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Taping Recap

Taping Recap: Angel Olsen

Next-generation singer-songwriter Angel Olsen made a grand entrance to loud cheers from the expectant crowd and dived right into “High and Wild” from her 2014 breakthrough Burn Your Fire for No Witness.  Her highly-anticipated Austin City Limits debut taping was also livestreamed worldwide to her fervent fanbase and viewer Nick Julian commented that “once you see her perform it’s impossible not to fall in love.” The North Carolina-based Olsen continued with “Shut Up and Kiss Me” from 2016’s widely-acclaimed My Woman, and went a long way to proving him right, showcasing her powerful vocals.  The indie stunner had the crowd firmly in pocket from the onset, singing along rapturously to her longing, demanding love songs.

The chatty Olsen gave a shout out to longtime Austin City Limits makeup wonder woman Glenda Facemire (for giving her just the right amount) and launched into “Give it Up,” whispering “I’ve got a secret, I’m ready to share it.”  The audience was ready to hear it, responding with loud cheers and shouts of “we love you.”

Olsen slowed things down momentarily for the open of “Not Gonna Kill You”. The song soon returned to the rocking confidence she is known for, prompting livestream viewer Martin Sainz Aja to comment “such a musician! Incredible night!”

After introducing her talented five-piece band (sharp in matching light-blue suits and bolero ties), she reached back to her 2012 debut Half Way Home for the slow burn of “Acrobat,” a poetic almost 10-minute swoon that had the audience swaying throughout.

Olsen charmed the crowd between songs with her trademark deadpan banter before diving into a trio of songs from her tour-de-force My Woman, which Olsen says deals with “the complicated mess of being a woman.”  “Sisters,” “Those Were the Days” and “Woman” were clear fan-favorites leaving the studio audience screaming for more as Olsen & co. left the stage.

She capped her hourlong performance with one more from Burn Your Fire for No Witness: the rapturous power ballad “Windows”.  Livestream viewer Luis Millan commented “This is the closest I will be to see Angel Olsen live. Thank you so much ACL for this.”

We can’t wait for you to see this arresting live performer too when Austin City Limits Season 43 premieres this fall with all-new episodes on your local PBS station.

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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Allison Russell

Allison Russell and band tape Austin City Limits, May 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

Montreal native and Nashville resident Allison Russell came to ACL’s attention with her standout performance as part of Our Native Daughters at the Americana Music Festival a couple of years ago. We knew then it was only a matter of time before she came to the ACL stage on her own, and once the Birds of Chicago singer’s Grammy-nominated solo debut Outside Child arrived last year, we knew that time had come – especially since it was our 1000th taping (as officially declared by Austin mayor Steve Adler at the top of the show). Russell’s vision of roots music uses joyful noise to confront subjects like emotional and sexual abuse, systemic racial and gender bias, and the ongoing damage done to and by a culture that refuses to learn from its mistakes (and the connection between those things) – a timely message, as the taping occurred the night after the horrific Uvalde school shootings. Fronting a distinctively structured band, including guitarists Joy Clark and Mandy Fer, cellists Larissa Maestro and Monique Ross, violinist Chauntee Ross, drummer Elizabeth Goodfellow, and her own banjo and clarinet, Russell brought down the house. 

Using incense to bless the proceedings, Russell opened with the percussion-and-vocal driven “Hy-Brasil,” a powerful invocation of the African diaspora and its trials around the world. Chills thus induced, Russell led her band into “The Runner,” a more straightforward but compelling folk rocker that especially soared when the backing vocals and strings wailed in unison. “You can’t steal my joy,” she asserted, which became essentially the theme of the evening. She told a story about how in her hometown of Montreal she ran away from familial abuse, hearing the sounds of freedom from Austin City Limits (beaming in from Vermont), while finding her first love. That led, of course, was “Persephone,” leading to a graceful performance of her popular song about finding solace from suffering in the arms of young love. The strings got louder and the rhythms peppier for “The Hunters,” another struggle with difficult situations to which Russell herself – singing in French as well as English – couldn’t resist dancing. Keeping the beat going, Goodfellow, whose versatility is the band’s secret weapon, laid down a funky groove, during which Russell insisted she “couldn’t wait one more minute to introduce you to this goddess circle,” which she proceeded to do. It was all a set-up for “4th Day Prayer,” a swampy, gospel-infused anthem of defiance against a society that won’t confront the role systemic abuse contributes to its own collapse. “We are not alone,” she noted. “We are more than the sum of our scars,” and the song proved it. 

The strings, Goodfellow’s percussion and Clark’s acoustic guitar then created a spooky atmosphere as their leader retrieved her banjo for the minor keyed “All of the Women,” an attempt to find survivor’s joy in continued cultural deficits and unimaginable tragedy. “We believe that music, shared like this, is…creative communion, an essential service that helps build up our empathy,” Russell asserted. “Because our lack of empathy has a body count, and it has to stop.” It was a powerful, well-received moment, brought home by Fer’s angry guitar skronk, Russell’s keening clarinet coda and the crowd’s enthusiastic response. Russell retained her banjo for “Little Rebirth,” a haunting tune that, despite being an original, sounds like an ancient, recently discovered folk song, given a magnificent vocal by its writer. 

“This is the first anniversary of the release of Outside Child,” Russell noted as she invited her co-author, Birds of Chicago partner and spouse JT Nero to the stage for their ballad “Joyful Motherf*****s,” a song that yearns for a better world and reiterates that, as dark as some of these songs get, Russell never gives up on hope. The jazzy “Poison Arrow” continued with that hopeful vibe, before the group deviated from Outside Child to visit Russell’s work with Our Native Daughters. “I want to send this song out for all the grieving families in Texas tonight,” she said by way of introducing “You’re Not Alone.” The song began with celli and Russell’s banjo, as the rest of the band eased its way in to give the love song – for a child, a significant other, or the whole human race, however anyone chooses to take it – a special charge as everyone made the rounds with their solos. 

Russell continued her family affair, bringing on her daughter Ida Maeve Lindsay for the gorgeous and uplifting “Nightflyer,” her breakthrough hit and an audience favorite. The band went immediately a reprise of the chorus of “4th Day Prayer,” with Russell re-introducing the band and ending the set with a final few “ooh-ooh’s.” But that wasn’t all, as the audience hadn’t had enough. Russell and her chosen family of musicians returned with the intense Native Daughters track “Quasheba, Quasheba,” an exploration of genealogical hardship and how to be a good ancestor. Following that lesson in how scars still hurt, Russell sent us back out into the night with a benediction: a gentle, exquisite cover of Sade’s “By Your Side.” It perfectly ended one hell of a show, a master class in how to make music of consequence. We can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall on your local PBS station.

Allison Russell tapes her Austin City Limits debut, May 25, 2022. Photos by Scott Newton.
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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette tapes her first Austin City Limits, Oct. 6, 2023. Photo by Scott Newton.

Nineties rock icon Alanis Morissette made history on the Austin City Limits stage bringing the nostalgic air of MTV Unplugged episodes and an obsession with alternative rock to a packed Moody Theater crowd. The show-stopping  performance brought 1995’s landmark Jagged Little Pill album back to capture the hearts of 90’s rockers in combination with tracks from her classic albums including Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, So-Called Chaos, Under Rug Swept, and Such Pretty Forks in the Road. Morissette’s magic, which comes from her unrivaled soul and authenticity in the presence of 90’s rock, continued to make waves. A musical trailblazer, Morissette’s Season 49 performance reflected a legacy that once compelled fans to cry, yell, and dance over the cords connected to their Sony CD players that continues to fuel audiences with a lust for life. More than an icon you oughta know, Morissette is the powerfully raw and introspective rock legend you oughta be. 

The singer’s performance kicked off with a high energy entrance, as she ran onto stage to the familiar intro of the classic “All I Really Want,” signature harmonica in hand. Capturing the crowd in excitement, Morisette walked and leaped back and forth across the stage singing powerfully. Morissette’s free-spirited stage presence, combined with an “in your face” authenticity, transports concert-goers back to 1995. The performance continued into the uplifting “Hand in My Pocket,” a testament to the comforting relatability of the singer’s intimate lyricism that captured the heart of the audience. The enraptured crowd swayed back and forth before the beginning of “Head Over Feet,” the popular ballad for the hopeless romantics dedicated to finally surrendering to the consuming purity of healthy love.  Around the theater, a group of patrons stood linked arm to arm, belting out “I couldn’t help it, it’s all your fault,” as couples exchanged long glances while listening to the heartwarming gem.

“Losing the Plot” from Morissette’s 2020 album Such Pretty Forks in the Road brings her familiar uplifting but confessional lyricism to the forefront as the singer explores the emotional exhaustion brought from the pursuit of relentless perseverance.  Towards the end of the song Morissette bared all with a brightly, bedazzled electric guitar while singing  “I am losing the plot, I am grieving the end of superwoman-ing.” The Canadian singer brought her performance to an end, bringing an already musically enamored crowd to jump on their feet to the angsty, tell-all, breakup anthem, “You Oughta Know.” A packed Moody Theater crowd passionately belted “And I am here to remind you of the mess you left when you went away” as fans headbanged and stretched their hands out in the signature rock and roll “horns” gesture while the band began “Uninvited.” The final anthem “Thank You” saw Morisette spinning in circles creating a passionately explosive end to a history-making performance. A trailblazer for female-fronted rock, Morissette’s originality continues to keep audiences head over feet. 

Alanis Morissette on Austin City Limits, Oct. 2023. Photos by Scott Newton.

Setlist:

All I Really Want – Jagged Little Pill

Hand in My Pocket – Jagged Little Pill

Right Through You – Jagged Little Pill

You Learn – Jagged Little Pill

Segue 1 (Hands Clean) – Under Rug Swept

Forgiven – Jagged Little Pill

Segue 2 (Everything) – So-Called Chaos

Mary Jane – Jagged Little Pill

Segue 3 (Diagnosis) – Such Pretty Forks in the Road

Reasons I Drink – Such Pretty Forks in the Road

Head Over Feet – Jagged Little Pill

Segue 4 (So Unsexy) – Under Rug Swept

Ablaze – Such Pretty Forks in the Road

Segue 4 ½ (Nemesis) – Such Pretty Forks in the Road

Perfect – Jagged Little Pill

Segue 5 Mike (Losing the Plot) – Such Pretty Forks in the Road

Wake Up (acoustic) – Jagged Little Pill

Not the Doctor – Jagged Little Pill

Ironic – Jagged Little Pill

Segue 6 (Sympathetic Character) – Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie

Smiling – Such Pretty Forks in the Road

Segue 7 (I Remain) – Havoc and Bright Lights

You Oughta Know – Jagged Little Pill

Encore:

Uninvited – City of Angels soundtrack

Thank U – Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie

Musicians: 

Alanis Morissette – vocals, harmonica, guitar

Michael Farrell – keyboards

Jason Orme – guitar

Cedric Lemoyne – bass

Julian Coryell – guitar

Victor Indrizzo – drums

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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Adrian Quesada’s Boleros Psicodélicos

Adrian Quesada performs with Girl Ultra on Austin City Limits, Oct. 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

We all found different ways to pass the time during the pandemic. Famed Austin guitarist and producer Adrian Quesada spent his time listening to classics from the balada movement of the 1970s Latin music world, becoming so enchanted he decided to record an album of songs in that style himself. Boleros Psicodélicos – literally “psychedelic boleros” – features guest vocalists from across the spectrum of contemporary Latin music, from indie rock to grand pop, garnering accolades across the board. For this special ACL taping, which is only the second time this music has been performed live, Quesada welcomed eight sensational guest vocalists to the stage, nearly every singer from the album, to bring to life their album performances, plus some special additional songs. 

Dressed in variations on basic black, Quesada and his nine-piece band (including strings, horn, vibraphone and keyboardist Jaron Marshall from Quesada’s other band Black Pumas) opened the show with “Starry Nights,” a lush and funky instrumental taken from Jaguar Sound, his forthcoming LP that draws inspiration from library music, hip-hop, psychedelia and Italian film scores. Following that scene-setter, Quesada brought on Mireya Ramos, the leader of New York’s all-female mariachi Flor de Toloache, for the first song from Boleros Psicodélicos: “Tus Tormentas,” a ballad with a laidback hip-hop backbeat and spectacular singing and violin from Ramos. Marshall then laid down some ethereal organ as an intro to “El León,” a swaying, melodramatic bossa nova featuring Chicago rocker Rudy de Anya. Mexico City’s sultry R&B Latin singer Girl Ultra took the stage for a pair of tunes: the original ballad “El Payaso,” which featured a ringing solo from vibraphonist Carolyn Trowbridge, and a cover of the groovy “Trigal,” a 1969 hit for Argentine singer Sandro. 

“How does this happen? You’re all here singing along to boleros at ACL Live,” noted Quesada happily, mentioning the chills he gets from playing in front of the iconic ACL backdrop. He then welcomed potent singer Angelica Garcia for another combo, starting with the opulent “Puedes Decir De Mi,” from the catalog of Cuban superstar La Lupe that earned a wave of applause, and ending with the sweeping, sensual original song “Ídolo.” Subbing for the absent Gabriel Garzón-Montano and carrying a colorful parasol, Mexico-to-Austin vocalist and Jumbo frontman Clemente Castillo joined the band for “El Paraguas,” an acid-tinged ballad in waltz time with a dynamic Quesada guitar solo. Explaining the concept of the album, Quesada welcomed to the stage Argentinian singer and Thievery Corporation associate Natalia Clavier, the first singer to grasp Quesada’s concept by recording “Esclavo y Amo,” a drama-filled 1975 hit from Pervuian/Mexican band Los Pasteles Verdes. She also performed the sprightly, synth-frosted, rock-accented tune “¡Adios!,” which she previously recorded with another of Quesada’s projects, the Echocentrics. Rising young Guatemelan singer Tita then came on to perform the sentimental, seductive “El Muchaco De Los Ojos Tristes,” a 1982 hit from Spanish singer Jeanette. 

Quesada closed the show with a back-to-back dose of star power, as vocalist iLe – former frontwoman of Puerto Rican powerhouse Calle 13 and sister of ACL veteran Residente – took the stage for a stirring take on Cuban singer and queen of bolero Olga Guillot’s 1967 hit ballad “Bravo,” to huge audience reaction. She and the band closed the show with the lively Quesada/iLe original “Mentiras Con Cariño,” the opening cut of Boleros Psicodélicos, on which Ramos returned to add her emotional violin soloing. As a coda, Quesada introduced the band and the singers, leading them all in a final bow. It was an incredible show, one not likely to happen again anytime soon, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs early next year on your local PBS station as part of our Season 48.  

Adrian Quesada brings his Boleros Psicodélicos to Austin City Limits on Oct. 9, 2022. Photos by Scott Newton.

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Featured News Taping Recap

Taping recap: Adia Victoria

Adia Victoria tapes Austin City Limits, Oct. 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

Though wielding an acoustic guitar and a sultry voice, Adia Victoria isn’t just a singer/songwriter. The South Carolina native’s presence, charisma, expansive musical vision and willingness to confront difficult truths put her on a level beyond folky introspection and comfortable ambience, giving her the rocking sound as projected on her third album A Southern Gothic. Tonight the artist brought her socially conscious acid blues to the ACL stage for her taping debut, live streamed around the world. 

“Good evening, Austin,” Victoria pronounced as she took the stage. “We’ve come all the way from Nashville to play these blues for you.” With a swampy, psychedelic sound, she and her three-piece band kicked the show off with the rumbling “Far From Dixie,” one of the jewels in Gothic’s crown. After commenting “I’m a bundle of butterflies and shaking in my red boots,” she launched into “Magnolia Blues,” a song of reminiscence that drew deeply from her region’s most influential musical export. Victoria really grabbed the blues by the conceptual horn on the slow-crawling “Mean Hearted Woman,” telling the “woman done me wrong” story from that woman’s point of view, and dedicating it to “every woman who’s ever been gaslit by a man in her life.” Victoria continued her guided tour of the South with “My Oh My,” another quietly intense slow burner. Incorporating a jangling strum akin to folk story songs, she explored the life of “lost” Southern girls in the evangelical church in the compelling “Whole World Knows.” 

Victoria introduced “Sea of Sand” as one of the first songs she ever wrote, and the defiant folk rocker proved an audience favorite, especially during the coda of her acoustic guitar contrasting with Mason Hickman’s grunged-out power chords. The songwriter put down her guitar for “Troubled Mind,” a song that began as a prayer, and allowed her band to lay out the music while she stalked the stage, microphone in hand. As the musicians kicked into the next number, Victoria introduced them to the crowd, throwing the spotlight on Hickman, bassist Jason Harris and drummer Daniel Closser. “This is a song about getting dumped,” she noted, as the music evolved into the menacing rumble of “Different Kind of Love.” She then led her boys into paying tribute to a primary inspiration by covering “You Was Born to Die,” a thumping 1933 tune from the catalog of the great bluesman Blind Willie McTell. Closser’s drum pound shored up Hickman’s boogie riff for “Ain’t Killed Me Yet,” a celebration of life through the lens of pure defiance, as represented by the feral howl she unleashed during the breakdown. 

Victoria re-donned her guitar for the final song, telling the crowd that she used to watch ACL with her grandmother, already knowing she would one day tread those boards herself. She then sang “South Gotta Change,” her only release during the year of the pandemic, a passionate protest song inspired by the deaths of George Floyd and Rep. John Lewis and dedicated to everyone who ever told her to shut up and sing. There was no way to follow that, so Victoria and her band took a bow and quit the stage. It was an excellent show, and we can’t wait for you to see when it airs early next year on your local PBS station. 

Adia Victoria on Austin City Limits, Season 48. Photos by Scott Newton.

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Hall of Fame Taping Recap

Taping recap: ACL Hall of Fame 6th Annual Honors

Every year the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Honors feels like a homecoming. This year was no exception, with so many friends and family with us to help celebrate. For this year’s sixth Hall of Fame class, we inducted singer/songwriter Shawn Colvin, blues giant Buddy Guy and Texas icon Lyle Lovett, the man who nearly holds the record for the most appearances on the ACL stage (he’s one behind Willie Nelson), and their pals came out to start the party. It was a night to remember. 

Austin drum corps Austin Samba set a festive mood to kick off the evening. KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, CEO & General Manager Bill Stotesbery welcomed the crowd and introduced ACL’s longtime executive producer Terry Lickona. He briefly recapped the show’s iconic history before ceding the stage to the evening’s host, Texas troubadour Robert Earl Keen and the ceremony was quickly underway. 

photo by Gary Miller

Keen introduced the evening’s first inductee – veteran Austinite Shawn Colvin. The legendary Jackson Browne inducted Colvin with a moving speech about her musical history and the genius that has marked it. “He’s my hero,” said Colvin, “and he just inducted me into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.” She accepted the honor with a heartfelt speech about what Austin and the show have meant to her, before she and Browne took up their acoustic guitars for the lovely “These Four Walls,” which she called a tribute to her town. Following that, Colvin welcomed Wimberley native Sarah Jarosz, who used her mandolin for the classic lick of Colvin’s Grammy-winning smash “Sunny Came Home.” After Jarosz left the stage, Colvin was joined by guitarist Steuart Smith and bassist Larry Klein, both of whom produced records for her, and formed a touring trio with her in the nineties. “This is the first time we’ve played together in 25 years,” she declared, before the threesome nailed a version of her later-period hit “Polaroids.” Jarosz joined the trio for “Diamond in the Rough,” Colvin’s radio breakthrough – which was also enhanced by fellow inductee Lyle Lovett’s surprise appearance on harmony vocals and a thrilling Smith guitar solo. The musicians quit the stage to grand applause. 

photo by Gary Miller

Keen came back onstage to introduce the next inductee: the one and only Buddy Guy. The blues legend was inducted by his old friend and Austin blues icon Jimmie Vaughan, who talked about discovering Guy as a kid from the album Folk Festival of the Blues, and how that put him on the path he’s followed since. “Better late than never!” exclaimed Guy as he accepted his award, garnering a big laugh. The Chicago axeman paid tribute to his own influences – Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Lightnin’ Hopkins – before thanking the audience and his fellow artists for helping to keep the blues alive. Guy and Vaughan then joined the former’s band onstage, launching into “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues,” one of many signature Buddy Guy tunes. Blues singer Shemekia Copeland came next, duetting with Guy on his latest hit “Cognac,” which made getting tipsy absolutely sensual. One of Guy’s recent mentees, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram then took the stage for a rip through “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” one of the classics from Guy’s own mentor Muddy Waters. Closing out his segment, Guy and Ingram welcomed back Copeland and Vaughan and Guy donned an electric sitar for “Skin Deep,” a deep soul ballad in the style of “Feels Like Rain” that reminded us all that we share more than we differ. 

photo by Gary Miller

After an intermission (which featured another performance from Austin Samba), Keen returned to introduce his old friend Lyle Lovett. Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn surprised the crowd with an unannounced appearance to induct his pal, calling him “a humble maestro,” “the storytelling heir to Faulkner, Rogers and Twain,” speaking eloquently and humorously about the impact his music and friendship has had on his life. After thanking Penn, Lovett delineated how long his history with Austin City Limits goes back, from watching the show since its first season to closing out Studio 6A in 2010, before thanking the show and his family – his mother was in attendance. Then Lovett announced seminal Texas songwriter, and key Lovett influence, Willis Alan Ramsey, who sang, with help from the large band, his friend’s anthem “If I Had a Boat.” Dallas native Edie Brickell was next, taking on Lovett’s tart country ballad “I Loved You Yesterday.” The maestro himself came back onstage, thanking his crew and the Large Band, before paring the latter down to fiddler Luke Bulla, mandolinist Keith Sewell and bassist Viktor Krauss for “12th of June,” inspired by his family past and present. The Large Band returned and Lovett welcomed Keen back to the stage to sing “This Old Porch,” a song the pair of them wrote nearly 40 years ago – a fitting tribute to enduring friendships and a long-running career. Keen then invited the other inductees and guests on stage for the final song. Lovett took the opportunity to introduce the large band, including his longtime backup singer Francine Reed, who garnered the biggest round of applause.

photo by Gary Miller

Then it was time for the closing number – “That’s Right, You’re Not From Texas,” one of Lovett’s most famous songs and one perfect for a chorus of famous backup singers. The audience went wild as streamers came down from the ceiling, as another successful Hall of Fame taping came to a close. We can’t wait for you to see it when it airs as a special New Year’s broadcast on your local PBS station. 

  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller
  • photo by Gary Miller