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Episode Recap Featured News

Leon Bridges and Nathaniel Rateliff bring soul to ACL’s 41st season

Austin City Limits gives you the best seat in the house for two of today’s hottest soul sensations: Leon Bridges sharing the bill with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats.  

Rising retro-soul singer-songwriter Leon Bridges makes his first appearance on the ACL stage performing tracks from his breakthrough 2015 debut Coming Home, a current Grammy nominee for Best R&B Album. “My name is Leon Bridges and I am straight out of Fort Worth Texas, baby,” says the 26-year old phenom by way of introduction. It’s been a near meteoric rise for the golden-voiced young singer who has taken the music world by storm with a silky smooth delivery rooted in ‘50s and ‘60s R&B and a classic style that sounds brand new. Rolling Stone described him as “the second coming of Sam Cooke” saying he’s “staked out his own identity as the new voice of gospel and soul music.” Bridges and his band, which includes ACL alumni, White Denim’s Austin Jenkins and Joshua Block (the pair also co-produced Coming Home), deliver an irresistible six-song set filled with genuine heart and feeling, with the stylish soul man “twistin’ & groovin’” throughout for a stunning ACL debut.

Denver-based soul rockers Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nights Sweats make their ACL debut performing tracks from their 2015 self-titled breakout album on Stax Records. You’ll hear both Sam & Dave and The Band in their sound, with what Rateliff describes as “a bit of honkytonk and a bit of working class soul.” NPR raves of the front man, “The born again spirit of vintage soul music poured out of the man, measurable mostly in gallons.” The road-tested, acclaimed live outfit is performing at some of the year’s biggest music festivals, including Coachella and Bonnaroo. Charismatic belter Rateliff tells the Austin crowd, “We’re all out here risking our marriages and our lives to play music for you guys, so we hope you enjoy it!” Fueled by a rocket-powered three-piece horn section, Hammond organ and Rateliff’s scorching tenor voice, the hard-driving band perform a soul-stirring six-song set filled with take-us-to-church choruses that has the Austin audience on their feet from the first notes of the opener “I Need Never Get Old” to their set-closing, crowd-pleasing breakout hit “S.O.B”.

photo by Scott Newton

“Great soul singers and bands have been a recurring theme this season, and Leon Bridges and Nathaniel Rateliff cover both sides of the spectrum – from smooth to raucous,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Leon proves why he’s a serious contender to pick up a couple of Grammy trophies, and you’d have to live under a rock not to have heard Nathaniel Rateliff’s sing-along favorite, ‘S.O.B.'”

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 our Season 41 finale, featuring the Tedeschi Trucks Band.

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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

LCD Soundsystem thrills ACL’s 43rd season

Austin City Limits showcases one of today’s most thrilling live acts, LCD Soundsystem, for an electrifying hour. The dance-rock band make their first-ever appearance on the program with a victory lap of beloved hits alongside new classics.

LCD Soundsystem perform songs from American Dream, its first new release after a five-year hiatus and the first #1 album in their decade-long run. Called “a party album for the end of the world or an apocalypse album for the end of the party,” by Rolling Stone, the album earned wide acclaim and landed on many “best of 2017” lists. The New York City band, formed by leader James Murphy in 2002, launches a spectral Austin City Limits set with a pair of songs from their acclaimed comeback: the synth-popping beat of album-opener “Oh Baby” and charging bass and cathartic guitar of dance-floor magnet “Call the Police.” Murphy clutches his signature retro mic and promises the audience a mix of songs old and new as they kick into fan-favorite “I Can Change,” a perfect balance of romantic woe, disco rhythm and pop melody from 2010’s This Is Happening. Murphy’s lyrical wit and soaring vocal is the band’s trademarks and together they dive into the wry melancholy of “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down” from 2007’s Sound Of Silver.  LCD’s penchant for mixing rock anthems with dance rhythms is in full force on the rock ‘n’ roll disco opus “Tonite,” the newly-minted 2018 Grammy-winner for Best Dance Recording, the band’s first career Grammy win. The fascinating hour allows viewers an immersive glimpse into LCD’s artistry, with seven band members onstage to recreate the electronic-based parts of their catalog, layering a potent mix of sounds with free-wheeling electro-pulse synth. A staccato piano riff signals “All My Friends,” an endorphin rush ode to slowing down time that closes out the hour as Murphy gets into the spirit, stepping into the crowd to shake hands with all his new best friends in the front row.

“When LCD played their ‘last show’ at Madison Square Garden in 2011, I thought we’d missed our chance,” explained ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Then I was excited to hear James had decided to revive the band, make a new record and hit the road again. They were a must-get for ACL! LCD’s sound has a way of washing over you and carrying you away. They make music like nobody else can!”

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 brand new episode, featuring the solo ACL debut of Black Keys singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and the debut of former Gourds member Kevin Russell’s party favorite Shinyribs.

 

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News

KLRU and Austin City Limits invite you over for some holiday cheer!

Shop for last-minute holiday gifts with an Austin flare at the Austin City Limits Holiday Gift Fair on December 16 from 3-7 p.m.

This is your chance to buy limited edition hand-printed posters, gorgeous photobook by Scott Newton featuring inspiring photos from the show’s archives and the cookbook Music In The Kitchen featuring recipes from performers who have been on the show. Also lots of Austin City Limits merchandise like warm and cozy hoodies, classic T-shirts, trucker hats, little onesies for the babies on your list and much more.

These items not only make great gifts, but you’re also supporting public television with every purchase!

The studio is located in Communications Building B on The University of Texas Campus, 2504 B Whitis, Austin, TX 78712 (corner of Dean Keeton and Guadalupe). map

Put a little Austin in your family’s stockings this year by stopping by the Austin City Limits Holiday Gift Fair. See ya’ll there!

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News

Kinky Friedman 1944-2024

Kinky Friedman records Austin City Limits, 1975. Photo courtesy Austin City Limits/Austin PBS.

Novelist, columnist, gubernatorial candidate, raconteur, cigar aficionado, and, of course, singer/songwriter Kinky Friedman left this earth on June 27, 2024 at the age of 79. According to the Texas Tribune, the cause was Parkinson’s disease.

Kinky Friedman sings “Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight,” from an unbroadcast episode produced in 1975.

After stints with the Peace Corps and in Nashville, Kinky (who, like his pal Willie Nelson, is on a first-name basis with the universe) became the quick-witted provocateur of seventies outlaw country, writing or covering songs (“Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed,” “Sold American,” “They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore,” the notorious “Okie From Muskogee” lampoon “Asshole From El Paso”) that raised the hackles of the satire-impaired and restricting his audience to connoisseurs with a certain sense of humor. He reached a bigger crowd in the eighties when he began writing bestselling novels, many of them starring himself as a hard-boiled private detective, as well as contributing a long-standing column to Texas Monthly. Kinky became a national icon when he ran for governor of Texas in 2006, earning 12% of the vote – not nearly enough to win, of course, but not too shabby, either. Following a second, equally unsuccessful campaign, he returned to writing books and songs, as well as founding the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch in 1998. 

Kinky Friedman sings “Wild Man From Borneo,” 1975, for an episode of Austin City Limits that was never broadcast.

Kinky also recorded an episode of Austin City Limits in 1975 for Season 1, but it famously never aired. There’ve been many reflections on why – in the press at the time, in one of Kinky’s memoirs, and in Clifford Endres’ 1987 history of ACL. Suffice to say that PBS executives of the time previewed the episode and decided it would be best for it to stay in the can, even when Austin PBS (then KLRN) offered to let it be a “soft feed,” i.e. a free program to be used at individual stations’ discretion. Fortunately, while it was never broadcast, the show was released in 2007 by New West Records. 

Kinky Friedman records ACL, 1975. Photo courtesy of Austin City Limits/Austin PBS.

Of course, any story like this only serves to make the life in question even larger, as Kinky himself acknowledged. “In any case, when the producers of ACL, in their infinite wisdom, decided not to air the show, the legend only grew,” he wrote in his TMT column. “Had they gone ahead and run it, I’d undoubtedly be playing a beer joint tonight on the backside of Buttocks, Texas. I’d never have had the chance to become a best-selling novelist, a friend of presidents, and a candidate for governor. The truth is I wouldn’t even be writing this column, which would be a real shame, since it’s the only job I’ve ever had in my life. So God bless Austin City Limits.”

We’ll miss you, Kinky. You kept Austin – and Texas – weird before the phrase was ever coined.  Rest in peace.

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News Taping Recap

Khalid brings youth and talent to ACL

We don’t usually think of El Paso as a hotbed of new music stars. But Khalid Robinson has kicked that notion into a corner. The twenty-year-old took the years he spent in high school in the Texan border town as inspiration for a series of hits and his double-platinum debut LP American Teen. A few sold-out tours and Grammy nominations later, including one for Best New Artist, Khalid brought his youthful outlook and abundant talent to the Austin City Limits stage for a buoyant debut taping.

With his backing trio in tow, Khalid took the stage to “8Teen,” an anthem that encouraged his peers to “do all the stupid s**t that young kids do.” Dancing across the stage, he turned his attention to young love for “Winter,” expressing his romantic confusion over a tight funk beat. Then it was time for the title track to his best selling album, on which he really opened up his vocal chords and showed off his golden pipes. He dialed back the energy for the moody “Coaster,” revving back up for the funkier “Therapy.” His knack for anthemic melody returned for “Another Sad Love Song,” the ascending melody of which belied its romantic melancholy. After that lighterwaver, he brought the mood down once again with the soulful ballad “Saved,” a song clearly beloved by the crowd. That was followed by a couple of verses of his equally sedate single “Eastside,” but that segued directly into the upbeat “Hopeless,” another study in contrast.

Bringing his stool back out, Khalid belted out “Shot Down” and “Angels,” a ballad he noted beforehand “was really special to me,” ending on his knees on the stage. That kept the audience primed for “Young, Dumb and Broke,” one of his smash hits, as the crowd provided the backup vocals and sang along. He then stepped outside the confines of his album for the hit singles “Silence,” which he originally recorded for producer Marshmello, and “Love Lies,” formerly a duet with Normandi. Dropping back into his album, the singer picked up the pace with “Let’s Go,” another song that became a call-and-response with the crowd. Thus pumped, the audience once again became part of the performance as Khalid launched into “Location,” his first major hit. He followed up with “Keep Me,” another anthemic pop tune that revved the audience up even further. Khalid and company ended the show with “OTW,” his catchy new single that suffered not a jot from the absence of recording partners 6lack and Ty Dolla Sign. It was a fine way to end a fine show, and you’ll see for yourselves when the show airs later this year on your local PBS station.  

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Episode Recap Featured News

Khalid and Mac DeMarco showcase original visions in ACL’s 44th season

Austin City Limits showcases two originals: breakout R&B/pop star Khalid and indie rocker Mac DeMarco make their ACL debuts in a new installment premiering this weekend. Khalid performs songs from his Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum debut American Teen. Mac DeMarco delivers soft jams from his acclaimed This Old Dog.

A highlight of 2018’s namesake ACL Festival, Khalid’s meteoric rise to fame launched when he released his first single right before his high school graduation. The El Paso native took the years he spent in high school in the Texan border town as inspiration for a series of hits and his double-platinum debut LP American Teen. The 20-year old has struck a chord with his legions of fans with insightful songs that resonate about modern youth culture—Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum-selling songs about smartphones and being young that audiences relate to. Flashing a wide smile throughout his soaring ACL debut, Khalid showcases songs from his smash American Teen in a soulful, seven-song set as the stoked crowd sings along to every word of his lyrics. Set highlights include the anthem “American Teen,” multi-platinum smash “Young Dumb & Broke” and the four-times platinum single that started it all, “Location.”

The New York Times calls Mac DeMarco “a trendsetting merrymaker” with a “surprising career built on seeming like an affable deadbeat.” The irreverent prankster is known to share wine and cake with fans during his live shows. The Edmonton native promises to keep it smooth at the top of his ACL debut, and he makes good on the pledge in a five-song interactive set of his distinctive laid-back rock. The singer-songwriter-guitarist and his four-piece band spotlight songs from his fourth and best-selling LP This Old Dog, taking a stage set as an unconventional version of an Italian restaurant: checkered tablecloths, fake fruit, plenty of red wine and dollhead masks. Launching into the smoothly flowing set-opener “On the Level,” the creamy sound of an electric grand piano signals the drift into “For the First Time,” an ‘80s-sounding soft rocker with a melody that thrills the ACL audience. The gap-toothed rocker shows off his guitar skills on songs from his 2014 breakthrough, the lo-fi gem Salad Days, including the mellow pop of “Brother” and “Chamber of Reflection.” DeMarco throws a slice of pound cake to the willing audience and closes out the set directing the crowd in a little clapping “classic rock-style” before ditching the guitar for a glass of red wine (“It’s Cab-Sav. It’s French.”) to toast the crowd.

Mac DeMarco on Austin City Limits ©️KLRU photo by Scott Newton

“Khalid and Mac DeMarco are very different, but what they have in common are millions of passionate young music fans who adore them,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Their songs resonate with twentysomethings (and younger) because they relate to their everyday lives in ways that are insightful and friendly, and even a little bit comical.”

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 classic encore episode from 1979, featuring the legendary Tom Waits.