Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce we will stream performances by Willie Nelson & Family and Asleep at the Wheel live from Austin City Limits’ 50th Birthday Bash on October 17, 2024.
The worldwide livestream will be available on aclturns50.com and Austin City Limits TV’s YouTube channel beginning at 7pm CT on Thursday, October 17, 2024 – the 50th anniversary to the day that Willie Nelson taped the pilot taping of Austin City Limits. After a record eighteen ACL appearances, Willie Nelson will return for an outdoor celebration on the lawn of Austin’s Long Center, performing in front of the city skyline that has inspired the show’s trademark set for decades. Also performing are longtime ACL favorites Asleep at the Wheel, who not only appeared in the very first episode of ACL’s first regular season in 1976, but were featured in ten more episodes over the next five decades. Both artists are members of the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. The stream will only be available live, and performance highlights will air on PBS and stream on the PBS App in 2025. The live stream is presented by the Austin City Limits 50th Anniversary sponsors: Central Texas Chevy Dealers, Tito’s and Visit Austin.
ACL is proud to partner with Armadillo World Headquarters (AWHQ), which recently relaunched as a purpose-driven brand supporting Austin artists, to serve as the official Watch Party partner for the event. AWHQ will livestream the show at multiple venues across the city, including the newly opened Armadillo Forever space at the South Congress Hotel, Pershing and Deep Eddy Cabaret. As a legendary venue in Austin’s music history, Armadillo World Headquarters was instrumental in establishing the city’s reputation as a live music hub and was a home to hundreds of performers, including Willie Nelson and Austin’s own Asleep at the Wheel, who closed out the venue’s final show December 31, 1980. More details on Watch Parties and how to attend can be found here.
On the eve of Weekend 1 of Austin City Limits Music Festival, Chris Stapleton returned to the Austin City Limits stage for the first time since his debut in 2018 as part of Season 43. Also headlining both Fridays of ACL Festival, Stapleton’s precursor performance at The Moody Theater made for an intimate evening that set it apart from the festival weekend that would ensue.
Joined by wife Morgane Stapleton and a talented six-piece backing band (including Mickey Raphael, member of Willie Nelson’s Family Band since 1973), Stapleton powered through career highlights including “White Horse,” “You Should Probably Leave,” “Cold,” and “Tennessee Whiskey” to cap the evening.
Chris Stapleton performs on Austin City Limits, October 3, 2024. Photos by Scott Newton.
Listen to the set list from the Austin City Limits taping below:
UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed. Austin City Limits will tape a performance by TheAvett Brothers on Sunday, October 13th 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.
Since the start of their massive US tour of nearly 50 dates this spring, summer and fall, The Avett Brothers have remained tireless and gleefully unpredictable in their music, live set and beyond. They released The Avett Brothers, their first new album in five years, while introducing a band of muppet-like puppet creatures called “The Avetts,” which they brought to life alongside the team at Jim Henson’s company. They also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, CBS Saturday Morning and NPR’s All Things Considered, and announced that their musical Swept Away will soon open at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre, with tickets on-sale now and performances beginning October 29th.
On the heels of playing Forest Hills Stadium in NYC, and LA’s SoFi Stadium with Luke Combs, The Avett Brothers are on the road for dozens of more shows across the country from now through November. Find the list of upcoming dates below and tickets at theavettbrothers.com/tour, featuring support from Melissa Etheridge, G. Love & Special Sauce, Trampled by Turtles, Sammy Rae & The Friends, Houndmouth and Jamestown Revival.
Austin, TX—October 4, 2024—As Austin City Limits (ACL) celebrates its Season 50, the program is proud to spotlight a pair of acclaimed Austin acts for the occasion. Four-time Grammy Award winner Gary Clark Jr. performs highlights from his powerful LP JPEG RAW and eight-time Grammy-nominated Black Pumas sparkle with selections from their Chronicles of a Diamond in a thrilling hour of next-generation rock and soul. The new episode premieres Saturday, October 5 @8pm ET/7pm CT. 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. 2024 marks the 50th Anniversary of the revered music institution, which 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.
Ever since Austin City Limits taped its pilot episode in 1974 (featuring the one and only Willie Nelson), a hallmark of the series has always been the strong connection between performer and audience. This week’s installment highlights that relationship as a pair of sensational live acts demonstrate the communal experience with concertgoers and viewers. Austin hometown six-string hero Gary Clark Jr., who made his ACL debut in 2013, has often mentioned how, as a kid, he watched his heroes (like Stevie Ray Vaughan), on old episodes of the series. Clark Jr. now returns for his fourth appearance with selections from his latest studio album, JPEG RAW. The record signals the advent of an expansive sonic era in his musical journey, and finds the revered axeman exploring new sounds and textures from West Africa to the Mississippi Delta, classic ‘70s funk and soul, ‘90s R&B and elements of jazz and hip-hop. Clark Jr. opens the magnetic set with the powerful call to action “Maktub,” singing the urgent lyrics “We gotta move…time for a new revolution,” accompanied by his blazing guitar. The standout “What About The Children,” an album duet with Stevie Wonder, is both a funk stunner as Clark Jr. flexes his falsetto, and a family affair, as he is joined by his three sisters on celestial backing vocals. The epic set-closer “Habits,” a nine-minute opus, is a showcase for his honest, open-hearted songwriting, elevated by a passionate guitar solo for an electrifying close.
Gary Clark Jr. on Austin City Limits, 2024. Photo by Scott Newton.Black Pumas on Austin City Limits, 2024. Photo by Scott Newton.
Black Pumas return to the ACL stage for their second appearance with highlights from their acclaimed sophomore release Chronicles of a Diamond. The psychedelic soul act, led by vocalist Eric Burton and guitarist Adrian Quesada, and an ace six-piece band, are known for their transcendent live shows which Burton refers to as “electric church.” Opening with the 2024 Grammy-nominated “More Than A Love Song,” a blissed-out marvel enhanced by their backing singers sublime vocals, Burton invites the rapt crowd to sing-along on the soaring “We’ll fly together” refrain. Pumas reach back to their star-making 2019 debut for the breakout hit “Colors,” a soulful anthem that spoke to fans across the globe, pairing it with the chorus of the soul classic “You’re All I Need to Get By.” Burton contemplates the romance of rock music while pointing out the perils on the hypnotic “Rock and Roll,” as Quesada’s guitar wails, for a spellbinding close.
“Beyond being the ‘Live Music Capital of the World,’ Austin has long been a launchpad for fresh, new music that has gone on to national acclaim, world stages, and many Grammy awards,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Gary took the guitar to new heights with his unique stylings, and Black Pumas fused a myriad of sounds, styles and genres into a powerhouse live show.”
Gary Clark Jr. setlist:
Maktub
This Is Who We Are
What About the Children
Habits
Black Pumas setlist:
More Than A Love Song
Ice Cream (Pay Phone)
Colors/You’re All I Need to Get By
Rock and Roll
Season 50 Broadcast Line-Up (second half of season to be announced separately):
September 28 – Kacey Musgraves
October 5 – Gary Clark Jr. | Black Pumas
October 12 – Maggie Rogers | Gracie Abrams
October 19 – Jacob Collier | Nickel Creek
October 26 – Brittany Howard
November 2 – Jelly Roll | The War And Treaty
November 9 – Chris Stapleton
November 16 – Juanes
2024 marks the 50th Anniversary of Austin City Limits, which taped its debut pilot episode with Willie Nelson on October 17, 1974; the pioneering series then premiered on PBS in 1975. That now legendary debut became the cornerstone for 50 years of groundbreaking, award-winning music television. ACL is proud to announce that Willie Nelson will return on the 50th anniversary of the pilot taping to commemorate Austin City Limits’ remarkable half-century milestone with a Texas-sized outdoor concert on October 17, 2024, at Austin’s Long Center. The performance will be taped; musical highlights will air as a special hourlong broadcast of Austin City Limits to air in early 2025 as a season highlight of the program’s golden anniversary Season 50.
Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding upcoming Season 50 tapings, live streams 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.
UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed. Austin City Limits will tape a performance by Norah Jones on Thursday, October 10th 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.
9-time GRAMMY winning singer, songwriter, and pianist Norah Jones has released her ninth solo studio albumVisions, a collaboration with producer and multi-instrumentalist Leon Michels, as well as the official video for the song “Paradise” directed by Joelle Grace Taylor which celebrates the rollercoaster of life. Visions is a vibrant and joyful 12-song set that is the yang to the yin that was Pick Me Up Off The Floor, Jones’ last album of new original songs which was released early in the pandemic lockdown of 2020 and foreshadowed many of the dark emotions of that period.
Norah Jones first emerged on the world stage with the 2002 release of Come Away With Me, her self-described “moody little record” that introduced a singular new voice and grew into a global phenomenon, sweeping the 2003 GRAMMY Awards including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. Since then, Jones has become a nine-time GRAMMY-winner, sold 53 million albums, and her songs have been streamed 11 billion times worldwide. She has released a series of critically acclaimed and commercially successful solo albums—Feels Like Home (2004), Not Too Late (2007), The Fall (2009), Little Broken Hearts (2012), Day Breaks (2016), Pick Me Up Off The Floor (2020), the live album ‘Til We Meet Again (2021), her holiday album I Dream Of Christmas (2021), and Visions (2024)—as well as albums with her collective bands The Little Willies, El Madmo, and Puss N Boots featuring Sasha Dobson and Catherine Popper. The 2010 compilation …Featuring Norah Jones showcased her incredible versatility by collecting her collaborations with artists as diverse as Willie Nelson, Foo Fighters, Outkast, and Herbie Hancock. In 2022, Jones launched her podcastNorah Jones Is Playing Along which features candid conversations and impromptu musical collaborations with some of her favorite musicians.
Kris Kristofferson – singer, actor, author, activist, United States army captain, helicopter pilot, boxer, football player, Rhodes Scholar, and, most importantly, one of the greatest songwriters to ever pick a guitar – died peacefully on Sept. 28, 2024 at the age of 88. He appeared on Austin City Limits four times – as a headliner in Seasons 7 and 35, as part of a songwriters special with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Billie Joe Shaver, and Kimmie Rhodes in Season 22, and as a special guest performer on Austin City Limits Celebrates 40 Years. He was inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2016 by Rodney Crowell with a musical salute by his longtime friend Willie Nelson.
It’s nearly impossible to adequately express the impact of the man’s work on American popular culture. Admired by legends like Bob Dylan, John Prine, and Elvis Costello, the Brownsville native almost single handedly evolved country music beyond its roots and into the modern world. Though he carried a deep respect for the music’s traditions, he also injected the form with fresh ideas, incorporating the changes in American culture and life into his work, especially through his brilliantly composed lyrics. It may seem strange now, but a song like “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” – raw, unsentimental, but written like the student of William Blake he was – was considered too shocking to be on country radio in 1969. That didn’t stop Ray Stevens and Johnny Cash from covering it, the latter making it a number one hit on the country charts and launching Kristofferson’s career into the heavens.
Kristofferson spent a good chunk of his life on a different kind of stage, acting in a wide range of films like A Star is Born, Heaven’s Gate, Lone Star, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Cisco Pike, Semi-Tough, Songwriter (with his longtime friend Willie Nelson), and the Blade trilogy. He also formed the band the Highwaymen with Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash – if ever there was a band that truly earned the title “supergroup,” it was that one.
Kris Kristofferson on Austin City Limits, 2010. Photo by Scott Newton.
And of course he recorded bestselling albums of his own, earning hits under his own name with “Loving You is Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)” and “Why Me,” and scoring plenty of hits sung by others, including Ray Price (“For the Good Times”), Sammi Smith (“Help Me Make It Through the Night”), Jerry Lee Lewis (“Once More With Feeling”), Faron Young (“Your Time’s Comin’”), Roger Miller (“Me and Bobby McGee”), and Janis Joplin (also “Me and Bobby McGee”). That’s merely the tip of the iceberg of classics from Kristofferson’s pen – let’s not forget “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33,” “The Silver Tongued Devil and I,” “Border Lord,” “Chase the Feeling” (which made an appearance on the ACL stage in the hands of Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell), “Casey’s Last Ride,” “Best of All Possible Worlds,” “Closer to the Bone,” “Nobody Loves Anybody Anymore,” “Blame It On the Stones,” and “A Moment of Forever,” among many, many others. It’s a long list, and one most songwriters would envy.
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose” – that indelible line from “Me and Bobby McGee” couldn’t have come from anyone else. It’s probably the reason why that song has been covered so often – who doesn’t want to be able to sing the line at least once, pretending you wrote it? Kristofferson’s songs connect across genres and generations, and will be his ultimate legacy. He wrote this in Esquire in 1999: “Tell the truth. Sing with passion. Work with laughter. Love with heart. ‘Cause that’s all that matters in the end.” No wonder his work is and will continue to be respected, beloved, and cherished.
From the bottom of the hearts of everyone at Austin City Limits, thank you, Kris Kristofferson, for the music, the memories, and the magic.
Kris Kristofferson on Austin City Limits Celebrates 40 Years, 2014. Photo by Scott Newton.
