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7 Tips For Future ACL TV Interns!

Hi blogging world! My name is Kelsey and I’ve been interning with ACL TV since August and I can’t even tell you how much I enjoy it. It may sound cheesy, but every day that I go in, I’m excited to work on what’s next with the greatest live music production here in the Lone Star State, or really, the world!

The biggest question I get asked (besides “Can you get me free tickets?”) is “How do I become an ACL TV intern?” so I thought I would shed a little light on the whole thing. If you want to fill the ACL TV intern shoes, it’s good to know what you’re getting yourself into! This is a little friendly advice for anyone who’s interested in interning:

Kelsey’s 7 Tips and Things-To-Know Before Interning with ACL TV

1. Know the difference between ACL TV, ACL Live and the Austin City Limits Music Festival

This might seem obvious, but you don’t know how many people we talk to that get them confused. I (and possibly you, someday!) intern for ACL TV, which means I work for the company that partners with KLRU and has produced 37 seasons of live music television goodness. In fact, it is the longest running music television program in American history!The Austin City Limits Music Festival is awesome – however, it is not the same. It’s a different branch of ACL and it is 3 days of music; we’re all year-round depending on when we book artists. ACL Live is the company that works the shows that are not television tapings out of the same venue that we do- the The Moody Theater in the W Hotel. We love ACL Live and the ACL Festival, however, we are not the same. We do tapings, they do shows. Easy enough, right? Good! Moving on!

2. Know your music!

I’m guessing if you have even an inkling to work with Austin City Limits TV, it’s because you like music, specifically the live kind. All I can tell you is – embrace this! Listen to music, write about music, talk about music and be proud! If you intern with ACL TV, you’re going to be working with people who eat, sleep and breathe live music, so you should start doing the same, honestly! You never know what genre you might end up loving after hearing it, or who might be scheduled for a taping! Your passion for music will not go unappreciated.

3. Stay in School (or specifically, college)

In order to intern with ACL TV, it helps to be in at least your junior year of college and able to receive college credit for your time here. I don’t make the rules, sorry, but that’s the way it goes! Everyone’s case is different though, so if you’re still interested in applying and don’t meet these criteria, email with any specific concerns. If you do meet these criteria, make sure you talk to your university or college adviser and get the credit paperwork sorted out and can commit at least 8-10 hours a week plus the scheduled taping days. Specifics about schedules will be dealt with later.

4. Tone down the “fangirl” (or fanboy!)

I’m going to be completely honest with you – I have been known to be an obsessive music fan. However, for this internship, you’ve gotta keep a professional head on your shoulders! It should seem obvious, but I still think it’s good to be reminded that hey, you’re not being hired at ACL TV to have deep conversation with so-called “famous” people. There’s nothing wrong with being nice and approachable, but if you want to rub elbows with musicians that you like, this is not the place for you. Trust me, (and this comes from the girl whose heart skipped a beat when I found Arcade Fire was playing) you WILL get a great and close seat to hear these artists play. You WILL NOT be eating expensive cheeses with them and playing twister in their dressing rooms. Do your job and enjoy the perks that do come with it, but don’t overstep any boundaries.

5. BE FLEXIBLE!!

People always ask me, “What do you do at ACL TV?” My answer? Everything! My mentors here give me all sorts of tasks to do- from office day-to-day upkeep to running errands around the city, to giving input on the tapings and helping log the shows, to blogging about a list of intern tips like I am now! You really will be called upon to do so much, but don’t be scared! Everyone I’ve met working at ACL TV genuinely wants to see me succeed and is always able to help. So be flexible and be prepared to do a lot! This is not an internship where you sit on the sidelines and only make coffee. Interning with ACL TV is very hands-on. Bring your talents to the table with you and use them, because you’ll very likely be all over the place!

6. Pack some good shoes and a sweater!

This one may sound silly, but hey, don’t say I didn’t warn you ahead of time! Taping days are usually pretty crazy, and good stable shoes are essential, especially referring to tip #5 and being flexible! Oh, and maybe this is just the fashion-forward female in me, but a sweater is always a great accessory and when the studio is cold (yes, even in Texas heat) you’ll want one.

7. Get excited!

Not that I should have to tell you this one- but I think that if you come into work here realizing that you’re helping to put on one of the greatest musical traditions in the world, it doesn’t hurt to crack a smile. Even as hectic as it might be on taping days, a little positivity goes a long way. And plus, everyone knows, especially those that work at ACL TV, that a smiling crowd looks way better on camera.

Now for the serious stuff/fine print:

Updated 1/13: In order to apply for the ACL TV internship for this Fall 2013 send a resume and cover letter explaining why you’d like to work for ACL TV and what semester you are interested in to  ejoyce at klru (dot)org by April 15, with ‘internship’ somewhere in the subject line.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments of this post or let me know if I can answer it on twitter, @kelseyrmanning. Good luck applying and don’t forget to watch this season of Austin City Limits on KLRU. It debuts this Saturday and I can say firsthand that it is going to be wonderful!

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Featured Hall of Fame New Broadcast News

5th annual ACL Hall of Fame ceremony airs on New Year’s Eve

Austin City Limits rings in the new year with an annual tradition, highlights from the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Inductions & Celebration, hosted by Chris Isaak. This fifth annual all-star celebration features music luminaries and more sharing the stage for one epic night to perform in honor of the newest class of inductees: Ray Charles, Marcia Ball and Los Lobos. The special hour, taped October 25, 2018 at ACL’s studio home, ACL Live at The Moody Theater, in Austin, Texas, honors the musicians who have played an instrumental role in the evolution of the iconic series. The broadcast airs Monday, December 31 at 10pm C/11pm E on PBS – check local listings for times.  

Master of ceremonies Chris Isaak opens the special noting that Austin City Limits, now in its 44th season, is the longest-running television music program in history, outlasting American Bandstand, Soul Train and—even—Hullabaloo. Isaak introduces honoree Marcia Ball, the Texas-born pioneering blues pianist who debuted on ACL’s first season in 1976, saying “when she sings the blues she makes you dance.” Inducted by her longtime friend and collaborator, New Orleans soul queen Irma Thomas, Ball accepts the honor saying of ACL “I was lucky enough to get here first, stay longer, go farther and have more fun than I ever, ever imagined possible.” An all-female line-up of blues all-stars pays tribute to her 50-year strong career in a sparkling three-song salute with Ball herself on piano, joined by Thomas and powerhouse vocalists Tracy Nelson, Lou Ann Barton, Carolyn Wonderland and Shelley King, celebrating a shared lifetime of friendship and music.

The late Ray Charles made two seminal ACL appearances in the 1980s and is honored following an induction by John Burk, president of Concord Records and producer of the music titan’s final studio album in 2004. Norah Jones salutes the Genius with a sterling rendition of “What Would I Do Without You,” saying “this is one of my favorite Ray Charles songs.” Blues great Ruthie Foster brings the house down with a powerhouse reading of Brother Ray’s signature “Georgia on My Mind” and blues-rock star Gary Clark Jr. puts down his guitar for the occasion and steps up to the mic to pay vocal tribute, delivering a radiant “Nighttime Is the Right Time” while vocalists Ruthie Foster, Shelley King and Carolyn Wonderland do The Raelettes proud with show-stopping backing chorus.

photo by Scott Newton

Acclaimed filmmaker Robert Rodriguez inducts his longtime compadres Los Lobos into the ACL Hall of Fame calling the East L.A. band “Endlessly inventive, unbelievably groundbreaking, masterful with all kinds of instruments, peerless musicians, and just truly great people.” Los Lobos’ musical kinship with ACL includes six appearances on the series, and they take the stage to perform a trio of back-to-back classics from their forty year-plus career. Joined by director Rodriguez on guitar, steel guitar ace Robert Randolph, Boz Scaggs and guitarist Adrian Quesada, the brothers in arms dazzle with a jubilant eight guitar heartbeat, and the celebration of music comes to an epic close, ushering in the New Year with a Feliz Año Nuevo! and a buoyant “La Bamba,” the 1987 classic.

Austin City Limits Hall of Fame New Year’s Special setlist:

I WANT TO DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU – Marcia Ball with Tracy Nelson, Irma Thomas
FOOL IN LOVE – Marcia Ball with Lou Ann Barton, Tracy Nelson, Irma Thomas, Carolyn Wonderland, Shelley King
SHINE BRIGHT – Marcia Ball with Tracy Nelson, Carolyn Wonderland, Irma Thomas, Shelley King  
WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU – Norah Jones
GEORGIA ON MY MIND – Ruthie Foster
NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME – Gary Clark Jr. with Ruthie Foster, Carolyn Wonderland, Shelley King
DON’T WORRY BABY – Los Lobos with Robert Randolph
LA PISTOLA Y EL CORAZON – Los Lobos
ALL-STAR FINALE: LA BAMBA  – Los Lobos with Robert Rodriguez, Boz Scaggs, Robert Randolph, Adrian Quesada, Marcia Ball, Tracy Nelson, Ruthie Foster, Carolyn Wonderland, Shelley King & Chris Isaak

The 5th Anniversary Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Inductions and Celebration is presented by NetApp and is sponsored in part by American Airlines, AXS, Brown Distributing, Cirrus Logic, Cousins Properties Incorporated, Dell, Keller Williams, Stratus Properties and Texas Monthly.  

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News

Austin City Limits Announces 50th Birthday Bash featuring Willie Nelson & Family on October 17, 2024

Austin, TX—September 20, 2024—Iconic live music television series Austin City Limits (ACL) was born on October 17, 1974, when Willie Nelson taped the pilot episode. That now legendary debut became the cornerstone for 50 years of groundbreaking, award-winning music television. Now Willie returns on the 50th anniversary of that 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 for the Performing Arts.

Willie Nelson performs on the pilot episode of ACL, October 17, 1974
Ray Benson, founder of Asleep at the Wheel. Image courtesy of Lyza Renee

Austin originals Asleep at the Wheel get the party started Lone Star style with an opening set for the occasion. The western swing legends appeared in the very first official episode of Austin City Limits Season 1. Austin City Limits 50th Birthday Bash presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka is open to the public and free; fans must register with Fair AXS for a chance to attend. Registration opens at 8AM CT Friday, September 20th through 10PM CT Monday, September 23. Those selected to attend will be notified between September 26 and September 27 and will be required to opt in. Full details are available here. 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.

On October 17, 1974, Willie and his Family band entered Studio 6A to record the pilot for Austin City Limits. Broadcast as part of the national pledge drive in March 1975, the show was one of the top programs on PBS that year, securing a future for ACL as a series.

There’s a good reason why a bronze statue of Willie Nelson stands at the entrance to ACL’s studio home on the Austin street that bears his name: in the 50-year history of Austin City Limits, no artist has personified the music series’ eclectic, freewheeling spirit more fully than the man with the braids, the beard and the guitar named Trigger. His pivotal 1974 full-set performance served as a dispatch to the world declaring Austin’s place as a pioneering music city; the trailblazing live music program was then given the green light, premiering on PBS in 1975. “The house that Willie built” is now an institution that has become the longest-running music series in television history. 

“There would be no Austin City Limits without Willie Nelson – simple as that,” says longtime ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “He launched ACL into the television universe in 1974, and has helped keep us going for 50 years.”

Willie Nelson has longstanding ties to Austin City Limits with eighteen appearances on the series, more than any other performer; he last appeared in 2018 for Season 44. He was the inaugural inductee into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2014. Asleep at the Wheel, led by founder Ray Benson, and celebrating a 50-plus year run, also have a shared history with Austin City Limits, appearing eleven times over five decades, including a pair of appearances joined by Willie. Asleep at the Wheel was inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2015, and honored in a 50-year career retrospective broadcast in 2020 as a special episode of Austin City Limits.

The anniversary concert also celebrates the city and community that plays a starring role in the series. The Austin skyline is the famous backdrop for the weekly show and Austin music fans comprise the audiences featured in each episode’s trademark crowd shots.

Austin’s Long Center concert lawn, situated on the banks of Lady Bird Lake and offering stunning views of the Austin skyline, will be the setting for this one-of-a-kind concert event. Austin City Limits 50th Birthday Bash featuring Willie Nelson & Family is produced by Austin PBS, the producing station of Austin City Limits and made possible by the generous support of Tejemos Foundation, Central Texas Chevy Dealers, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Visit Austin.

As ACL turns 50, the series extends its legacy providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance. Austin City Limits continues its extraordinary five-decade broadcast run with its landmark Season 50 premiering September 28, 2024 on PBS featuring an hour with Kacey Musgraves. The upcoming season features an all-star slate of returning favorites and highly-anticipated debuts. ACL has earned its place in history.

About Austin City Limits: 

A monument to music, Austin City Limits has showcased iconic performances from legends and innovators in every genre of popular song for a remarkable five decades. The series is the flagship of the popular Austin City Limits Music Festival and has earned countless accolades for its quality presentation of live music performances, including a Peabody Award, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame designation and it remains the only TV series awarded the National Medal of Arts. In May 2024, the show’s longtime executive producer Terry Lickona was awarded public television’s highest honor, The Beacon Award, presented by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl. The esteemed award pays tribute to individuals whose work inspires Americans and enriches our nation, in keeping with the mission of PBS. 

About Austin PBS:

Since 1962, Austin PBS has been a part of Central Texas, delivering programs that educate, entertain and inspire. As the only locally owned and operated nonprofit public television station in Central Texas, Austin PBS uses its unique position to serve as a bridge to the community and provide essential services to 3 million potential viewers in more than 20 counties across the region.

Willie Nelson:

With a seven-decade career, Willie Nelson has earned every conceivable award as a musician and amassed reputable credentials as an author, actor, and activist. He continues to thrive as a relevant and progressive musical and cultural force. In recent years, he has delivered more than a dozen new albums, released a Top 10 New York Times’ bestsellers book, again headlined Farm Aid (an event he co-founded in 1985), his annual Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic, been honored by the Library of Congress with their Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, received his 5th degree black belt in Gong Kwon Yu Sul, headlined the annual Luck Reunion food and music festival during SXSW as well as the annual Outlaw Music Festival Tour, launched his cannabis companies Willie’s Reserve and Willie’s Remedy, and graced the covers of Rolling Stone and AARP The Magazine. Nelson started this decade by releasing four albums of newly recorded music—First Rose of Spring (2020), That’s Life (2021), The Willie Nelson Family (2021), and A Beautiful Time (2022, GRAMMY Award winner for Best Country Album)—and three books—Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of The Family Band (2020), Willie Nelson’s Letters to America (2021), and Me and Paul: Untold Tale of a Fabled Friendship (2022). Throughout 2023, Willie celebrates his 90th birthday with multiple projects and events including a two-night star-studded concert at the famed Hollywood Bowl, Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, that was released as a feature film and a televised broadcast special. The year began with the debut of “Wille Nelson & Family,” a new five-part film documentary series directed by Thom Zimny and Oren Moverman that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival as well as the release of a new album, I Don’t Know a Thing About Love, which features 10 performances that pay tribute to American songwriter Harlan Howard. Last year also welcomed two new releases: the GRAMMY nominated album, Bluegrass (with newly recorded studio performances of 12 Willie Nelson-penned classics showcasing Willie with a bluegrass ensemble), and a new book, Energy Follows Thought (with stories behind the lyrics of 160 of his favorite songs, along with never-before-seen photos and ephemera). To cap the momentous year, Nelson was inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2024, Nelson expands his depth of work with the release of two new albums and a new book. May saw the arrival of the studio album The Border (which includes Willie’s versions of 10 contemporary country songs, and four new compositions with Buddy Cannon). And this November a cookbook co-authored with his wife, Willie and Annie Nelson’s Cannabis Cookbook: Mouthwatering Recipes and the High-Flying Stories Behind Them, will debut (on 11/12), as well as another studio album (releasing on 11/1), Last Leaf on the Tree, which features close collaborations with Nelson’s son Micah. These creative endeavors as well as new songs and performances that add to his classic catalog, find Willie Nelson rolling at an artistic peak, writing and singing and playing with the seasoned wit and wisdom that comes from the road.

Asleep at the Wheel:

For over fifty years, Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson has been traversing the globe as an ambassador of Western swing music and introducing its irresistible sound to generation after generation. More than 100 musicians have passed through the Wheel, but Benson remains the front man and the keeper of the vision, in the process racking up more than 30 albums, ten Grammy awards and literally millions of miles on the road. 

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Featured News

2019 Holiday Gift Sale Today in the Original ACL Studio

Hey, Central Texans! Bebop as you shop as we open up Austin PBS’s legendary Studio 6A to our gift fair. Get yourself or your loved ones an Austin City Limits limited edition poster, t-shirt or one of the many other items available for purchase at our annual Holiday Sale!

Free and open to the public
5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Tuesday, December 10
Austin PBS
2504 B Whitis Ave, 6th Floor

Live music ✔️
Free drinks ✔️
Employee pricing for everyone! ✔️

Complimentary beer and wine will be served, along with free coffee and hot chocolate from Texas Coffee Traders. Plus enjoy music from Ragtime Willie and the Rangers. Hope to see you there!

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Taping Recap

2015 Austin City Limits Hall of Fame

Last night we were proud to present the new class of Austin City Limits Hall of Fame inductees. Loretta Lynn, Guy Clark, Flaco Jimenez, Townes Van Zandt, Asleep at the Wheel and the Season 1 crew joined the ranks inaugurated last year. The night was about more than awards. It was and is always about the music, and, anchored by host Dwight Yoakam.

The first award of the evening went to Loretta Lynn. The First Lady of Country Music gave us two memorable shows in Seasons 8 and 23. Accepting her award, Patty Loveless, a four-time ACL vet herself. With a fiery “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’” and a soulful “Coal Miner’s Daughter” (especially appropriate, as Loveless shares the same background as Lynn), Loveless paid perfect tribute to one of her inspirations. She and country superstar Vince Gill paired to sing a rendition of Lynn’s song “After the Fire is Gone,”  originally performed with Conway Twitty.

photo by Scott Newton

The night continued with Lyle Lovett coming to the stage to honor friend and Texan singer/songwriter Guy Clark. Lovett accepted the award on Clark’s behalf with wit and grace. Singing “Step Inside This House,” Lovett performed the first song Clark ever wrote, following that with “Anyhow I Love You,” a lovely waltz from Clark’s second album.

photo by Scott Newton

Jason Isbell killed it with the indelible Clark classic “Desperados Waiting For a Train” before being joined by guitarist extraordinare/Gillian Welch partner David Rawlings for the picker’s rumination “Black Diamond Strings.”

photo by Scott Newton

Next, host Dwight Yoakam inducted influential conjunto accordionist Flaco Jimenez. The eight-time ACLer and 76-year-old San Antonio native has recorded and performed with the honkytonk hero before, and accepted his award from his old compadre with a humble and eloquent speech. Then it was time for some classic Tex-Mex music. San Antonio Grammy winners Los Texmaniacs served as Jimenez’s opener with a swampy, rocking “Down in the Barrio,” joined by Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo on stinging guitar. The man himself took the stage for a honkytonking “He’ll Have to Go,” sung by Hidalgo,  and a irresistibly danceable “Ay Te Dejo San Antonio.”

photo by Scott Newton

Yoakam returned to the stage for “Carmelita,” his and the honoree’s distinctive take on the Warren Zevon ballad. The ensemble closed out with a pair of Yoakam classics: the two-step standard “Streets of Bakersfield” and gorgeous murder ballad “Buenos Noches From a Lonely Room (She Wore Red Dresses).”

photo by Scott Newton

After a brief intermission, Yoakam introduced superfan Gillian Welch, who inducted Townes Van Zandt by telling stories about how the Texas troubadour came to her gigs in her early days in Nashville. The late singer/songwriter appeared on ACL twice, including a Season 1 episode some argue is his best-ever television performance. Van Zandt’s eldest son JT accepted on his father’s behalf. Welch then took the stage with her guitar-slinging partner David Rawlings for faithful takes on TVZ classics “Tecumseh Valley” and “Dollar Bill Blues.”

photo by Scott Newton

British singer/songwriter Laura Marling followed up with a stunning version of “Colorado Girl,” trailed by JT himself, performing a haunted take on “Nothin’,” one of his father’s most cathartic songs.

photo by Scott Newton

Vince Gill then returned to the stage to induct Asleep at the Wheel. With eleven appearances, including the very first episode of Season 1, Asleep at the Wheel has been a mainstay on ACL. Bandleader Ray Benson accepted, dedicating his award to the late Joe Gracey — his former roommate and the person responsible for the band’s first booking on Austin City Limits. The band hit the stage for a pair of standards, “Miles and Miles of Texas” and the boogie-woogieing “Route 66.”

photo by Scott Newton

 

Gill joined his old pals for a hoppin’ version of Bob Wills’ “Take Me Back to Tulsa,” while Lyle Lovett returned for a rousing run through Wills’ “Blues For Dixie.”

photo by Scott Newton

To round out the night, the Season 1 crew, having been honored the night before, was publicly recognized for their contributions in establishing the show as a music institution.  The night ended with an all-star reading of Van Zandt’s classic roadburn “White Freightliner Blues.” It was a special evening, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it appears as part of Season 41 next year.

photo by Gary Miller

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Featured Live Stream News

ACL to livestream Rhiannon Giddens’ taping debut

Austin City Limits is pleased to announce that we will be streaming our taping with Americana sensation Rhiannon Giddens live on April 25 at 8pm CT/9 pm ET. Fans around the world can watch the concert on  ACLTV’s  YouTube channel as it happens.

Rhiannon Giddens makes her highly-anticipated ACL debut performing tracks from her release Tomorrow Is My Turn, a 2016 Grammy nominee for Best Folk Album. The widely acclaimed album, produced by T Bone Burnett, marks Giddens’ solo debut after a decade as a founding member and leader of the Grammy-winning string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops.  Rolling Stone calls the debut “a spiritual archaeology of American racial and economic struggle via sublime covers of songs identified with Nina Simone, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton and Elizabeth Cotten.”  The Piedmont, NC native and classically trained singer has chosen from a broad array of songs associated with the female artists who are her musical and spiritual forebears for an album that serves both as patchwork autobiography and as a tribute to these artists and their legacies. “The strength of American music is in bringing all these things together—Celtic, gospel, jazz, folk—all these things that make American music great,” she says. “Putting them side by side and having a production that pulls it all into a cohesive whole shows how related all these things are.”  

Giddens’ showcased her powerful vocals at the White House this past year and gave a show-stopping performance in our own 2015 Americana Music Festival special, and we’re thrilled to follow her journey for her ACL debut.

Please join us on April 25 on our ACLTV YouTube channel as we welcome Rhiannon Giddens.