Alanis Morissette Archives - Austin City Limits

“Everything’s gonna be fine, fine, fine” with the new installment of Austin City Limits (ACL) as superstar Alanis Morissette makes her first-ever appearance on the series with an hour of fan-favorites in an ecstatic performance. The new episode premieres Saturday, February 17 at 7pm CT/8pm ET as part of the series Season 49. ACL airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings) and full episodes are made available to stream online at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast. The show’s official hashtag is #acltv. 2024 marks the 50th Anniversary of the revered music institution, which continues its extraordinary run as the longest-running music television show in history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for an incredible five decades. A monument to music, ACL has showcased iconic performances from legends and innovators in every genre of popular song for 50 years. Produced by Austin PBS, and recorded live at ACL’s studio home ACL Live in Austin, Texas, the show remains a required stopping point for the finest acts to deliver stellar performances from the venerable ACL stage. On October 17, 1974, the notoriously TV-shy Willie Nelson taped the pilot episode; the trailblazing series then premiered on PBS in 1975. This Peabody Award-winning program has earned its place in history and will salute its golden anniversary and incredible legacy with a yearlong celebration featuring archival gems, fan activations, all-star tapings, a PBS special, live concerts and much more.

A generational artist and one of the most influential singer-songwriters in contemporary music, Alanis Morissette opens an electrifying hour with “All I Really Want,” the opening track of her landmark 1995 Jagged Little Pill, one of the best-selling albums of all time. Backed by her ace five-piece band, and signature harmonica in hand, the Canadian trailblazer performs an eleven-song, career-spanning set filled with iconic anthems including “Hand In My Pocket,” “You Learn,” “Perfect” and “Head Over Feet” as she prowls the stage with her famous long brown hair flying. The opening strains of fan-favorite ”Ironic” has the crowd on their feet as the hitmaker holds out the mic for the rapt audience to carry the beloved chorus. She performs a pair of gems from 2020’s critically-acclaimed Such Pretty Forks In the Road, her ninth studio album: the soaring opening track “Smiling,” and raw interior monologue “Reasons I Drink.” The singer unleashes her powerful, feral vocals on “You Oughta Know,” the ultimate kiss-off anthem, for an empowering communal catharsis as the audience sings-along at full volume. Morissette reaches back to 1998’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie for the piercing confessional “Thank U,” a sweet set-closer in a performance for the ages.

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

“In the 50 year history of Austin City Limits, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an artist take command of the stage quite like Alanis Morissette, and that’s saying a lot!” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “She never slowed down and barely took a breath, yet her powerful voice filled the room and mesmerized her legion of fans!”

Alanis Morissette setlist:

All I Really Want

Hand In My Pocket

You Learn

Reasons I Drink

Head Over Feet

Perfect

Ironic

Smiling

You Oughta Know

Uninvited

Thank U

Season 49 Broadcast Schedule (upcoming):

February 17 Alanis Morissette

February 24 Bonnie Raitt

March 2 Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors Trisha Yearwood

Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding upcoming Season 50 tapings, live streams and episode schedules or by following ACL on Facebook, Twitter, IG and TikTok. Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews.

For images and episode information, visit Austin City Limits press room at http://acltv.com/press-room/.

Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits (ACL) offers viewers unparalleled access to featured acts in an intimate setting that provides a platform for artists to deliver inspired, memorable, full-length performances. Now in its 49th Season, the program is taped live before a concert audience from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in television history and remains the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. Since its inception, the groundbreaking music series has become an institution that’s helped secure Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The historic Austin PBS Studio 6A, home to 36 years of ACL concerts, has been designated an official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark. In 2011, ACL moved to the new venue ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. ACL received a rare institutional Peabody Award for excellence and outstanding achievement in 2012. ACL celebrates 50 years as an American music institution in 2024.

Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, the Austin Convention Center Department, Cirrus Logic and AXS Ticketing. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.

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