Austin City Limits will be taping a performance by Ed Sheeran on Wednesday, June 11th, at 8 pm at ACL Live at The Moody Theater (310 W. 2nd Street, Willie Nelson Blvd). We will be giving away a limited number of space available passes to this taping. Enter your name and email address on the below form by 9 am June 9th. Winners will be chosen at random. Winners will be notified by email. Passes are not transferable and cannot be sold. Standing may be required.
No photography, recording or cell phone use in the studio.
This weekend Austin City Limits is bringing you some southern twang, pink guitars, shotgun mic stands and serious country with this encore episode featuring Miranda Lambert and Jeff Bridges.
Miranda Lambert has become a household name since her appearance on Nashville Star back in 2003 and is now, undoubtedly, one of country music’s biggest names. Miranda, whose father is a singer/songwriter, admits that she wasn’t always keen on singing growing up, but once she turned 17 she realized that music was the most natural way for her to express herself. Since then Miranda has released five studio albums, won a Grammy for her song “The House That Built Me” and now has a side project with Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley called Pistol Annies, who join Lambert to sing “Hell On Heels,” their biggest hit of their album by the same name.
The highly acclaimed actor/singer Jeff Bridges also appears in this episode, singing hits from the Grammy-winning Crazy Heart soundtrack as well as songs from his 2011 self-titled debut. Known for his prolific acting career, the Oscar-winning Bridges shows fans a different side, displaying his singing and songwriting ability. While shooting Crazy Heart, Bridges realized that he was a bit tired of the “acting thing” and wanted to go back to his original interest: music. Highlights of the performance include the songs, “Somebody Else” and “What a Little Bit of Love Can Do,” written by beloved Austin musician Stephen Bruton.
photo by Scott Newton
So sit back and relax this Saturday with two of country music’s most famous and talented names. Be sure to check your local listings for showtimes to see this episode and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or through our newsletter to keep up with updates on tapings and airings. Next week: Tim McGraw.
Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce the return of one of our favorite sons, Jeff Tweedy, on June 20 as part of the upcoming milestone 40th season. After two decades leading his main outfit Wilco, the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter’s ACL appearance sets the stage for the release of a highly-anticipated solo album later this year. Backed by a newly-formed band including his 18-year old son Spencer Tweedy on drums, expect new material in addition to a solo acoustic set of Wilco and pioneering alt.country band Uncle Tupelo favorites. ACL veteran Tweedy has made four memorable appearances with Wilco, so welcoming him once again to our stage is like welcoming an old friend.
Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes about a week before the taping. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for notice of postings.
“I’ll try not to cry tonight,” said Valerie June directly after taking the stage for her ACL debut. “It means the world to me to be here.” With an intro like that, it would be impossible not to be on the side of this fast-rising Memphis singer/songwriter. The talent bursting from her seams, however, justified the empathy. With one foot in country blues, the other in mountain folk music and her head in the stars, June and her band conjured a distinctive brand of genre-blending songs that she calls organic moonshine roots music.
June opened with the Carter Family chestnut “Happy or Lonesome,” her unique voice working the midpoint between those emotional extremes. Then she and her band – which includes guitarist Binky Griptite, last seen on the ACL stage as part of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings – ranged all over the Americana map, from the twanging folk of “Twined & Twisted” and sprightly country of “Rain Dance” to the waltzing honky-tonk of “Keep the Bar Open” and the heartfelt gospel of Jim Reeves’ “This World is Not My Home,” which earned especially vocal approval from the crowd. But whether June was strumming her custom-made “baby” (a banjo/ukulele hybrid) for “Somebody to Love,” crooning through the R&B balladry of “The Hour” or philosophizing the slow blues of “Pushin’ Against a Stone,” June put her own stamp on every note. Once you hear “Goodnight Irene,” her show-closer, you’ll never want to hear it any other way.
This was one of those special first-time shows that will be talked about for years to come. We can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall on PBS.
Austin City Limits is pleased to announce that we will be streaming our taping with Valerie June live on May 28, 8pm CT/9pm ET. The taping will webcast in its entirety via our YouTube channel.
The daughter of a music promoter, Tennessee native Valerie June grew up exposed to gospel and soul music. She moved to Memphis in 2000 as part of the group Bella Sun; after the band ended, she began incorporating blues and Appalachian folk into her gospel-soaked sounds. Dubbing the blend “organic moonshine roots music,” she self-released three albums, including a collaboration with Old Crow Medicine Show, and appeared on the MTV online series $5 Cover. By 2011, she had attracted the attention of the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, who co-produced and co-wrote 2013’s acclaimed Pushin’ Against a Stone, which Spin hailed for its “poise and clarity of vision,” Blurt proclaimed was “an impressive calling card to the rest of the world” and Rolling Stone named one of the 50 Best Albums of 2013. Now she brings that vision to the Moody Theater for her first ACL taping.
The broadcast version of this show will air this fall on PBS as part of ACL’s 40th anniversary season. Join us for this live webcast of the Austin City Limits debut of Valerie June.
Mumford & Sons are This weekend’s encore presentation of Austin City Limits features a high-octane night of contemporary music’s best folk rock practitioners, including sets by British superstars Mumford & Sons and Celtic folk-punkers Flogging Molly.
The episode, which originally aired in October 2011, finds Mumford & Sons making their ACL debut and is a must-see for fans and a primer for those new to the band’s cathartic live shows. Blending acoustic instrumentation, vocal harmonies and a tireless work ethic, Mumford & Sons have earned an international reputation as one of the best live bands, winning over audiences with their masterful, melancholy voices and musical skills. Mumford & Sons’ inspired set features tracks from their career-making debut Sigh No More, and the blockbuster follow-up Babel. The energy on the night of the taping vibrated the walls at The Moody Theater, and it translates directly to the screen. The band perform fan favorites “The Cave” and “Roll Away Your Stone” and poignant ballads “Timshel” and “Awake My Soul.” A highlight is an early televised performance of “Lover of the Light,” previously unrecorded, and now featured on Babel.
“The first time this show aired, Mumford & Sons did not have the biggest-selling record in the world,” says ACL Executive Producer Terry Lickona. “But today they still capture the hearts and souls of young music fans better than anybody else around – and this amazing performance shows why. They do it the old-fashioned way, with authentic songs that speak to real life, and they play their asses off!”
photo by Scott Newton
Speaking of energy, Flogging Molly doesn’t disappoint in their ACL debut. The band storms the stage with tuneful melodies and puts on a magnificent show with their unique brand of Celtic folk/punk. Tune in for lively renditions of “Requiem For A Dying Song,” “Tobacco Island,” and “Devil’s Dance Floor.” Bandleader Dave King called their ACL taping “the most important live performance they’ve ever done.”
“A live Flogging Molly show is an experience as much as it is a show,” hints ACL’s Terry Lickona. “When you’re watching, crank up the volume and buckle up for the ride!”
