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News

Giveaway: Kacey Musgraves 6/6

UPDATE giveaway is now over.

Austin City Limits will be taping a performance by Kacey Musgraves on June 6th 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 June 4th.

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.

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News

Giveaway: John Prine 6/5

UPDATE giveaway is now over.

Austin City Limits will be taping a performance by John Prine on June 5th 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 June 1st.

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.

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Encore Broadcast Episode Recap Featured News

Encore: Sturgill Simpson and Asleep at the Wheel

stin City Limits welcomes breakout country artist Sturgill Simpson sharing the bill with legendary Western swing institution Asleep at the Wheel.  Two acts steeped in old-school tradition but beamed through a contemporary prism, the must-see episode features rising star Simpson making his full set ACL debut while Texas swing veterans Asleep at the Wheel return for their 11th appearance. ACL Hall of Fame members AATW are joined by guest stars The Avett Brothers, Amos Lee and the Quebe Sisters in a special tribute to musical forebear Bob Wills, the King of Western Swing.   

Forty years after Willie Nelson made his iconic debut on ACL on October 14, 1974, country rebel Sturgill Simpson arrives at the top of his game in a standout ACL debut.  With his acclaimed breakthrough Metamodern Sounds In Country Music topping Best of 2014 Album lists and a stack of accolades to call his own—including a Grammy nomination, top honors at this year’s Americana Awards, slots at the year’s biggest music festivals, including Bonnaroo, Coachella and ACL Fest—ACL captures Simpson on the verge of full-blown stardom.  Playing an acoustic guitar, the Kentucky native and his ace four-piece band launch into a scorching seven-song set that makes a believer out of everyone. He pays tribute to the outlaw country scene that inspired him, acknowledging his debt to Willie, and to Austin cosmic cowboy Steve Fromholz, with an impassioned rendition of “I’d Have to Be Crazy,” a Fromholz song Nelson made famous in the ‘70s, and a perfect showcase for Simpson’s rich baritone.  The full span of Simpson’s influences is evident with the inspired set-closer, a brilliant crossbreed of the Osborne Brothers’ bluegrass classic “Listening to the Rain” to glam-rock band T-Rex’s “The Motivator.”

A national as well as Texan treasure, the nine-time Grammy Award-winning Austin supergroup Asleep at the Wheel has kept the Western swing flame burning for forty-five years.  Still led by larger-than-life founder Ray Benson, AATW appeared in the first official episode of Austin City Limits in 1976, and returns for a remarkable eleventh appearance to perform selections from their recent Bob Wills tribute album Still the King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, a salute to the great bandleader.  Wills’ music, born in the 1920s and ‘30s, continues to inspire younger generations, and AATW is joined on the ACL stage by some very special guests, including soul singer Amos Lee, fiddle trio the Quebe Sisters and Americana sensations The Avett Brothers, who put their own spin on Western swing classics.  A highlight of the set comes when two former Texas Playboys—singer Leon Rausch, 88, and 92-year old saxophonist Billy Briggs—take the stage.  The entire ensemble returns for a crowd sing-along of the signature “Texas Playboys Theme,” winding “Happy Trails” into the old chestnut for a perfect close.  

Asleep at the Wheel with special guests ©KLRU photo by Scott Newton

“This show goes back deep to the roots of where Austin City Limits began,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona.  “Sturgill would’ve fit perfectly into the Austin music scene of the ‘70s, and it speaks volumes that his own progressive country sound resonates so strongly and stands in contrast to much of the country pop today.  Asleep at the Wheel appeared on the very first episode of our very first season, and they’re still kicking it 41 years later – just like ACL!”

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 another encore episode, featuring rock icons The Pretenders.

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Featured News Taping Announcement

New tapings: Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real and Sam Smith

Austin City Limits has a pair of highlights coming up this summer: new tapings featuring roots rocker Lukas Nelson in his ACL debut on July 2 and the second appearance of international pop superstar Sam Smith on July 23.

After more than a decade on the road barnstorming across the U.S and around the world, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real have developed into one of America’s most dazzling live acts, attracting a dedicated, ever expanding following.  Still, with a bounty of invaluable experience under their belts, nothing foretold the artistic leap of their latest album, the self-titled Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, a mesmerizing, emotionally genuine, endlessly rewarding slice of cosmic country soul.  Released via Fantasy Records last summer, the widely acclaimed album draws on many of Lukas’ country and rock influences including literate Texas songsmiths like his dad, Willie Nelson, ‘uncles’ Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings, and iconoclasts such as J.J. Cale, The Band, Clapton-era Delaney & Bonnie and of course, the band’s mentor Neil Young, for whom the young devotees have toured and recorded with the past few years. 

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real features Lukas Nelson (guitar, vocals), Tato Melgar (percussion), Anthony LoGerfo (drums), Corey McCormick (bass, vocals) and Jesse Siebenberg (steel guitars, Farfisa organ, vocals) along with back-up vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Lessig of the indie-pop group Lucius, and Lady Gaga who added stirring vocals to two of the album’s 12 tracks.  The album’s lilting, Glen Campbell inspired gem, “Just Outside of Austin” also features a classic Willie Nelson guitar solo, and piano from Lukas’ 86-year-old Aunt Bobbi. “Their latest displays a newfound confidence, brokering country-soul, Southern rock and R&B with some panache,” proclaimed Uncut.  “The band’s best work, the record is a huge leap forward for Nelson,” raved Entertainment Weekly, and American Songwriter declared, “Ultimately, Lukas is carrying on Willie’s tradition, pushing the outlaw boundaries his famous father established in the ’70s and proving that the musical apple truly does not fall far from the tree.”  Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real were recently honored with a 2018 Americana Music Awards nomination for Group of the Year.

Multi-platinum GRAMMY ® award winning artist Sam Smith wowed ACL audiences with his 2014 debut during our milestone Season 40 and now, he returns with his chart topping, acclaimed sophomore album The Thrill Of It All.  Rolling Stone awarded it four stars and hailed Smith as “one of the mightiest, most expressive singers of his generation.”  The album includes the hits “Pray” and “Too Good At Goodbyes,” which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart and is certified Platinum by the RIAA.  The British native’s breakout 2014 album, In The Lonely Hour was the biggest selling U.K. male debut in the SoundScan era and went on to sell 13 million albums worldwide. In 2015, Smith set a GRAMMY® record, winning a total of four awards – the most ever received by a U.K. artist following the release of a debut album. He was named Best New Artist, In The Lonely Hour took Best Pop Vocal Album honors and his single “Stay With Me” won awards for both Record and Song of the Year. Smith has also earned an Oscar, a Golden Globe, three Billboard Music Awards and three BRIT Awards.  He’s currently on his global headline The Thrill Of It All world tour.

Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes about a week before each taping. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for notice of postings. The broadcast episodes will air on PBS this fall as part of our Season 44.

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Encore Broadcast Episode Recap Featured News

Encore: Zac Brown Band

Austin City Limits presents a heartwarming hour with Southern country-rock act Zac Brown Band. The multi-platinum, three-time Grammy Award-winning group make their series debut with a career-spanning performance.

The acclaimed Atlanta octet showcase career highlights alongside new songs in a spirited, 11-song triumph. The country-rockers claimed Best New Artist at the 2010 Grammy Awards with their breakthrough release, The Foundation (now five-times platinum) and today are one of music’s biggest live acts. “We’re super-proud to be on the ACL stage,” says bandleader Zac Brown as he welcomes the crowd to pull up a seat at the “Family Table,” a gem from the band’s latest release Welcome Home. Brown shares the heartfelt stories behind many of their songs including the chart-topping ballad “Colder Weather” and the power-of-music testament “Day That I Die,” from 2012’s Uncaged, the Grammy Award-winning Best Country Album. The band cap the soaring set with a masterful hat-trick showcasing the musical range that has made them a fan-favorite; starting with “The Muse,” originally recorded with the Foo Fighters’ ubiquitous Dave Grohl, followed by their stirring cover of songwriting legend John Prine’s “All the Best,” and ending in tribute to their Southern-rock roots with a roof-raising finale of the Allman Brothers’ classic “Whipping Post.”

“To call them ‘Country’ or ‘Southern Rock’ doesn’t begin to describe the breadth and depth of what Zac Brown Band is really all about,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Singing songs that tell great stories and playing music that just plain makes you feel better is definitely a big part of who they are and where they’re from.”

Zac Brown Band ©️KLRU 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 a brand new episode, featuring the debut of acclaimed country troubadour Sturgill Simpson and the return of ACL frequent flyers Asleep at the Wheel.

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News Taping Recap

St. Vincent lights up her second ACL taping

Few rock artists are as creative, acclaimed and wildly imaginative as St. Vincent. Nine years after her first appearance, the erstwhile Annie Clark hit our stage for the second time to support her widely praised fifth St. Vincent LP MASSEDUCTION, which hit the top ten on the album charts and topped many year-end best-of lists. In front of an impressive strobe-lit set, St. Vincent gave us a show unlike anything we’ve had before, which we streamed live around the world.

Taking their places in front of massive blocks of futuristic strobe lights, Clark, clad in a red vinyl bodysuit and matching thigh-high boots, and her three-piece band began with a throbbing electronic pulse and flashing silhouettes for the kinetic Masseduction track “Sugarboy.” The rhythm got funkier for “Los Ageless,” Clark singing full-throated and casually extracting steely riffs from her guitar. “Pills” followed, twisting blatantly hooky synth-pop into a distinctly St. Vincentized shape, complete with anthemic guitar coda. Setting aside her guitar, Clark stepped forward, mic in hand, for the unabashed pop of “New York,” before re-donning her ax for the bluesy electropop of the sensual “Savior.” The lights dropped, and when they came back the spotlight was on bassist/keyboardist Toko Yasuda, who sang out the opening chant of Masseduction’s hypnotic title track, before Clark and her fuzz-soaked slide guitar retook control.  

When the lights came back from their dip to black, Clark was joined for “Huey Newton” by a black-coated, masked creeper (actually her tech in disguise) holding her guitar. As the first half of the song reached its crescendo, the figure strapped her instrument on in time for her to shred the heavy riffs that drove the tune’s second half – a nice bit of theater that earned appreciation from the crowd. After that track from her 2015 Grammy-winning self-titled album, she went all the way back to her second LP Actor and the thrilling “Marrow,” a devilishly catchy rocker that tastefully showed off her superior six-string skills. The band then dipped into the album Strange Mercy for a pair of tunes: the dramatic pop tune “Cruel” and the dynamic alt-anthem “Cheerleader.” Then Clark returned to the eponymous album for the diabolical “Digital Witness,” its melange of electro-funk, fetching melody and effects-laden slide shifting into another dimension. Switching to black and white, the strobes went crazy for “Rattlesnake,” another catchy groove rocker that featured some extended soloing in the coda. Shifting back to Masseducation, the band blasted out the flashy “Fear the Future,” the paranoia of which was leavened by more hooks and guitar. St. Vincent closed the set with the appropriately-titled “Slow Disco,” in which Clark adapted Giorgio Moroder’s synthesized danceability to a perfect set-closing anthem. The audience agreed, going crazy as the band quit the stage.

“I can’t even count the times I’ve seen mindblowing performances on this TV show,” said Clark as she and the band returned to the stage, “so it’s an honor to be back for the second time.” The group went into “Hang On Me,” a lush ballad from Masseduction. Then her band left Clark alone on the stage, so she could play a couple of songs “that I used to play in coffee shops, bad bars and, in a couple of embarrassing instances, pizza parlors.” She then performed a lovely “Severed Crossed Fingers” and a dignified “Prince Johnny,” as a reminder that, stagecraft and effects aside, the core of St. Vincent’s artistry has always been strong songwriting. The lights went to black and the show ended.  We can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall as part of our upcoming Season 44 on your local PBS station.