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Encore Broadcast News

Encore: Florence + the Machine and Lykke Li

Austin City Limits made its name by showcasing the best American music, but over the past several years we’ve hardly limited ourselves to North American borders. This Saturday you can see some of the best music coming out of Europe, as we encore our fantastic episode featuring Florence + the Machine and Lykke Li.

Exploding out of the U.K., Florence + the Machine bring their unique vision of rock – incorporating everything from gutsy vocals to ethereal harp to raging guitars – to our stage for a blazing show. Twin anthems “Dog Days Are Over” and “What the Water Gave to Me” raise the roof as Florence Welch twirls across the stage like a beat-besotted ballerina. Florence fans know the score – this band is a force of nature.

The music of Lykke Li is more difficult to pin down, but that makes her work all the more enticing. The Swedish chanteuse (ACL’s first Scandinavian artist) deftly mixes elements of girl group pop, steamy soul and stately torch song for an otherworldly sound all her own. “Get Some,” “I Follow Rivers” and the gorgeous “Sadness is a Blessing” highlight this heavenly half-hour – tune in to hear Lykke Li’s distinctive sonic signature for yourself.

photo by Scott Newton

It’s a night of refreshingly unique indie rock this Saturday – check the episode page for more goodies, and your local listings for exact airtimes. Keep up with ACL on Facebook,Twitter and our newsletter. Next week: Coldplay.

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News Taping Recap

The Lumineers and Shovels & Rope: amazing

Last night we were thrilled to welcome a pair of bands that reflect two sides of the Americana coin: Shovels & Rope, with their DIY gritty, lo-fi take on countrified rock & roll, and The Lumineers, who offered their polished and elegant folk rock sound. The two bands couldn’t sound more different, but both had two important things in common: a deep understanding of American musical traditions and a knack for great songwriting.

Few bands have as much fun onstage than Shovels & Rope – the joy Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent get from playing together is palpable. “Man you can tell the way they look at each other,” commented Roger Hayhurst. on YouTube,“A lot of passion in this.” The Charleston, S.C. duo charged every song with the giddy energy of musicians that looooove being onstage. Opening with the Southern travelogue “Birmingham,” Hearst and Trent joyfully hopped from wild-eyed folk (“Bad Luck”) to chicken-pickin’ C&W (“Kemba’s Got the Cabbage Moth Blues”) to balls-out rock & roll (“O’Be Joyful”), switching off between guitar and drums along the way. Hearst wailed her way soulfully through the menacing folk rocker “Hollowpoint Blues” as easily as the duo rocked out gospel style on the blazing “Tell the Truth.” As Chistranger noted during our live stream of this show, “Every S&R song I hear I think, Oh! This one! This one’s my favorite! But then the next one comes on and I start all over again from the beginning.” After setting the place on fire with the rock ‘n’ vinyl celebration “Hail Hail,” the band left the stage to a standing ovation, having won a ton of new fans. “Fantastic!!” enthused Suzanne Day on the YouTube chat. “The BEST new music I have heard in such a long time!!!”

After such a barn-burning performance, The Lumineers had to rise to the occasion, and darned if they didn’t do it. Like S&R, the Denver quintet takes American roots music and strains it through its own distinctive filter; also like the Charleston duo, The Lumineers take the stage as if its their home. From the stripped-down folk rocker “Flowers in Your Hair” and the bluesy honkytonker “Ain’t Nobody’s Problem” to the acoustic pop tune “ Dead Sea” and the old-fashioned folk song “Charlie Boy,” the band easily engaged a crowd primed for their indie folk sound. Even a new song, tentatively titled “Duet” as leader Wesley Schulz and cellist Neyla Pekarek share the vocals, captivated the fans immediately. (“Call 911,” posted fan Matt Stigal, on YouTube “cause Neyla has officially stolen my heart.”) The group’s huge hit single “Ho Hey” arrived early in the set, which seemed surprising at first, but given the anthems that dominated the second half of the show, understandable: “Slow It Down,” “Big Parade” and especially “Stubborn Love” encouraged massive sing-a-longs. For the encore, the group ventured into the audience for an unamplified take on “Darlene,” complete with xylophone solo, while an audience member held up the xylophone. Closing the show with a pair of unexpected covers – Talking Heads’ lovely “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” and the Violent Femmes’ raucous “American Music” – The Lumineers left the ACL stage in a state of bliss. “This is ‘genuine’ music,” declared fan Archangel Micael on YouTube.

“This entire concert is amazing,” proclaimed catperson74. “I don’t think I can wait until fall to watch again.” We can’t wait for you all to see it, either, but, alas, we’ll all have to be patient. Trust us, folks – the episode featuring these fantastic performances will be well worth the wait.

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Encore Broadcast News

Encore: John Legend & the Roots

Get ready for an exciting performance on this week’s Austin City Limits encore episode that includes two of the biggest names in R&B, soul, and hip hop:  John Legend and The Roots.

Legend and The Roots perform most of the songs off of their 2010 collaborative album, Wake Up! Inspired by the 2008 Presidential election, Wake Up! features a collection of cover songs from the 60s and ‘70s that were originally written or performed by some of the most influential and timeless artists of the era, such as Donny Hathaway, Eugene McDaniels, Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, and many others. Legend and The Roots both felt that something was needed in the stagnant atmosphere and lack of depth in music’s current state and that this album would deliver a sense of urgency and convey the change that was going on in the world at the time. Given the album’s themes/background, this is an episode that still resonates.

A few breakthrough moments in the episode include when Legend breaks away from Wake Up! once to perform “Ordinary People,” arguably his most popular hit from his 2004 debut album Get Lifted. Following that, Legend introduces the song “I Can’t Write Left-Handed,” which he explains was written by Bill Withers during the Vietnam War. Withers dedicated it to a soldier he met who was shot in his right arm and forced to learn to use his left hand to write. The powerful and soulful ballad is heightened with ?ueslove’s brilliant and passionate drumming.

Check your local listings for showtimes to see this special episode and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or sign up for our newsletter to keep up with updates on tapings and airings. Next week: Florence + the Machine and Lykke Li.

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News Taping Recap

Grizzly Bear turns in stellar set

Few indie rock acts can boast the acclaim that Grizzly Bear has garnered in its near-decade of existence, and after tonight’s show, it’s easy to hear why. With its sweeping psychedelic indie rock in full effect, the band turned in a stellar set as its debut ACL taping.

Concentrating solely on its most recent records Shields and Veckatimest, the Brooklyn quintet essayed what fan Hallie Sianni on Facebook described as a “great setlist – some of their best.” In the sweeping art rock of “Cheerleader,” “Yet Again” and “Half Gate” and the shuffling psych pop of “Ready Able,” “Sleeping Ute” and “A Simple Answer,” the band showed off a fetching shimmer as much as an ambitious craft. Speaking of ambition, this is not a band to work one groove into the ground – the band was equally as comfortable with the minimalist ballad “Foreground” (featuring bassist Chris Taylor on bass clarinet) and the jaunty piano pop of “Two Weeks” as it was the counterpoint vocal-heavy “While You Wait For Others” and the atmospheric grooves of “What’s Wrong.” Closing the main set with the stunning, Smile-like orchestral epic “Sun in Your Eyes,” Grizzly Bear earned every bit of its critical praise.

“Sun in Your Eyes” was a hard act to follow, but the band did it with an even more enchanting version of “Sleeping Ute” and a surprise (to both us and the crowd): “Knife,” from the group’s breakthrough Yellow House and one of its best-known tunes. Closing out with the lovely acoustic ballad “All We Ask,” Grizzly Bear brought the evening to a close not with a bang, but a wistful sigh. A fine show, and we can’t wait for you to see it in its final form later this year.

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News

Ticket Giveaway: Lumineers, Shovels & Rope 4/16

*Giveaway is now over

Austin City Limits will be taping a performance by The Lumineers and Shovels & Rope on Tuesday, April 16th, 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 Wednesday, April 10th.

Passes are not transferable and cannot be sold. Standing may be required.

No photography, recording or cell phone use in the studio.

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Encore Broadcast News

Encore: Bon Iver

In a few short years, the world has watched Bon Iver’s progression from the “bare boned” yet profound debut For Emma, Forever Ago in 2008, to the lush self-titled LP. Justin Vernon has come a long way from writing in total seclusion in a cabin in the mountains to collaborating with artists such as Kanye West and winning Grammys. When the group recorded this episode in April 2012, we were eager to see how this progression and critical acclaim would manifest in the performance. The result is a passionate, meticulously layered display of talent and musical tranquility.

In this episode, Bon Iver draws mostly from the eponymous 2011 album, starting with the opening track, “Perth,” and seamlessly leading into the next tune, “Minnesota, WI.” From there we get “Brackett, WI,” a beautifully-written track that appeared on the 2009 Dark Was the Night compilation album that raised funds and awareness about HIV and AIDS. Audience favorites included a more fleshed-out version of “Blood Bank,” complete with various horns, and of course the hits from For Emma, “Skinny Love” and “For Emma.”

Go here for more information on this episode, and heck here to see where/when you can catch it. Be sure to follow our Facebook and Twitter pages for the latest ACL update, and subscribe to our newsletter for even more info. Next week: John Legend and the Roots.