We’ve got great news for iPad toting ACL fans! Fresh new content is ready for viewing on our app, ACL Archive. Wilco, Alejandro Escovedo, Trombone Shorty, and John Legend & The Roots join an already impressive list of artists and episodes currently available. Each month, awesome new content including HD-quality videos, photos, interviews, and never-before-seen footage, becomes available to app subscribers, making ACL Archive a must-have for any music lover.
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 present 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 an electrifying 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.
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 Tumblr pages. Next week: the Dave Matthews Band.
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Encore: Allen Toussaint
At the risk of bragging, we’ve had a lot of legends on Austin City Limits: Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Loretta Lynn, Jerry Lee Lewis, B.B. King. This weekend we present songwriting legend Allen Toussaint. The veteran writer/musician has been the master of modern New Orleans music since the 50s, penning or producing hits for Ernie K-Doe (“Mother in Law”), Lee Dorsey (“Working in the Coal Mine”), Glen Campbell (“Southern Nights”), the Pointer Sisters (“Yes We Can Can”) and LaBelle (“Lady Marmalade”), among many, many others. He’s also cut a series of acclaimed solo records, from Life, Love & Faith and Southern Nights in the 1970s to The River in Reverse, his 2006 collaboration with Elvis Costello. Toussaint came to the ACL stage in support of his 2009 LP The Bright Mississippi, a showcase for both his love of jazz and his formidable piano chops. Tune in this weekend for an impeccable set of jazz standards, R&B chestnuts and possibly the best-dressed artist we’ve ever had in Studio 6A.
Go here for more details on this episode, and don’t forget to check in with our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages. Next week: Florence + the Machine and Lykke Li.
ACL fans need no introduction to Norah Jones – the eclectic singer/songwriter has graced our stage twice before. Her upcoming third taping on October 18, however, comes on the heels of her acclaimed album Little Broken Hearts. Not only is Hearts a classic break-up album, but it also comes with imaginative production and co-writing from the iconoclastic Brian Burton, AKA Danger Mouse, who has himself visited ACL as part of Gnarls Barkley. Combining Burton’s otherworldly textures with Jones’ raw, heart-on-sleeve writing produces what The Boston Globe called “a striking change-up” and The Philadelphia Inquirer deemed “her best album in ages.” Meanwhile NPR notes, “Always more versatile than most people think, Jones fits all of this smart material to perfection, marking her second decade as a star while making her sound cooler and more unflappably sophisticated than ever.” We’re proud to present an ACL veteran moving in new directions. We hope you can join us.
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Tim McGraw Enthralls in ACL Debut
“This is a really special night for us,” noted Tim McGraw a few songs into his debut ACL taping. It’s a sentiment echoed by both crowd and crew, as the country superstar blazed through a set of his distinctive brand of rockin’ country music. Opening with his recent country chart topper “Felt Good On My Lips,” McGraw easily placed the willing audience in his hip pocket, hopping off stage and shaking hands with the front row of the crowd. The adoring crowd roared.
McGraw previewed several songs from his upcoming, as-yet-untitled new album for eager fans. From the instantly catchy (and no doubt hitbound) anthem “Mexicoma” and the mid-tempo country pop tune “One of Those Nights” to the emotional ballads “Book of John” and “Friend of a Friend,” McGraw sang the fresh tuneage with as much conviction as with the songs everyone already knew, ensuring their place in his repertoire for years to come.
So you can imagine the groundswell of enthusiasm when McGraw did play some of his classics. The singer’s specialty is singalong anthems, after all, and whether the song was a call for personal empowerment (“Unbroken”), a burst of working class angst (“All I Want is a Life”) or a tribute to man-children everywhere (“A Real Good Man”), McGraw and audience melded into one excited – and exciting – voice. Even when he brought the proverbial lights down low with the regret-filled ballads “Everywhere” and “Red Rag Top,” the energy stayed level and the crowd was right there with him.
McGraw ended the main set with the emotional journey of his massive #1 single “Live Like You Were Dying” – a career-defining hit if there ever was one. But he brought the encore and the show to a close with the heavy riffs and hillbilly humor of his current hit “Truck Yeah,” the kind of lighthearted tune guaranteed to crack a smile on the most jaded face, and the kind of singalong anthem for which arena concerts are made. Viewers at home will get their chances to sing along as well when the episode airs this fall – we hope you tune in and join us!
The wide (wild?) world of indie rock has so many disparate roads to travel it’s dizzying. But the best indie rock artists, like the best musicians in any genre, have one thing in common: good songs. And on August 4’s encore you can see two of the best song-centric indie rock bands on Austin City Limits – The Head and the Heart and Gomez.
Seattle sextet The Head and the Heart exploded out of the Pacific Northwest with an eponymous debut that sold 10,000 copies as a self-released disk before being picked up by indie label giant Sub Pop. The group’s upbeat, harmony-rich folk pop has garnered a large, deeply dedicated fan base in a surprisingly short amount of time. Come hear why as the band plays fan favorites “Down in the Valley” and “Lost in My Mind,” among others.
U.K. quintet Gomez have fifteen years of experience behind them and show no signs of slowing down. The band’s eclectic mix of roots rock, pop, psychedelia, electronica and whatever else crosses the members’ radar has gained them a loyal worldwide audience of discerning music fans. Gomez’ seventh LP Whatever’s On Your Mind received the near-universal acclaim all their records earn, and the band shows why with performances of “I Will Take You There” and “Just As Lost As You,” as well as old favorites “Get Miles” and “In Our Gun.”
Want more details? Head over to the episode page for photos, setlists and biographical info. Don’t forget to visit – and visit often – our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages for tidbits on ACL past and present, or to sign up for our e-newsletter. Next week on Austin City Limits: Fleet Foxes and Joanna Newsom.