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Featured News Taping Announcement

New tapings: Dawes and fun.

Summer may be pounding Austin with triple-degree temperatures, but we’re still excited to have new ACL tapings to announce. First up is Dawes on August 25. Currently touring in support of their recently released third album, the acclaimed Stories Don’t End, Dawes are evolving into one of America’s most beloved young bands working today. Having already toured with the likes of Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne and Mumford & Sons, among others, and gracing the stages of the country’s most prestigious festivals, Dawes’ appeal crosses all age barriers and has no boundaries. To make Stories Don’t End, the band traveled to North Carolina and worked with producer Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Kings of Leon, Norah Jones), resulting in their most diverse and accomplished record yet. Both Relix and American Songwriterput the band on their recent covers and Rolling Stone called the album “quietly gripping,” and “deceptively gleaming.” Paste noted that it’s full of “their most intricate music to date, full of colorful detours and surprising instrumental flavors” and the NY Daily News declared that it “both recalls a classic era and speaks to any.”

photo by Lindsey Byrnes

On Sept. 13 we welcome fun. The New York trio had a whirlwind year last year, releasing an inescapable brace of singles, the success of which contrasts with the band’s humble beginnings. Singer Nate Ruess formed fun. after the demise of his previous band, the well-regarded but commercially unsuccessful The Format, inviting Andrew Dost of Anathallo and Jack Antonoff of Steel Train to join him. Aim & Ignite, fun.’s first LP, received critical nods, but it was their second album that put the band over the top. Some Nights boasts the massive hits “Some Nights,” “Carry On” and the monster “We Are Young,” singalongs that ably demonstrate what The New York Times called “grandiose pop tunes with complex structures, soaring hooks, and pensive verses.”  The group also won its first Grammys, for Best New Artist and Song of the Year for “We Are Young,” earlier this year.

Two great artists, two great tapings – we hope you can join us.

 

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Encore Broadcast Featured News

Encore: Miranda Lambert and Jeff Bridges

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 Wheels,”  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 Tumblr to keep up with updates on tapings and airings. Next week: Tim McGraw.

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News Taping Recap

Emeli Sandé’s version of events at ACL

Far more than just the latest British import, Emeli Sandé reiterated why she’s a rising star during her first Austin City Limits taping. The Scottish singer/songwriter has already conquered her native soil with a brace of hit singles and her debut album Our Version of Events. Given her strong songs, ability to connect immediately with a crowd and, of course, her fabulous voice, it quickly became clear why the States are swiftly falling under her spell.

Sitting at the piano after taking the stage, Sandé launched into one of her hits – the dramatic, bitter ballad “Daddy.” The song’s brooding tone was a bit of a feint, however – once she stood up and took her mic in hand, Sandé dispelled the clouds with a brace of upbeat anthems. “This song is all about good intentions,” she remarked by way of preface to her huge U.K. single “Heaven, “and I hope that you woke up with them this morning.” The gospel-tinged “Free” – another British hit, with electronic band Rudimental – and the quiet, piano-and-strings ballad “Clown” continued her themes of empowerment. A reggae beat wove through the romantic “Where I Sleep,” which also became the first song to include call and response with the crowd. Indeed, audience participation is clearly a must for Sandé – she engaged the house to clap along with “Breaking the Law” and made the people her backing choir on the defiant declaration “My Kind of Love.” Only the sparse heartbreak ballad “Suitcase” – performed almost solely by Sandé and her bass player – contrasted with her messages of honesty, inclusion and a positive attitude. It was a contrast the audience obviously didn’t mind, given the enthusiastic reception it gave the song.

Sandé closed the main set with her biggest anthems yet, all originally collaborations. A number one U.K. hit with British producer/rapper Professor Green, “Read All About It” started as a piano ballad, before the rest of the instruments crashed in to make it a real lighter-waver. She closed with her two collaborations with producer Naughty Boy: the new single “Lifted,” which folded in elements of electrobeat dance and segued directly into the British top 10er “Wonder,” which rode an Afrobeat groove and the chorus “We are full of wonder” into the biggest call-and-response with the audience yet. By the end of the performance, the crowd had joined Sandé and her band in making the “W” sign with their hands – a true sign of her ability to remind us that we’re all in this world together.

Of course, it wasn’t truly over – Sandé and her band came back to encore “Next to Me,” her platinum Stateside single that had the audience on their feet and in the palm of her hand before it was halfway over. It was a stunning end to a stunning set. We’re eager for everybody to see it when this episode airs in the fall. Stay tuned.

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Encore Broadcast Featured News

Encore: Steve Miller Band and Preservation Hall Jazz Band

We love to present new music and show off current artists hitting their prime. But we’re happy to honor the veterans and the lifers – the folks whose work has stood the test of time. In that light, we present Steve Miller Band and Preservation Hall Jazz Band on the ACL stage this weekend.

Steve Miller Band need no introduction – lauded rock guitarist Steve Miller and his various partners-in-crime have been knocking around since the late 60s, leaving a string of indelible hits in their wake. Remember “Abracadabra?” “Fly Like An Eagle?” “Space Cowboy?” Of course you do, and you’ll hear them all on Saturday in front of an enthusiastic crowd in what was the very first taping of ACL at the Moody Theater.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band has been around even longer than Miller – the group’s genesis coincides with the founding of the Hall itself back in 1961, and the style of New Orleans jazz the band plays goes back even further than that. History lives on in PHJB’s performances. But don’t think that means that the group is preserved in amber. Joining the band onstage are Jim James from My Morning Jacket, James Petralli from White Denim and the ever-elegant Del McCoury Band to add their inimitable contemporary mojo. Once you hear “St. James Infirmary” sung by a high-voiced indie rock front dude, you’ll realize it’s what you’ve always wanted.

photo by Scott Newton

Tune in this Saturday for your classic rock ‘n’ jazz fix – as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Toggle over to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL goodies. Next week: Miranda Lambert and Jeff Bridges.

 

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News

Black Angels: August 28

Named in tribute to the Velvet Underground number “The Black Angel’s Death Song,” Austin’s Black Angels found themselves the spearhead of a new psychedelic revival soon after its formation in 2004. More

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News

Dawes: August 25

Dawes on August 25. Currently touring in support of their recently released third album, the acclaimed Stories Don’t End, Dawes are evolving into one of America’s most beloved young bands working today. Having already toured with the likes of Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne and Mumford & Sons, …. more