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Episode premiere: ACL 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors Trisha Yearwood

Iconic television series Austin City Limits (ACL) closes out Season 49 on Saturday, March 2 with a special installment: Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors Trisha Yearwood, celebrating the country superstar and newest inductee Trisha Yearwood with a song-filled salute featuring an all-star slate of guest performers (in order of appearance): Don Henley, Brothers Osborne, Brandy Clark, Ronnie Dunn and Jo Dee Messina. The captivating hour features a memorable induction by Eagles co-founder Don Henley along with vintage highlights from Yearwood’s multiple appearances on the ACL stage. The broadcast premieres Saturday, March 2 at 8pm ET/7pm CT on PBS (check local listings). The special will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, March 3 at 10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits. The show’s official hashtag is #acltv. A monument to music, ACL has showcased iconic performances from legends and innovators in every genre of popular song for a remarkable five decades. October 17, 2024 will mark 50 years since Austin City Limits began with Willie Nelson taping the pilot; the trailblazing series then premiered on PBS in 1975. The revered music institution 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. 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. 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.

The Austin City Limits Hall of Fame was established to recognize legendary musicians who have been instrumental in making the music series an institution. Since the inaugural ACL Hall of Fame in 2014 honoring Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan, the music-filled salutes have become fan-favorites. Austin City Limits takes viewers inside the celebration with a pair of deep-dive presentations from this year’s Inductions, recorded live in Austin, Texas on October 26, 2023. The special installments, Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors, salute newly-minted inductees John Prine and Trisha Yearwood with individual hours that showcase each artist’s Hall of Fame tribute, featuring musical tributes, along with extended highlights including induction speeches and vintage clips from the honorees’ multiple appearances on Austin City Limits.

In this special installment, ACL Hall of Fame honoree Trisha Yearwood gets her flowers in an entertaining, memorable salute. A trailblazing artist with a celebrated powerhouse voice and a beloved catalog of hits, the multiple GRAMMY, CMA and ACM Award-winner debuted on Austin City Limits in Season 17 in 1992 on the heels of her breakout self-titled 1991 debut LP. She made two additional headlining appearances in 1996 and 2000, and returned in Season 41 in 2015 as a guest of Don Henley. The hour opens with highlights from Yearwood’s early ACL performances, including her 1992 debut; sprinkled throughout the special are vintage and current interview clips with Yearwood, in addition to a bonus interview with her husband, country superstar Garth Brooks.

Don Henley salutes his longtime friend with a heartfelt induction, saying “I was a fan of Trisha Yearwood the minute I heard her voice coming out of the radio.” After teaming up as collaborators in 1992, the pair hit it off, recounts Henley: “She was small-town Georgia, and I was small-town Texas, and so we had an ingrained mutual understanding and respect.” Henley praises Yearwood’s stellar three-decade-plus run and “exceptional gift as a singer,” noting that the “hallmark of her career has been her unwavering conviction that a well-written song—no matter the style—is the foundation on which a singer stands.”

Accepting the honor, Yearwood is emotional as she shares she grew up watching Austin City Limits and recalls her reaction when she was first asked to appear on the show: “It’s an iconic moment and to actually realize you’re gonna be on that stage standing in front of that skyline—nerves—and what an honor…the thing about Austin City Limits is that you know the music here on this stage is made by real musicians, real artists—it’s all about the music here, and that’s why I’m so honored to be a part of this. And I want to say that whatever you’re doing here in Austin, you can’t ever stop, this is so important for music moving forward!”

Grammy-winning and reigning CMA and ACM Awards Duo of the Year Brothers Osborne make their first-ever appearance on the ACL stage to open the musical salute. “You always hear that you don’t want to meet your heroes, and Trisha is absolutely the exception to that,” says T.J. Osborne, joining brother John for a blazing rendition of “Wrong Side of Memphis,” the opening salvo of Yearwood’s 1992 Hearts In Armor. Newly-minted 2024 Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Brandy Clark takes the stage, hailing Trisha “the Mount Rushmore of singers,” before rendering a stunning rendition of the title track from Yearwood’s 1993 The Song Remembers When, which Yearwood hand-picked for Clark to perform. At the song’s close Yearwood appears onstage to thank Clark, telling the audience, “In my dreams I heard Brandy singing that song.” Trisha is joined by country great Ronnie Dunn, whom she calls “the best singer in the world,” and the pair take the audience to church with a gorgeous duet on her “I’ll Carry You Home,” from 2019’s Every Girl, a beautiful showcase for both singers as they powerfully trade verses on the soaring gospel-tinged anthem. Country star Jo Dee Messina steps up to the mic, grinning, “Austin City Limits is the stage where all the cool people play and she is the coolest,” then brings the crowd to its feet with an irresistible rendition of the song that started it all, Trisha’s signature “She’s In Love With the Boy,” the lead single from Yearwood’s 1991 debut album, which rocketed to #1 and established her as the first female country artist to have a debut single reach the top of the country charts. In a poignant close, Don Henley returns and joins Yearwood to reprise their fan-favorite, early ‘90s chart-topping collaboration, “Walkaway Joe,” for a luminous end.

The musical performers are accompanied by the ACL All-Stars house band, led by original ACL Hall of Fame inductee, renowned steel guitarist and musical director Lloyd Maines, and featuring guitarist David Grissom, keyboardist Chris Gage, bassist Bill Whitbeck and drummer Tom Van Schaik.

“Back in the early ‘90s, Trisha Yearwood was one of the first of the new wave of female Country superstars who took the ACL stage,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “It helped to open the door to the next generation of women in Country music, and her powerful voice and presence continue to inspire today.”

A companion HOF installment premiered in January 2024 toasting the late singer-songwriter John Prine. Actor Ethan Hawke inducted the beloved icon posthumously as music greats Tyler Childers, Valerie June, Tommy Prine, Nathaniel Rateliff, Allison Russell and Kurt Vile saluted the celebrated artist in a moving hour featuring exclusive ACL intimate tributes alongside highlights from Prine’s eight appearances on the ACL stage. 

Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors Trisha Yearwood (in order of appearance):

Archive (1992): “Like We’ve Never Had a Broken Heart”

Archive (1996): “XXX’s and OOO’s”

Archive (1996): “Walkaway Joe”

Brothers Osborne “Wrong Side of Memphis”

Brandy Clark “The Song Remembers When”

Ronnie Dunn & Trisha Yearwood “I’ll Carry You Home”

Jo Dee Messina “She’s In Love With the Boy”

Don Henley & Trisha Yearwood “Walkaway Joe”

ACL’s Season 49 premiered in October 2023 with a diverse slate featuring ACL debuts from breakout artists including folk-pop singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, indie-pop trio MUNA, rap star Lil Yachty and rising singer-songwriters Brittney Spencer and Sudan Archives. Highlights included newly-minted 2024 Grammy-winners, Jason Isbell and his band The 400 Unit in their third appearance, and bluegrass star Molly Tuttle and her band Golden Highway making their ACL debut. Returning favorites included rock superstars Foo Fighters in an epic hour, ACL Hall of Fame icon Bonnie Raitt for the first time in a decade, country standout Margo Price, indie favorite Jenny Lewis, and the long-awaited comeback, after nearly four decades, of country icon Tanya Tucker. The slate featured deep-dive hours spotlighting first-ever appearances by alternative rock superstar Alanis Morissette, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legends Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo and Latin music powerhouse Jorge Drexler in an all-Spanish language hour. Season 49 featured an unprecedented season premiere with guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela joined by the Austin Symphony Orchestra. The first tapings of ACL’s milestone Season 50 were recently announced and include returning favorites, Austin hometown hero Gary Clark Jr., celebrated singer Brittany Howard, Colombian superstar Juanes and Austin’s own Black Pumas

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. 

Established in 2014, the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame celebrates the legacy of legendary artists and key individuals who have played a vital part in the pioneering music series remarkable half-century as a music institution. The Hall of Fame has inducted over twenty-five artists at eight previous ceremonies including Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Lloyd Maines, Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn, Guy Clark, Flaco Jiménez, Townes Van Zandt, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Roy Orbison, Rosanne Cash, The Neville Brothers, Ray Charles, Marcia Ball, Los Lobos, Lyle Lovett, Buddy Guy, Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Wilco and Alejandro Escovedo. The eighth annual HOF welcomed Sheryl Crow and Joe Ely to its ranks.

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.

Austin City Limits Hall of Fame

In 2014, Austin PBS, KLRU-TV — creator and producer of the legendary PBS show Austin City Limits — established the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame to recognize legendary musicians and key individuals who have been instrumental in making television’s longest-running popular music show an institution. Each year a new class of honorees are inducted and celebrated at a live event taped to air on PBS. It is also a historical archive, educational resource and celebration of Austin City Limits —telling the story of the show through photos, a timeline/anthology mural and in the near future, an interactive database of vintage Austin City Limits performances and video footage of interviews, behind-the-scenes and never before seen performances throughout the decades. Honorees to-date include Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Lloyd Maines, Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn, Flaco Jiménez, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, B.B. King, Rosanne Cash, The Neville Brothers, Roy Orbison, Marcia Ball, Ray Charles, Los Lobos, Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, Buddy Guy, Lucinda Williams, Wilco, Alejandro Escovedo, Joe Ely, Sheryl Crow, John Prine and Trisha Yearwood.

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Featured News

Austin City Limits salutes the winners of the 2024 Grammy Awards

Austin City Limits extends a hearty congratulations to the winners of last night’s 2024 Grammy Awards. Co-produced by ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, the 66th annual ceremony honored a wide variety of popular and lauded artists from all walks of musical life, including several of our distinguished alumni.

Pop star Billie Eilish, who made her ACL debut in Season 45, took home the Song of the Year trophy, as well as Best Song for Visual Media, for her Barbie soundtrack ballad “What Was I Made For?” Singer/songwriters Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, who graced our stage in Seasons 47 and 45, respectively, planted their flags firmly in the rock categories with their trio boygenius, claiming Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for “Not Strong Enough” and Best Alternative Music Album for The Record. Killer Mike, who blew the ACL audience away with his Season 43 performance with duo Run the Jewels, dominated the rap categories, winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for “Scientists and Engineers” and Best Rap Album for the appropriately titled Michael

Jason Isbell on Austin City Limits, 2023. Photo by Scott Newton.

ACL veteran Jason Isbell, who recently showcased his latest album Weathervanes in an acclaimed Season 49 hour, earned Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Song for the album and its s fan-favorite single “Cast Iron Skillet.” Alongside her band Golden Highway, fellow Season 49 guest Molly Tuttle garnered herself a Best Bluegrass Album award for a remarkable second consecutive year, with her recent City of Gold, which she previewed during her thrilling ACL debut.. Other roots-oriented winners that have appeared on the ACL stage include Chris Stapleton (Best Country Solo Performance, Best Country song for “White Horse”), Brandy Clark and Brandi Carlile (Best Americana Performance for “Dear Insecurity”), featured during this year’s Americana Honors hour, Allison Russell (Best American Roots Performance for “Eve Was Black”), Kacey Musgraves (Best Country/Duo Performance for her Zach Bryan duet “I Remember Everything”), and the Blind Boys of Alabama (Best Roots Gospel Album for Echoes of the South). In a special Grammy moment,, the great singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman, who appeared on the ACL stage in a much-acclaimed episode from Season 29, made a surprise appearance on the telecast, joining country star Luke Combs for a radiant duet on his Grammy-nominated cover of her iconic, 1989 Grammy-winning song “Fast Car.”

Tracy Chapman on Austin City Limits, 2003. Photo by Scott Newton.

Bluegrass icon Bela Fleck, who has appeared on ACL multiple times with the Flecktones, a supergroup of bluegrass stars, and as a member of bands New Grass Revival and Strength in Numbers, proved the power of stylistic diversity by winning both Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance and Best Global Music Performances for As We Speak, his collaboration with fellow SIN vet Edgar Meyer and Indian percussion god Zakir Hussain. We salute this year’s winners and nominees; find the complete list of winners and nominees here.

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Featured Hall of Fame News Taping Announcement

Austin City Limits Announces Full Line-Up for 2023 ACL Hall of Fame

Austin City Limits proudly announces additional guest performers for the 2023 ACL Hall of Fame Inductions & Celebration on October 26, 2023. Acclaimed singer-songwriters Brandy Clark, Valerie June, Nathaniel Rateliff and Grammy-winning duo Brothers Osborne will join the previously announced line-up of music luminaries slated to perform: Tyler Childers, Ronnie Dunn, Don Henley, Jo Dee Messina, Tommy Prine, Allison Russell and Kurt Vile. The all-star line-up will salute a pair of American originals—country superstar Trisha Yearwood and late, beloved singer-songwriter John Prine—with one-of-a-kind music performances and intimate tributes as they are inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame. All-star guests will handle induction honors on this epic night: Don Henley will induct Trisha Yearwood; renowned actor and filmmaker Ethan Hawke will induct John Prine posthumously. 

The inductees will be honored at a star-studded ceremony at ACL’s studio home, ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame is produced by Austin PBS. Musical highlights and inductions from the celebration will air as a pair of companion Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Honors installments dedicated to each inductee, set to air in January 2024 on PBS.

Co-founder of the Eagles Don Henley, will induct his longtime friend Trisha Yearwood and perform in tribute. Brandy Clark and Brothers Osborne join country greats Jo Dee Messina and Ronnie Dunn in saluting Yearwood; additionally, honoree Yearwood is slated to perform with Don Henley at the celebration. Actor and Austin native Ethan Hawke will induct John Prine, who passed away in 2020. Music great Nathaniel Rateliff and musician, artist, and bestselling author Valerie June join the musical salute as a stellar slate of guest artists take the stage to pay tribute to their friend, mentor and inspiration, including acclaimed singer-songwriter Tyler Childers, who performed with Prine during his final ACL taping in 2018 for Season 44, Americana great Allison Russell, and singer, songwriter and guitar ace Kurt Vile. John’s son, singer-songwriter Tommy Prine, will perform in honor of his father.

ACL Hall of Famer, renowned steel guitarist and producer Lloyd Maines, returns as Music Director, leading the ACL All-Stars house band featuring guitarist David Grissom, keyboardist Chris Gage, bassist Bill Whitbeck and drummer Tom Van Schaik

The event is open to the public and a limited number of tickets are on sale at acltv.com/hall-of-fame.  Sponsor packages are available at acltv.com/hall-of-fame. All proceeds benefit Austin PBS

Austin City Limits celebrates 50 years as a live music beacon with a yearlong milestone celebration beginning in 2024: on October 17, 1974, Willie Nelson taped the pilot episode and the trailblazing series premiered in 1975. Stay tuned for news on special concerts, fan events and activations as Austin City Limits salutes an incredible legacy of 50 golden years of American musical history and iconic performances. 

Since its inception in 2014, the annual ACL Hall of Fame celebration honors the legendary artists who helped to build the legacy of the trailblazing music series as it nears a remarkable half-century milestone as a music institution. The inaugural awards honored Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The ninth class of inductees features two legendary acts: Multiple GRAMMY®, CMA® and ACM® Award-winner Trisha Yearwood debuted on the series in Season 17 in 1992. She went on to make two additional headlining appearances in 1996 and 2000 and returned in Season 41 in 2015 as a guest of Don Henley. The late singer-songwriter John Prine appeared regularly on ACL throughout his celebrated five-decade career. Prine made his first Austin City Limits appearance in 1978, in the third season of the nascent show, and returned for his eighth and final appearance forty years later in Season 44 in 2018. The influential artist appeared on a Songwriters Special in 1983 alongside peers including Guy Clark and Rodney Crowell, and made headlining appearances in 1988, 1992 and 1996; and in 2002 appeared as a special guest of Bonnie Raitt. Austin City Limits saluted Prine with a posthumous retrospective hour in 2020, which aired as the season premiere of Season 46 and highlighted classic gems from his catalog.

Established in 2014, the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame celebrates the legacy of legendary artists and key individuals who have played a vital part in the pioneering music series remarkable nearly half-century as a music institution. The Hall of Fame has inducted over twenty artists at eight previous ceremonies including Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Lloyd Maines, Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn, Guy Clark, Flaco Jiménez, Townes Van Zandt, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Roy Orbison, Rosanne Cash, The Neville Brothers, Ray Charles, Marcia Ball, Los Lobos, Lyle Lovett, Buddy Guy, Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Wilco and Alejandro Escovedo. The eighth annual Hall of Fame in 2022 welcomed Sheryl Crow and Joe Ely to its ranks. 

Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame is produced by Austin PBS and funding is provided in part by AXS Ticketing.

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Featured News

ACL congratulates the 2022 Grammy nominees

The nominations for the 64th annual Grammy Awards are out! We congratulate all the nominees this year, and we’d like to throw a spotlight on all the Austin City Limits alumni who received nods. The Grammy Awards telecast will broadcast on January 31, 2022 at 8 pm ET. 

We’re thrilled to note that not only did Season 47 firebrand Jon Batiste lead the pack with a whopping 11 nominations, but they’re spread out across more categories than possibly anyone in Grammy history: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, two R&B nominations, two Jazz nominations, two American Roots nominations, and one each for soundtrack, classical composition and Best Music Video. The Marfa Tapes, the album showcased beautifully on our stage by Miranda Lambert and songwriting partners Jack Ingram & Jon Randall in our S47 premiere, received a nod for Best Country Album.  S47 alumnus Olivia Rodrigo, whose ACL debut premieres December 4, scored seven nods, including top honors of Record, Song and Album of the Year, Best New Artist, two in the Pop category and Best Music Video. Season 47 artists with a pair of Grammy noms apiece include Leon Bridges, Billy Strings and Japanese Breakfast (who guested in our upcoming Hall of Fame episode) earning top honors in the R&B, Bluegrass and Alternative categories along with Jackson Browne, St. Vincent, Sarah Jarosz and Brandy Clark with prestigious nominations covering the Americana, Alternative, Folk and Roots spectrum.

St. Vincent, Austin City Liimits, 2021. Photo by Scott Newton.

A stellar slate of previous ACL performers wracked up the nominations as well, with Season 45 breakout H.E.R. earning eight nods, including Album and Song of the Year, Season 45 star Billie Eilish gaining seven, including Record, Album and Song of the Year, and Seasons 36 and 44 killer Brandi Carlile getting four, including Record and Song of the Year. Singer extraordinaire Angelique Kidjo and gospel queen CeCe Winans each earned three nominations, while Foo Fighters, Black Pumas, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, Rhiannon Giddens, Sturgill Simpson, Yola, Femi Kuti, Bela Fleck and Robert Glasper of August Greene got two apiece. 

The list of ACL veterans who received a nomination is too long to list here, but trust us: it’s impressive, and worth clicking through to the Grammys page to peruse. Congratulations and good luck to all the nominees!

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Featured New Broadcast News Taping Recap

Episode recap: Brandy Clark and Charley Crockett

Austin City Limits spotlights a pair of country’s finest: Brandy Clark and Charley Crockett in a new installment premiering October 30 at 9pm ET/8pm CT as part of the series Season 47. Acclaimed singer-songwriter Brandy Clark performs songs from her Grammy-nominated album Your Life is a Record and breakout troubadour Charley Crockett delivers an entertaining set with country & western songs from his latest Music City USA. Despite the challenges facing live music during the past year, ACL is proud to deliver a new season of performances for viewers, all recorded at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas in 2021, in front of limited live audiences. The program 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 a remarkable 47 years. 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. 

An eight-time Grammy nominee, CMA and GLAAD Media Award-winner, Brandy Clark is one of her generation’s most respected and celebrated songwriters and musicians. The Nashville-based tunesmith has written smashes for Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, and others, as well as scoring her own string of hits. She’s been called “one of the greatest short-story-songwriters in country” and showcases her gift for capturing characters’ interior lives in her ACL debut. Performing gems from Your Life is a Record, Clark opens with the Grammy-nominated stunner “Who You Thought I Was.” A set highlight is “Remember Me Beautiful,” a powerful elegy to those lost, and a song that has especially resonated with audiences worldwide during the pandemic. Clark closes out her magnetic set with a pair of fan favorites from her 2014 debut album 12 Stories, the buoyant “Get High” and the stately “Hold My Hand,” demonstrating her remarkable range.

“I’m Charley Crockett…Charley with an ‘ey’ like Charley Pride and Crockett with two t’s like Davey,” announces the charismatic singer-songwriter in a luminous ACL debut. Hailing from the Texas bordertown of San Benito, the rising star is earning raves for his live shows and singular style that combines Western swing, swirling Tex-Mex, roadhouse boogies, Cajun and country blues. The prolific Crockett, a recent nominee for Emerging Act of the Year at the 2021 Americana Music Awards, performs his brand of “Gulf & Western” music in an irresistible set filled with highlights from his repertoire and his recent album Music City USA. Crockett opens with the throwback shuffler “Goin’ Back to Texas” accompanied by his band the Blue Drifters on shimmering keyboards, trumpet, pedal steel, standup bass and scorching guitar. The Lone Star native performs “In the Corner” from his recent tribute album to the late Texas honky-tonker James Hand alongside his own two-steppin’ classic “Welcome to Hard Times.“ Willie Nelson said it best,” says Crockett, “this one’s about the wrong side of the Mississippi” before launching into the title track Music City USA. “It’s been an honor to serve you tonight,” says Crockett as he and his band of Drifters ride out with the freight-train rhythm of “Paint It Blue.” 

“Austin City Limits has always been a home to the Country music outlaws, rule-breakers, and gender and genre-benders,’ said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Brandy and Charley live up to that tradition. They’re both storytellers with an edge.”

Brandy Clark

WHO YOU THOUGHT I WAS

PAWN SHOP

LOVE IS A FIRE

REMEMBER ME BEAUTIFUL

GET HIGH

HOLD MY HAND

Charley Crockett

GOIN’ BACK TO TEXAS

IN THE CORNER

WELCOME TO HARD TIMES

LEAD ME ON

MUSIC CITY USA

IN THE NIGHT

THE VALLEY

PAINT IT BLUE

Season 47 Broadcast Line-up (second half of season to be announced separately):

October 2 Miranda Lambert with Jack Ingram & Jon Randall

October 9 Jade Bird / Dayglow

October 16 Jon Batiste

October 23 Sarah Jarosz / Billy Strings

October 30 Brandy Clark / Charley Crockett

November 6 Leon Bridges / Khruangbin

November 13 Jackson Browne

November 20 Brittany Howard

Watch live, stream anytime, and let ACL be a trusted sidekick for entertainment during these challenging days. The complete line-up for the full 13-week season, including five new episodes to air beginning January 2022, will be announced at a later date.  Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding live streams, future tapings and episode schedules or by following ACL on Facebook, Twitter and IG. Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews.

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 47th 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.  

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

Categories
Featured New Broadcast News

ACL announces Season 47 broadcast schedule

Iconic television series Austin City Limits proudly announces the fall return of the program and the initial Season 47 broadcast line-up with eight all-new installments to begin airing October 2 at 8pm CT/9pm ET as part of the blue-chip broadcast’s thirteen-episode season. ACL brings fans a full season, packed with a stellar slate of ACL legends and highly-anticipated debuts from some of today’s most talked-about live acts. Despite the challenges facing live music during the last year, ACL is proud to deliver brand new performances for fans, all recorded at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas in 2021, in front of limited live audiences. The program 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 a remarkable 47 years. 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.

Austin City Limits returns this fall with a singular highlight as the season opener: country superstar Miranda Lambert joined by songwriting partners Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, showcase their acclaimed The Marfa Tapes, an album recorded in the West Texas desert town of Marfa. This dazzling acoustic hour spotlights the three longtime friends and co-writers, and offers a fascinating look at the trio’s collaborative and creative process, filled with the stories behind the songs and late night tales behind the recording. 

The season continues with highly-anticipated debut appearances: New Orleans bandleader Jon Batiste, a Grammy and Oscar-winning musician, delivers a high-energy tour-de-force backed by an 18-piece band, performing selections from his soulful album WE ARE in a must-see hour. ACL spotlights next-generation standouts: acclaimed young British singer-songwriter Jade Bird brings songs from her new album Different Kinds of Light; she shares an hour with Austin indie-pop breakout artist Dayglow, who performs songs from his Harmony House. A pair of country sensations shine in a captivating double-bill with CMA Award-winner and eight-time Grammy nominee Brandy Clark showcasing her 2021 Grammy-nominated Your Life is a Record; while rising star Texas country singer Charley Crockett debuts songs from his new Music City USA. Grammy-winning bluegrass stars share a spell-binding hour that forecasts the genre’s future: Sarah Jarosz makes her third appearance on the ACL stage with selections from World On the Ground, the 2021 Grammy-winner for Best Americana Album; while fan favorite Billy Strings delivers an electrifying debut with songs from Home, his 2021 Grammy Award-winning Best Bluegrass Album and debuts new numbers from his upcoming Renewal. Two Texas originals share a highly-anticipated hour: Grammy-winning Fort Worth R&B artist and songwriter Leon Bridges makes his second ACL appearance with highlights from his latest, Gold-Diggers Sound, and Houston eclectic groove trio Khruangbin make their ACL debut with standouts from their global sensation Mordechai

A season highpoint is the ACL return of legendary singer-songwriter Jackson Browne for the first time in nearly 20 years, as he showcases a chart-topping new collection of songs, Downhill From Everywhere, alongside career highlights from his five decade career. Celebrated singer and multiple Grammy recipient Brittany Howard rounds out the first half of Season 47, returning to the ACL stage for a long-awaited solo debut with songs from her 2021 Grammy-winning gem Jaime

“The world is still fighting its way out of this pandemic, but Austin City Limits is back – without missing a beat,” says longtime executive producer Terry Lickona. “As always, we love to mix things up with some remarkable new talent as well as fan favorites, along with a few surprises. ACL celebrates the return of live music!”

Season 47 Broadcast Line-up (second half of season to be announced separately):

October 2 Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram & Jon Randall: The Marfa 

Tapes

October 9 Jade Bird / Dayglow

October 16 Jon Batiste

October 23 Sarah Jarosz / Billy Strings

October 30 Brandy Clark / Charley Crockett

November 6 Leon Bridges / Khruangbin

November 13 Jackson Browne

November 20 Brittany Howard

Watch live, stream anytime, and let ACL be a trusted sidekick for entertainment during these challenging days. The complete line-up for the full 13-week season, including five new episodes to air beginning January 2022, will be announced at a later date.  Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding live streams, future tapings and episode schedules or by following ACL on Facebook, Twitter and IG. Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews.

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 47th 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.  

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