Emerging Act of the Year nomination at the 2024 Americana Honors & Awards. At age 12, Flores’ sister passed him a copy of Turnpike Troubadours’ red-dirt masterpiece, Diamonds & Gasoline, unlocking a love for roots music that later lead to artists such as Jason Isbell, 49 Winchester and Sturgill Simpson. Flores established himself as one of country music’s most vital voices with a trio of EPs, his 2022 debut The Hutson Sessions, featuring the fan-favorite single “Please Don’t Go”; 2023’s Life Lessons and 2024’s Half Life, building a steadfast following of listeners who often heard echoes of their own lives in his honest songs. Gigs in tiny Oklahoma bars turned into packed club shows and, eventually, a contract with Island Records. An electric live performer, Flores comes to our stage from a run of tour dates supporting Post Malone in addition to his own headlining tour.

One of America’s most celebrated musicians and entertainers, Jon Batiste delivered an electrifying and ecstatic performance in his 2021 Season 47 debut. He returns a seven-time Grammy Award winner and makes his highly anticipated return to the ACL stage with highlights from his ninth studio album, Big Money. A genre-defying body of work, Big Money (Verve/Interscope), features collaborations with artists including No I.D., Randy Newman, and Andra Day, and further deepens the New Orleans native’s exploration of the American musical canon. Expansive yet deeply personal, the album weaves together elements of soul, hip-hop, jazz, blues and pop, continuing Batiste’s tradition of blending innovation with emotional resonance. “We have such a profoundly rich cultural inheritance in America that many of us don’t know of, don’t fully embrace, don’t fully understand,” the artist recently told Rolling Stone. “And artists just have to keep making statements that point back to that and counter things that are trying to dilute that or erase it.” In support of the release, Batiste will bring his Big Money Tour across the U.S. with over 30 dates. A versatile and prolific artist, Batiste has released multiple albums since he made his ACL debut with songs from 2021’s landmark WE ARE. Batiste released his eighth studio album, Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1), in late 2024, which delivered his biggest debut sales week, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Classical Albums chart and spending nine consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Classical Crossover, while entering the Billboard 200 at No. 64. The first installment in a solo piano series, that project showcased Batiste’s personal spin on some of Beethoven’s most iconic works, reimagined through an expansive lens. These reimagined classics embody the indomitable spirit of the blues, and – true to Batiste’s “message of open-armed inclusivity” (The New York Times) – embrace a broad genre spectrum. The release followed 2023’s World Music Radio, a globetrotting album of originals that drew inspiration from Batiste’s mission to create community and expand culture with the power of music. Featuring collaborators including Jon Bellion, Lana Del Rey, Lil’ Wayne and more, the album was praised by critics for its universal message and genre-defying sound. Hailed by NPR as “a sprawling exploration of what global music can sound like,” World Music Radio received a total of five Grammy nominations, including ‘Album of the Year.’

Photo courtesy of Daniel Prakopcyk

Role Model, the performance name of Tucker Pillsbury, first made waves with his 2022 debut album Rx, a confessional and genre-blurring pop record that introduced him as a bold new voice in alternative music. With his sophomore album Kansas Anymore, Role Model showcases his evolution as a songwriter and performer with 13 folk-tinged, lyrically driven tracks. Working alongside Noah Conrad, Ian Fitchuk, Scott Harris, and Jonah Shy, he crafted standout pieces including the viral hit “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” which he performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. GQ praises the album’s “big-swing pop music” and Paper hails its “folk-tinged, heart-heavy” sound. Following the success of his No Place Like Tour, which sold over 90,000 tickets worldwide, the Maine native released a deluxe edition, Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye), featuring four new songs that expand the emotional and sonic scope of the original album. In addition to his musical accomplishments, Pillsbury is stepping into the world of acting with his debut role in Good Sex, the upcoming Netflix film from Lena Dunham, starring opposite Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo.
We’re thrilled to welcome these one-of-a-kind acts to the ACL stage. Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes a week in advance of the tapings. Follow us on IG and Facebook and X for notice of postings. The broadcast episodes will air and stream on PBS as part of ACL’s upcoming Season 51, stream previous seasons online or on your connected TV with the PBS App.

Live Stream News

Live Stream FINNEAS’ ACL Taping on 8/7 @ 8pm CT

Post author By Lily Angelle
Post date August 4, 2025

Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce the highly-anticipated taping featuring FINNEAS on August 7 will be livestreamed worldwide via the ACLTV YouTube Channel. The gifted artist first appeared on the ACL stage in Season 45 in 2019 alongside his sister Billie Eilish and we’re thrilled to welcome FINNEAS back for his solo debut amid a sold-out world tour, showcasing songs from his sophomore solo album For Cryin’ Out Loud!

ACL offers fans worldwide the unique opportunity to watch his taping live in its entirety from the famed Austin City Limits stage in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, August 7 at 8pm CT/9pm ET free via the ACLTV YouTube Channel. The livestream will begin promptly at 8pm CT and will only be available live. The broadcast episode will air this fall on PBS and stream on pbs.org/austincitylimits as a highlight of the television series’s upcoming Season 51.

Celebrated singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer FINNEAS has quietly emerged as a ubiquitous presence in popular music and culture. He achieved stratospheric success for his groundbreaking work with his sister Billie Eilish, including a history-making ten Grammy Awards for his work with her. His impact has also reverberated through film and television, whether it be writing Academy Award-winning songs for blockbuster films Barbie and No Time To Die or composing original scores for Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV+ series Disclaimer and HBO Max’s The Fallout, Vengeance, and more.

FINNEAS introduced a heartfelt and hypnotic style for his 2019 debut solo outing, Blood Harmony, an EP highlighted by the gold-certified “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night.” 2021 saw him unveil his full-length debut, The Optimist, on Interscope Records. A restless creative, FINNEAS is always challenging himself. It’s why he opted to gather a handful of friends, head to the studio as “a band,” and make his second full-length solo album, For Cryin’ Out Loud! He set the stage for the record with the title track which Rolling Stone hailed “…the work of a popcraft savant with a light, versatile touch.”

Tags Live Streams, Season 51

Important Feature News

RIP to Tejano Music Legend Flaco Jiménez

Post author By Lily Angelle
Post date August 1, 2025

Austin City Limits is very sorry to hear of the death of Tejano music legend Flaco Jiménez. The Tejano music icon made seven appearances on the show, beginning with episode 4 of the inaugural season and culminating in his induction into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2015. He was 86.

Tejano music royalty, “El Rey de Texas” was the son of Santiago Jiménez and grandson of Patricio Jiménez – both conjunto pioneers. Starting on the bajo sexto, San Antonio native Flaco began performing at age seven with his dad and made his first recordings at fifteen as part of Los Caporales. Influenced by Santiago Sr. and zydeco master Clifton Chenier, Flaco took up the three-button accordion, the instrument that would propel him to international fame.

Alongside his equally talented brother Santiago Jr., Flaco released his first album El Rey y El Principe de la Musica Norteña in 1962. That was only the first of over fifty years’ worth of records for major, independent, and regional labels – the most recent of which is 2014’s Flaco Jiménez y Tomas Ortíz De Los Alegres De Terán. He toured all over the world, earning shelves’ worth of honors: six Grammy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement award), the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award, and, of course, the ACL Hall of Fame.

Ever eager to spread the gospel of Tejano music, Flaco was also a lively collaborator, with famous friends and wide-open ears. He met Doug Sahm in the sixties, beginning a partnership that would last until Sahm’s 1999 death. With Sir Doug, he was a founding member of Texas treasure the Texas Tornados, with whom he recorded seven albums. Flaco often kept company with genre-agnostic guitarist, singer, and songwriter Ry Cooder, starting with 1976’ Chicken Skin Music. That LP included “He’ll Have to Go,” the Jim Reeves cover that led to Cooder’s appearance as a guest on Flaco’s first ACL taping. His squeezebox skills and irrepressible spirit also led him to appear on record and in concert with dozens of major stars: Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens (“Streets of Bakersfield”), the Mavericks (“All You Ever Do is Bring Me Down”), Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Los Lobos, Grammy-winning supergroup Los Super Seven, Peter Rowan, and even the Rolling Stones, with whom he recorded on the double platinum Voodoo Lounge.

Flaco’s extraordinary talent, undeniable charisma, and willingness to expand the horizons of Tejano music beyond the boundaries of the Lone Star State meant he isn’t just a key note in the sound of Texas. His work is integral to the fabric of American music. We mourn his passing.

Tags Flaco Jimenez, RIP

News Tickets Distributed

Giveaway: FINNEAS

Post author By Lily Angelle
Post date July 30, 2025

*UPDATE: GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED* Austin City Limits will tape a performance by FINNEAS on Thursday, August 7th at 8 pm at ACL Live at The Moody Theater (310 W. 2nd Street, Willie Nelson Blvd). Austin City Limits Taping Giveaways are presented by AXS Events.

Winners will be chosen at random and a photo ID will be required to pick up tickets. Winners will be notified via email. Duplicate entries for a single taping will be automatically voided. Tickets are not transferable and will be voided if sold. Standing may be required. No photography, recording or cell phone use in the studio. No cameras, computers or recording devices allowed in the venue. While we do our best to accommodate all winners, we cannot guarantee admission. These passes are based on space available therefore you will be filling in spots available on the floor or balcony depending on the tickets that are available when you arrive.

Austin City Limits (ACL) is thrilled to announce a summer taping with FINNEAS in his headlining ACL debut on August 7. FINNEAS first appeared on the ACL stage in Season 45 in 2019 alongside his sister Billie Eilish and we’re thrilled to welcome the gifted artist back to the ACL stage for his solo debut as a highlight of ACL’s Season 51. Finneas makes his ACL debut showcasing songs from his sophomore solo album, For Cryin’ Out Loud!

We’re thrilled to welcome FINNEAS to our stage in his debut headlining appearance amid a sold-out world tour. Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes a week in advance of the taping. Follow us on IG and Facebook and X for notice of postings. The broadcast episode will air and stream this fall on PBS as part of ACL’s upcoming Season 51.

For entry to Austin City Limits tapings, you agree to abide by the Taping Health & Safety Protocols based on the current COVID-19 Community Risk Stage in effect at the time of the event. By attending the ACL tapings, you agree to the Terms & Conditions.

Ticket Giveaway Tickets Distributed

Giveaway: My Morning Jacket

Post author By Lily Angelle
Post date July 24, 2025

*UPDATE: Giveaway now closed.* Austin City Limits will tape a performance by My Morning Jacket on Friday, August 1st at 8 pm at ACL Live at The Moody Theater (310 W. 2nd Street, Willie Nelson Blvd). Austin City Limits Taping Giveaways are presented by AXS Events.

In their return to the ACL stage for the first time in nearly a decade, My Morning Jacket will perform a full set taping in celebration of their induction into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. Special guest, legendary music journalist and acclaimed filmmaker Cameron Crowe, will induct the rock legends, as they join the other legendary acts who have been inducted over the past decade.

Widely ranked among the greatest live bands of their generation, My Morning Jacket have long maintained their status as one of the most vital forces in American rock-and-roll. With their thrillingly expansive and eclectic sound, the band has influenced an entire era of musicians, largely by staying one step ahead of mainstream pop culture and following their instincts to endless innovation. For more than 25 years, My Morning Jacket have achieved an incredibly rare feat in the world of modern rock – upholding a long-established cultural legacy while sustaining all the curiosity and creative hunger of their very earliest days. The Louisville, KY-bred five-piece – vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, guitarist Carl Broemel, drummer Patrick Hallahan, keyboardist Bo Koster – recently released is, their first album in nearly four years, and their 10th studio album; the result is perhaps the most masterfully realized work yet from a band fully committed to their belief in music as a conduit for revelation of all kinds. Largely recorded at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, is finds MMJ deviating from their typically self-produced approach by teaming up with 3x Grammy-winner Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen). For James – who has produced or co-produced all of the band’s studio albums since their 1999 debut The Tennessee Fire – the decision to work with O’Brien stemmed from a newfound willingness to open up their process and involve an outside creative force in shaping their restlessly inventive yet nuanced form of psych-rock. New songs such as the sprawling, album-opening epic, “Out In The Open,” the ravishing love song “Time Waited,” and the delightfully warped “Squid Ink” reveal a band whose voracious creative appetite is wholly matched by a deft command of their visionary musicality. When it came time to name the collection, MMJ chose a title that speaks to the infinitely unpredictable nature of music-making. “I like how the word ‘is’ indicates a sense of presence in the now – there’s no logic or rationale behind this record; it just is,” says James. “All these songs came into existence out of an attempt to connect with something beyond the human experiment, which for me is the whole purpose of music – that connection with something larger than us, yet something we are all equally a part of.” is represents another milestone in the band’s ever-evolving body of work, as well as an opportunity to breathe new energy into their historically stunning and hard-driving live performances. James points to the “undeniable force of loving” as the most essential factor in the band’s longevity and unending enchantment with the process of musical creation. “Hopefully, those songs will be helpful to people and give them some kind of peace as they try to deal with the insanity of the world,” says James. “Because that’s what music does for me, and doing the same for others is always my greatest dream come true.”

Tags my morning jacket, Season 51