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News Taping Recap

Taping Recap: Wynonna

September 3, 2024 – Country superstar Wynonna returned to the Austin City Limits stage Tuesday evening for the first time since her episode in 1997 for Season 22. “If you’re here for the first time, it’s about freakin’ time,” joked Wynonna to the exuberant studio audience. Bringing her vivacious showmanship and flair for onstage glam with her, Wynonna took the stage in a bejeweled velvet suit, with her unmistakable mane of perfectly coiffed red hair. Her career-spanning hour included classic chart-toppers from her legendary solo career, as well deeply personal new material, and tried-and-true hits from The Judds catalog. 

Wynonna kicked the hour off with “What It Takes” and “I Saw The Light,” from her 1992 self-titled solo debut. Pausing between songs to tell stories and check in with the audience, it was clear the intimate studio setting offered a place where Wynonna’s humility and care for her fanbase could shine. “I have a fan who’s been with me since 1984. She’s been to 47 states. In country music, we stick with one another,” said the singer/songwriter. 

“I’ve sung a lot of songs about love,” said Wynonna ahead of “Cry Myself To Sleep” from 1984 album Wynonna & Naomi. “This isn’t one of them. I’d like to dedicate this to my first ex-husband,” she continued to the cheering crowd. 

She then gave a raw and heartfelt account of personal hardships she’s endured over the last two years, including the loss of her mother and second half of The Judds.“I thought I would die of a broken heart, but instead I went on tour,” said Wynonna, describing the healing power of music and the unyielding support of her fans. She went on to introduce “It’s All Downhill From Ashland,” and “Broken And Blessed,” written alongside husband and drummer Cactus Moser, and never before performed live. Though candid with the audience about being nervous to perform them, she delivered the two new songs beautifully to an enraptured audience, people standing from their seats after each song in two impassioned standing ovations. Wynonna bowed, taking in the love from the audience, visibly moved. 

The second half of the hour was an electric joyride through some of the greatest hits from The Judds and Wynonna’s solo careers, including “Tell Me Why,” “Grandpa,” Why Not Me,” and, to close out the set, “No One Else on Earth.” By the end of the night, the studio audience was on their feet yet again giving the country legend standing ovation after standing ovation. You can catch Wynonna’s Austin City Limits episode when it airs on PBS later this year as part of our anniversary Season 50.

Wynonna performs on Austin City Limits, September 3, 2024. Photos by Scott Newton.

Listen to the full set list from the Austin City Limits taping below:

BAND CREDITS:

Wynonna Judd – Lead Vocals, Guitar

Cactus Moser – Drums, BV

Dow Tomlin – Bass

Justin Weaver – Guitar, BV

Aaron Currie – Guitar

KC Martin – Keys, Organ 

Josh Shilling – Keys, Organ, Accordion, BV

Jay Carlile – BV, Percussion 

Matt Combs – Fiddle 

Carlos Sosa – Sax

Fernando Castillo – Trumpet 

Raul Vallejo – Trombone

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News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Vampire Weekend

Six years is a long time in popular music. For Vampire Weekend, that means six years since the band’s last album and six since the last time they were on Austin City Limits. But the success of their fourth album Father of the Bride – which is also their third #1 on the Billboard album chart – proves that six years is nothing to a fanbase as loyal and enthusiastic as theirs. To say the crowd was excited for Vampire Weekend’s return – which we live streamed around the world – is an understatement. 

The audience yelled their appreciation loudly as the seven-piece band took the stage with the double drummer groove of “Sympathy,” from Bride. The group then dipped into their landmark Modern Vampires of the City, for the jangly “Unbelievers.” A cheer went up at the opening, African-tinged chords of “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” a canny update of American worldbeat experiments, followed by the eight-and-a-half minute “Stoneflower,” a more jamming multi sectional version of the new record’s “Sunflower” highlighted by dual guitar action and a dizzying solo from axe person Brian Roberts. If dual guitars are good, triple are better, as leader Ezra Koenig, bassist Chris Balo and Roberts harmonized the intro to the Afrobeat-loving “White Sky.” Bride’s “Bambina” followed, working a delightful pop atmosphere all VW’s own. That led into another epic tour-de-force, as “2021” went from ethereal ballad to bombastic lighter-waver, all of it laced with Koenig’s subtle talk box. The crowd loved it. 

Something lighter was clearly required, and the sweet psych pop of “Step” provided it. “My Mistake” got even quieter, its strain of sixties pop melody made all the more acute by its demand for close attention. Breath sufficiently caught, the band launched into “New Dorp New York,” Koenig’s collaboration with EDM producer SBTRKT, transformed into a Vampire Weekend funk rock epic. “This Life” took the band back to jangle pop, but Koenig’s jones for catchy melody really flowered on the masterful “Harmony Hall,” a clear audience favorite. VW followed that triumph with the radio hit “Diane Young,” its original faux-rockabilly stylings replaced by more forthright rock & roll. The group revisited second LP Contra for the spiky “Cousins,” but that was just a warm-up for “A-Punk,” the band’s breakthrough tune which brought the crowd to its feet to sing along. 

After that breathless five-song rush, it was time for another ballad, and the group obliged with the lovely “Hannah Hunt.” VW ended the main set with “Jerusalem, New York, Berlin,” which started slowly and gently, before building up into a drum-driven epic. The audience went wild. Of course, the band came back, bearing a surprising and faithful cover of Crowded House’s guitar pop standard “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” Following retakes of “2021” and “This Life” (which their fans didn’t mind at all), Vampire Weekend ended the show with the power popping “Walcott,” a fan favorite given a turbocharged reading here. It was an excellent show, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall on your local PBS station.

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Taping Recap

Taping Recap: The War And Treaty

The War And Treaty perform on Austin City Limits

Backed by an incredible seven-piece band, Nashville-based husband and wife duo Michael and Tanya Trotter, AKA The War And Treaty, dazzled Austin City Limits last week for a second time. Their first performance on ACL was during the pandemic, so the Grammy-nominated duo unfortunately taped their debut episode to a limited audience. This time around, the dynamic pair took the stage to a high-energy, captivated live audience who hung on their every lyric, offering multiple standing ovations throughout the night. 

“Can we take you to church tonight?” asked Michael Trotter Jr. of the audience early in their set, kicking off the hour with “Till the Walls Fall,” and new track “Tunnel Vision,” to be released on their forthcoming album (set for a 2025 release). After a soulful, “Are you Ready to Love Me,” the duo took a breath, a crew member running out to blot the sweat from powerhouse singer Michael Trotter Jr. He then introduced “Blank Page” as the song that garnered he and Tanya  “a couple of firsts in our lives. “It got us our first Academy of Country Music Award nomination, our first Country Music Association award nomination, and first Grammy nomination…” continued Trotter Jr. As The War And Treaty continued into highlights “That’s How Love is Made,” “Yesterday’s Burn,” and “Reminisce,” it was more than apparent, from their otherworldly vocal harmonies to their onstage chemistry, that the duo is sonically synced in a way that’s deeply rooted with love for each other and for what they do. They held hands during a few of their songs. Taking a moment before “Stealin’ A Kiss” to describe their first date and how they came to fall in love, the stories the duo told behind some of their songs were equally as entertaining as the songs themselves. 

The set took a turn to introspection, as U.S. War Veteran Michael Trotter Jr. prefaced “Skyscraper” with some background on his two tours in Iraq, and the decisions in his life that led him there. Shouting out his “battle buddies,” Trotter Jr. said, “I want to dedicate this song to everyone here.” From there, the talented pair  closed out their set with the upbeat “Called You by Your Name,” featuring spirited violin from Chelsey Green, followed by “Leads Me Home.” 

“Happy 50th Anniversary, Austin City Limits,” shouted Trotter Jr. as he recognized each band member, cuing the audience for applause for each talented person. As The War And Treaty left the stage to an audience on their feet, applauding, one thing was certain: bringing them back to the Austin City Limits stage for a proper live taping was the best decision we could have made. The War And Treaty’s taping will air this fall as part of Austin City Limits’ golden 50th anniversary season. 

The War And Treaty performs on Austin City Limits, June 28, 2024. Photos by Scott Newton.

Listen to the full set list from the Austin City Limits taping below: (Note that “Till the Walls Fall,” “Tunnel Vision,” “Reminisce,” and “Skyscraper” were performed but are not currently available on Spotify.)

BAND CREDITS:

Michael Trotter, Jr. – Piano, Vocals 

Tanya Blount Trotter – Vocals 

Max Brown – Lead Guitar 

Jonathan “Bam” Holmes – Drums

Tom Davis – Bass

Terrance “Slim” Holmes – Hammond Organ 

Ben Murray – Pedal Steel Joe 

Jordan – Trumpet 

Chelsey Green – Violin

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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: The Weather Station

Tamara Lindeman of The Weather Station performs on Austin City Limits, 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

We’ve always celebrated songs and songwriting here at Austin City Limits. So we’re always happy to host a songsmith as special as Tamara Lindeman, AKA The Weather Station. The Toronto musician has long impressed critics and audiences not only with her thoughtful, soulful songcraft, but also with her willingness to push her artistry beyond anyone’s expectations, including her own. Her latest album How Is It I Should Look At the Stars denotes a musical shift from last year’s much-acclaimed Ignorance, which itself changed course from 2017’s self-titled breakthrough. She and her five-piece band brought that breadth and depth to the Moody Theater stage for her debut ACL performance. 

With a percolating drum groove, a kneeling Lindeman and the band began the set with “Wear,” a silky midtempo soul-pop tune from Ignorance. The tempo and urgency increased with “Loss,” an emotionally charged rock song that perfectly showcased the band’s distinctive sound: guitar, keys, bass and drums, enhanced by contributions from Karen Ng on clarinet and alto sax. “It’s such an honor,” Lindeman noted. “I’m overwhelmed.” Then “Separated,” a song about the futility of internet arguments, added some carefully doled drama to the performance, with a false ending and some well-placed clave clicks. Lindeman then picked up her guitar to revisit the self-titled record for the gorgeous and rocking “You and I (On the Other Side of the World),” before the band reached even further back for the soulful folk rock of “Way It Is, Way It Could,” from 2015’s Loyalty. She dipped into the latest record for “Stars,” a sparse, heartfelt ballad that sounded as if it could just as easily have come from the Great American Songbook as from the world of Canadian indie rock. 

The final notes had barely finished fading out when guitarist Will Kidman started chunking away to lead into “Look,” a song “about trying to talk to politicians” from Ignorance, followed by the same LP’s driving pop rocker “Tried to Tell You.” Next tune “Better Now” began as an ethereal ballad, but drummer Kieran Adams brought the rest of the band crashing in on the chorus for another slice of well-crafted rock. Adams’ rumbling drums, Johnny Spence’s stately piano and Ben Whiteley’s nimble bass jumpstarted the soaring “Heart,” joined by Ng’s clarinet and Kidman and Lindeman’s guitars. The band essayed an atmospheric, improvised intro that led into “Robber,” the attention-grabbing first single from Ignorance, the unique, jazzy dynamics (especially with Ng’s stratospheric free jazz sax) of which made it a standout even in a setlist of standouts. “Atlantic” went for a smoother melody and groove, allowing Lindeman to really concentrate on her singing, before upping the pop quotient even further for the euphonic “Parking Lot.” 

After Lindeman introduced the players, The Weather Station ended the set with the elegant ballad “Subdivisions” – a lovely original, and not a cover of the eponymous  anthem by Lindeman’s fellow Toronto residents Rush, that showed off what a fine singer she is. Though the band left the stage, they returned to play the masterful “Thirty,” a brisk folk rocker Lindeman described as joyful, as attested by the dust kicked up and Kidman’s spiraling guitar solo. A killer bonus, capping off an excellent evening that we can’t wait for you to see when it airs this fall on your local PBS station. 

The Weather Station performs on Austin City Limits, June 2022. Photos by Scott Newton.
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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: The War on Drugs

The War on Drugs on Austin City Limits, 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

The War on Drugs is one of those bands whose music sounds familiar, yet contemporary, all at once. Led by singer/guitarist Adam Granduciel, the Philadelphia outfit has deftly blended gritty heartland rock with motorik-influence rhythms and sparkling analogue synthesizers on a series of beloved albums, culminating in 2017’s Grammy-winning A Deeper Understanding and last year’s highly acclaimed I Don’t Live Here Anymore. Following their first appearance on Austin City Limits back in 2015, TWOD returned to our stage with a seasoned live show that drew heavily from those albums.  

Taking the stage to enthusiastic applause, the band opened with IDLHA‘s “Old Skin,” a lush ballad that evolved into a dynamic rock anthem, its heart on its glistening sleeve. The septet followed with the more overtly rocking “Pain,” a cut from Deeper that perfectly highlights their ability to blend bright melodies with brooding synth textures and uplifting Granduciel guitar solos. For “An Ocean in Between Us,” drummer Charlie Hall leaned hard on the vibrant repetition of the motorik beat, laying down a skittering propulsion for the band to ride – one painted by near-ambient baritone sax moans from keyboardist Jon Natchez and an especially powerful Granduciel solo. The song melted into a haze of synth washes, which resolved into the gentle waves of “I Don’t Wanna Wait,” one of IDLHA’s most bluntly emotional tunes. “We’re honored to be here,” noted the bandleader as the group went into the beat-driven rock of “Victim.” 

As the band set up for “Strangest Thing,” Granduciel mentioned that the tour began in Austin, and was ending with this ACL performance (which explained both the ultra tight performance and the giddy energy). So he dedicated the evening to TWOD’s hard-working crew, who made their presence felt with a dramatic light show near the end of the atmospheric ballad. Granduciel then led the band into one of their most representative songs: “Harmonia’s Dream,” combining the sparkling synthesizers and vocoder-style vocals implied by the title’s citing the eponymous pioneering electronic band, with the acoustic guitar and soaring melodies of the heartland rock that they love equally. The fingerpicked guitar of Anthony LaMarca and the beautiful piano riffs of keyboardist Robbie Bennett heralded the arrival of “Living Proof,” another of IDLHA’s most earnest emotional explorations, TWOD kept that vibe going with the dreamier, but still affecting, “Occasional Rain.” As a familiar synth ‘n’ guitar intro of “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” began, the crowd began to cheer – Granduciel used the good will to introduce the band (including keyboardist/guitarist/harmony vocalist Eliza Hardy Jones, who had the unenviable task of subbing for Lucius), before diving into a magnificent performance of what has probably become the band’s signature song. The audience made its appreciation known loudly.

“Thinking of a Place” indulged in more lush textures, with guitarist LaMarca providing subtle slide, keyboardists Bennett and Natchez layering on the ear candy, and Granduciel cutting through with an industrial strength Jazzmaster solo. “Thanks for having us on the legendary Austin City Limits,” Granduciel remarked. “Growing up without cable TV, this is one of the only things I grew up watching.” Following a brief tech fix, a wave of heavenly synthesizers essayed the beginning of “In Chains,” a tune that deftly mixed shimmering dreampop and anthemic rock that earned ardent huzzahs. Granduciel donned an acoustic guitar for the first time this evening for the lovely ballad “Rings Around My Father’s Eyes,” in honor of his dad’s ninetieth birthday. The War on Drugs ended their set with “Under the Pressure,” the epic lighter-waving opener from their breakthrough LP, 2014’s Lost in the Dream. The song ended in walls of tremelo, looped feedback and electronics, the audience going wild with their hands in the air. It was incredible end to an incredible show, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it broadcasts this winter on your local PBS station as part of our Season 48. 

The War on Drugs tape Austin City Limits, October 16, 2022. Photos by Scott Newton.

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News Taping Recap

Taping recap: The Turnpike Troubadours

The final taping of a season is always the setting for a blowout, and that’s what we got with the Austin City Limits debut from Turnpike Troubadours. The Oklahoma country rockers hit our stage in support of their highly acclaimed fifth LP A Long Way From Your Heart – a title that proved ironic, as there’s obviously a short distance to that organ in their devoted fans’ chests.

The Americana stars took the stage to huge applause, launching into “The Housefire,” the opener of A Long Way. The band then started mining its extensive back catalog with the rocking “Every Girl,” a song co-written by guest keyboardist John Fullbright, the danceable “Kansas City Southern” and passionate “1968,” all from the 2010 album Diamonds and Gasoline. The Troubadours then reached all the way back to their 2007 debut album, with the Cajun-flavored dancefloor filler “Bossier City,” before returning to the new album for the electric folk of “The Winding Stair Mountain Blues,” inspired by a true story from singer/songwriter Evan Felker’s Southeast Oklahoma past. After six skillet-lickers in a row, the band slowed down a tad for “Pay No Rent,” an earnest ballad in tribute to a friend of Felker who passed away. “Good Lord Lorrie” worked a similar groove to even more anthemic effect.

The red-dirt anthems continued with the widescreen rocker “A Tornado Warning.” Felker then strapped on a banjo for the folk-rocker “Gin Smoke & Lies,” its melody a clever variant on the old folk song “Shady Grove.” That led into the blazing “Before the Devil Knows We’re Dead,” which had the buzzing audience clapping along from the start. Steel guitarist Hank Early switched to a Dobro for an acoustic duet with Felker on “Diamonds and Gasoline,” much to the crowd’s delight. The band returned for a romp through “Whole Damn Town,” before the penultimate, lighter waving waltz “The Bird Hunter. The Troubadours closed the show with “Something to Hold On To,” a track co-written by Kevin Russell, beloved leader of Austin’s own Shinyribs and the Gourds. The song ended in a three-way solo frenzy from Early, lead guitarist Ryan Engleman and fiddler Kyle Nix, which made the audience go wild.

The show wasn’t quite over yet, however. As is an artist’s prerogative, the Troubadours decided to redo a few numbers, starting with “The Housefire.” The band ripped through another take on “The Winding Stair Mountain Blues” before finishing with a new version of “A Tornado Warning.” Fortunately, the audience were perfectly happy to enjoy those songs again. It was a great show and a nice way to close out the season, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs early next year as part of our Season 43 on your local PBS station.