Austin City Limits will be taping a performance by Brandi Carlile on April 10th 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 noon on April 6th.
Winners will be chosen at random and a photo ID will be required to pickup tickets. 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. No cameras computers or recording devices allowed in venue.
Austin City Limits showcases modern roots rock with two American originals: indie favorites Band of Horses and acclaimed singer-songwriter Parker Millsap.
South Carolina indie-folk rockers Band of Horses made their ACL debut in 2010 and return to perform time-honed classics alongside new gems from their fifth studio album Why Are You Ok? The Charleston-based quintet, led by dynamic frontman Ben Bridwell, kick off the upbeat seven-song set with the classic, “Is There A Ghost” from their 2007 album Cease To Begin. The band strips down to an acoustic trio for the early career hit “Part One,” circling a single microphone to capture their lush three-part harmonies. New songs “Throw My Mess,” “Hag” and “In A Drawer,” showcase the band’s melodic range, and lead into the raucous set-closing anthem, fan favorite “The General Specific.”
Oklahoman singer-songwriter Parker Millsap has set the Americana world on fire with his songs, his voice and his impassioned live show. Raised in the Pentecostal church, Millsap is filled with a fire-and-brimstone fervor that fuels his gospel-tinged lyrics and gives way to Buddy Holly-esque rockabilly ravers. The 23-year-old rising star opens his ACL debut with the apocalyptic title track from his sophomore album The Very Last Day. Millsap’s “talent for bringing convincing, complex characters to life” (NPR) is evident in the set’s centerpiece, “Heaven Sent,” which has the singer taking on the role of a gay son searching for his preacher father’s acceptance. Millsap closes out the standout performance with a soaring, fiddle-accompanied take on the blues classic “You Gotta Move,” then concludes with a howling, impassioned performance of his own hard-hitting “Hades Pleads,” which gets the appreciative ACL audience on their feet for a well-deserved ovation.
photo by Scott Newton
“Their songs are at the heart of what makes both Band of Horses and Parker Millsap so special,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Band of Horses are at the top of their game, lyrically and melodically, and Parker Millsap’s songwriting is story-telling at its very best. This is a show you where you should turn off the lights and turn up the volume.”
Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Tune in next week for an encore episode from the one and only Cyndi Lauper.
The final installment of Season 1 of our new virtual reality series ACL: Backstage, starring Austin superstars Spoon, is out now. The ACL four-timers (that’s Seasons 28, 31, 36 and 40 for you trainspotters) and ACL Festival favorites have been a mainstay of our fair city’s music scene for a quarter of a century, and this episode illustrates why they’re one of today’s biggest live acts. ACL: Backstage offers viewers amazing, only-in-VR moments, taking fans behind the scenes for a conversation with Britt Daniel & co. and closer than front row seats to Spoon’s sold-out show at Austin’s legendary Stubb’s venue. Check it, and the entire 10-episode series, out here. Season 1 features a stellar slate of superstars straight from Austin City Limits’ Season 43, including Run the Jewels, Ed Sheeran, Father John Misty, Dan Auerbach, Zac Brown Band and more. Watch ACL: Backstage on YouTube, and the content is even more immersive when viewed in Daydream or Cardboard.
ACL: Backstage is presented by ACL and SubVRsive, an Emmy-nominated XR company based in Austin, TX that focuses on creating impactful 360 Video, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality experiences.
Austin City Limits presents a Season 42 highlight: an hour with the one and only Iggy Pop. The larger than life icon gives a king-sized performance in his first-ever ACL appearance, with a mix of classics and songs from his acclaimed 2016 release Post Pop Depression, his first career solo #1 album.
Bringing new songs to life alongside classics that bookend his storied career, Iggy is joined by the all-star team behind Post Pop Depression: Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme and Dean Fertita and the Arctic Monkeys’ Matt Helders, augmented for the stage with Queens’ Troy Van Leeuwen and indie-rock mainstay Matt Sweeney. Hurtling onstage to open the eleven-song set with “Lust For Life,” the godfather of punk bares his soul and torso in this memorable hour. Shirtless by the second song, the Detroit native performs selections from his first two solo albums, the late 1970s pair of collaborations with David Bowie, The Idiot and Lust for Life, including rarely performed gems “Some Weird Sin” and “China Girl.” A raucous “Funtime” features Josh Homme taking the vocal sung by co-writer Bowie on the original version. Iggy launches into new classics fitting perfectly into his solo catalog, featuring tight, punchy marvels that embellish his earlier work. Displaying his uniquely animated stage presence, the veteran rock ‘n’ roll warrior thrills with several forays deep into the crowd, saying “This is a pretty good job.”
“There’s never been another show quite like this one, and that’s saying a lot!” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Iggy is an ageless, timeless, human dynamo, and he took command of the stage, the cameras, the whole building. This show captures the essence of what makes Iggy Pop the godfather of punk rockers.”
photo by Scott Newton
Tune in this weekend for this episode, and, as always, check your local PBS listings for the broadcast time in your area. Go to the episode page for more info, and don’t forget to click over to our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter pages for more ACL info. Join us next week for another encore episode, starring Band of Horses and Parker Millsap.
The acclaimed documentary A Song For You: The Austin City Limits Story is now available to buy or rent online and across the country on Cable Video On-Demand!
Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Keith Maitland (Tower), A Song For You is a must-see for music fans everywhere. Featuring pivotal performances by everyone from Willie Nelson and Beck to Ray Charles and Radiohead, this is the ultimate backstage pass to the longest-running music show in television history, recounting Austin City Limits’ 40-year evolution from local outlaw-country showcase to a required stopping point for superstars, cult bands, and up-and-comers from just about every corner of popular music. The film gives an inside look at the people who built the series into the institution it is today and features interviews with many of the music innovators and legends who have made history on the storied stage. Set against the colorful backdrop of Austin, Texas, A Song for You provides a candid look at central moments in the program’s four decades, including the challenges and highlights in the evolution of the Peabody Award-winning series.
After a world premiere at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival, A Song for You has been a favorite on the festival circuit, earning widespread critical acclaim, with Variety hailing, “There is, quite simply, nothing else like Austin City Limits on American broadcast television right now.” Paste magazine raves, “There’s no question the show has a place in history,” with Rolling Stone citing the film’s “…concert footage guaranteed to make you salivate.”
Join Austin City Limits and KLRU-TV, Austin PBS at the 7th Annual Bloody Mary Morning during SXSW on Thursday, March 15 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m in the GSDM courtyard.
In keeping with the Austin City Limits tradition of bringing audiences “Great Music. No Limits,” this year’s party includes some of music’s most exciting up-and-coming artists: Austin roots rocker Shakey Graves, Nashville honky-tonker Joshua Hedley, Michigan folk rockers the Accidentals, Austin soul powerhouse Tameca Jones, Waco’s Red Dirt country rocker Wade Bowen, Canadian soul troubadour AHI and Nashville country artist Rayland Baxter.
Even better, you can listen to music while enjoying free (while supplies last!) bloody marys from Tito’s Vodka, craft beverages from Celis Brewery and Austin Eastciders courtesy of Brown Distributing, and breakfast tacos from Tacodeli. Bloody Mary Morning is brought to you by our friends AXS, NetApp and YETI. So make it a Bloody Mary Morning like Willie would want you to!
You don’t need to be a SXSW badgeholder to attend – Bloody Mary Morning is free and open to the public. Wear your ACL swag for a chance to win a YETI Rambler.You can RSVP here. Please join us!