Margo Price tapes ACL, 2023. Photo by Scott Newton.
Congratulations to singer/songwriters Margo Price and Charley Crockett for their multiple nominations for the 2023 Americana Music Awards. Most recently seen taping our current Season 49’s first show, Price received top honors of Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year. Crockett, who debuted on the ACL stage in Season 47, garnered nominations in the same prestigious categories. For the past decade, ACL has partnered with the Americana Music Association to deliver an annual ACL Presents broadcast featuring performance highlights from the Americana Honors celebration.
We’d also like to extend a hearty “huzzah” to Price and Crockett’s fellow ACL alumni Bonnie Raitt, Billy Strings, Allison Russell, The War and Treaty, Angel Olsen, Nickel Creek, Tyler Childers, and SistaStrings (who backed both Brandi Carlile and Allison Russell in Season 48) for their well-earned nominations. Rolling Stone helpfully rounded up all the noms here.
The AMA winners will be announced on Sept. 20 during the 22nd Annual Americana Honors & Awards at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 22: (L-R) Amanda Shires and Maren Morris of The Highwomen, Yola, Brandi Carlile of The Highwomen, Jason Isbell and Natalie Hemby of The Highwomen perform onstage at the 20th Annual Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 22, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Americana Music Association)
Austin City Limits returns to Nashville for a special broadcast featuring performance highlights from the 20th Annual Americana Honors. For two decades, the annual celebration of roots music has honored the best and brightest musicians in Americana music while showcasing one-of-a-kind performances and collaborations. The program is filled with musical highlights from many of the event’s award-winners and honorees, among them (in order of appearance): Fisk Jubilee Singers with Leon Timbo, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan & Joe Henry, Allison Russell, The Highwomen, featuring Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires with Yola, Jason Isbell, Valerie June & Carla Thomas, Charley Crockett, Amythyst Kiah, Buddy Miller, Brandi Carlile & The Mavericks. The hourlong special premieres Saturday, April 2 at 7pm CT/8pm ET on PBS and varies by market (check local listings for times). Check PBS listings for local airtimes. The special will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, April 3 @10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding upcoming Season 48 tapings, episode schedules and select live stream updates.
Recorded live at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium in 2021, The Americana Music Association’s 20th Annual Americana Honors & Awards ceremony is a celebration of the confluence of roots, blues, soul, folk and country music. For the tenth year, the producers of Austin City Limits, in conjunction with producers Martin Fischer, Michelle Aquilato, and Jed Hilly for the Americana Music Association, proudly deliver a special ACL Presents.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 22: Fisk Jubilee Singers perform onstage at the 20th Annual Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 22, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Americana Music Association)
Lifetime Achievement Award honorees Fisk Jubilee Singers, the award-winning choir formed at Nashville’s HBCU Fisk University, open the hour and raise the Ryman roof with the stirring spiritual “I Believe” joined by gospel great Leon Timbo. Americana’s Artist of the Year Brandi Carlile delivers a gorgeous solo performance of her 2022 triple Grammy-nominated song “Right On Time” and also performs with her bandmates Maren Morris, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires in country supergroup the Highwomen, joined by greats Yola and Jason Isbell for the occasion. Multiple Americana Album of the Year nominees showcase highlights: Americana stalwart Sarah Jarosz performs “I’ll Be Gone,” a gem from her celebrated World on the Ground, joined by John Leventhal; Valerie June performs her Song of the Year-nominated “Call Me A Fool” from her The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers, joined by Stax great and Lifetime Achievement honoree Carla Thomas; and one of the genre’s top stars, Jason Isbell, is joined by wife and collaborator Amanda Shires for “Letting You Go,” a poignant song written for their young daughter from his acclaimed Reunions.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 22: Valerie June performs onstage at the 20th Annual Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 22, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Americana Music Association)
The award’s Emerging Artist honorees take the stage to showcase their talents: the year’s Emerging Artist Award-winner and “the pride of San Benito, Texas,” Charley Crockett, makes a sparkling debut with his singular brand of Gulf & Western music, performing the two-stepping “Are We Lonesome Yet.” Fellow nominee, genre-bending artist Allison Russell, delivers her 2022 double Grammy-nominated “Nightflyer,” a soulful number from her critically-acclaimed solo record Outside Child, also a 2022 Grammy nominee for Best Americana Album. Breakout singer-songwriter Amythyst Kiah showcases her bonafides with a powerhouse “Fancy Drones (Fracture Me),” forecasting the future of the genre.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 22: Amythyst Kiah performs at the 20th Annual Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 22, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Americana Music Association)
The special pays tribute to a pair of Americana greats we lost in 2021: Country-folk legend Nanci Griffith, a trailblazer in the genre, is saluted with a gorgeous reading of her “Gulf Coast Highway,” performed by Aoife O’Donovan and Joe Henry; country great Tom T. Hall is honored by famed musician Buddy Miller, who performs a memorable rendition of Hall’s classic “That’s How I Got to Memphis.”
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 22: Aoife O’Donovan and Joe Henry perform at the 20th Annual Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 22, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Americana Music Association)
The show closes with the eclectic rock-country-Latin band the Mavericks, recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Trailblazer Award, celebrating the diversity of the genre with “La Sitiera,” from their acclaimed Spanish-language album En Español.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 22: Raul Malo of The Mavericks performs at the 20th Annual Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 22, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Americana Music Association)
Broadcast setlist:
Fisk Jubilee Singers ft. Leon Timbo “I Believe”
Sarah Jarosz ft. John Leventhal “I’ll Be Gone”
Aiofe O’Donovan & Joe Henry “Gulf Coast Highway”
Allison Russell “Nightflyer”
The Highwomen (Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires, Natalie Hemby) ft. Yola & Jason Isbell
Jason Isbell ft. Amanda Shires “Letting You Go”
Valerie June ft. Carla Thomas “Call Me A Fool”
Charley Crockett ”Are We Lonesome Yet”
Amythyst Kiah “Fancy Drones (Fracture Me)”
Buddy Miller “That’s How I Got to Memphis”
Brandi Carlile “Right on Time”
The Mavericks “La Sitiera”
About AMERICANAFEST:
The 22nd annual AMERICANAFEST will take place September 13-17, 2022 in Nashville, Tenn., once again bringing together music industry professionals and fans alike for five days of discovery, insight and connections. Declared a “veritable juggernaut” by American Songwriter, AMERICANAFEST showcases hundreds of artists and bands throughout many notable venues in Nashville, TN. The destination event also features a first-rate industry conference, bringing together the top tier of the music business to discuss current industry topics and issues. Musical festivities are kicked off by the critically acclaimed Americana Honors & Awards, which celebrates luminaries and welcomes the next generation of trailblazers while offering one-of-a-kind performance pairings at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium. For more information, please visit www.americanamusic.org.
About the Americana Music Association:
The Americana Music Association is a professional not-for-profit trade organization whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world. The Association produces events throughout the year; including AMERICANAFEST and the critically acclaimed Americana Honors & Awards program. The Americana Music Association receives enormous support from the Tennessee Department of Tourism, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, ASCAP, BMI, SESAC.
About ACL Presents:
ACL Presents is music programming created by, or in association with, Austin PBS, the producers of Austin City Limits (ACL). ACL Presents programming includes television specials, live events, web series and recorded music presentations and is made in the spirit and standards of the legendary PBS series Austin City Limits, the longest-running live music series in television history. ACL Presents collaborations have included: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass with KQED and Americana Music Festival with Nashville Public Television (NPT).
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 2Miranda Lambert with Jack Ingram & Jon Randall
October 9Jade Bird / Dayglow
October 16Jon Batiste
October 23Sarah Jarosz / Billy Strings
October 30Brandy Clark / Charley Crockett
November 6 Leon Bridges / Khruangbin
November 13Jackson 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.
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 2at 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 2Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram & Jon Randall: The Marfa
Tapes
October 9Jade Bird / Dayglow
October 16Jon Batiste
October 23Sarah Jarosz / Billy Strings
October 30Brandy Clark / Charley Crockett
November 6 Leon Bridges / Khruangbin
November 13Jackson 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.
Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce we will live stream the highly-anticipated debut taping of a rising star, Texas country singer Charley Crockett on July 28 at 8 p.m. CT. ACL offers fans worldwide a unique opportunity to watch the ACL taping live in its entirety at this location.
Newly nominated for Emerging Act of the Year at the 2021 Americana Music Awards, Charley Crockett has become one of the leading lights in independent country music following a decade of busking on the streets of New York City and New Orleans, and only two years removed from life-saving open-heart surgery. The South Texas native crafts his self-proclaimed “Gulf & Western” sound by synthesizing country, blues, soul, cajun, Western Swing, R&B and other pieces of American roots music into an unmatched, truly singular sound. When Crockett’s voice comes out of your speakers, there is no confusing him for any other artist. Rolling Stone raves Crockett is “Gearing up for a breakout year” and NPR Music calls him “such a fascinating mix, very 21st century and very vintage.” The Wall Street Journal agrees, “Mr. Crockett’s unique vocal style is one third Ernest Tubb honky tonk with clipped-word diction, one third Bill Withers low-key, soulful crooning, and one third jazzy French Quarter second-line swagger.”
Hailing from the Texas bordertown of San Benito, Crockett was raised in an isolated, rural part of the Rio Grande Valley by a single mother in a trailer surrounded by sugar cane and grapefruit fields. As a teenager he was into free-styling and rapping. He spent formative years living with his uncle in New Orleans where he first became a street performer who discovered a love for folk music. In New York City he played hip hop and blues on street corners and in subway cars. What’s important to his identity as an artist, says Crockett, is that he has lived the songs he writes and sings. The prolific artist surprise released 10 For Slim: Charley Crockett Sings James Hand, a tribute to his friend and Texas honky tonk hero James Hand in February, and just announced Music City USA, another full-length album of new songs, out in September. We’re excited to welcome Charley Crockett and his band the Blue Drifters to the ACL stage.
Join us here on July 28 at 8 p.m. CT for this performance by Charley Crockett. The broadcast episode will air this fall on PBS as part of our upcoming Season 47.
Austin City Limits is proud to welcome a pair of highly-anticipated acts to our stage, making their ACL debuts as part of our Season 47: celebrated musician Jon Batiste on July 18, and acclaimed Texas singer-songwriter Charley Crockett on July 28.
Musician and composer Jon Batiste recently topped a banner awards season with an Academy Award for the soundtrack Soul, winning Best Score for Disney and Pixar’s hit animated film. His jazz-infused score, created alongside the work of fellow musicians Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, picked up over 35 international awards including a BAFTA, Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice award. Collecting his trophy at the Los Angeles ceremony, Batiste said: “What’s deep is that God gave us 12 notes. It’s the same twelve 12 notes that Duke Ellington had, Bach had, Nina Simone (had)…This moment is a culmination of a series of miracles. It’s so incredibly powerful to stand here and the lineage that we come from, the lineage in this film…I’m just thankful to God for those 12 notes.”
In between sessions for Soul, Jon Batiste also recorded a brand-new studio album, WE ARE, recently released on Verve Records to critical acclaim. The album debuted in the Top 10 R&B Charts, Top Album Charts, and the single “I NEED YOU” recently reached #1 on the AAA Radio Charts. Vanity Fair described the album as “a vivid turn from straight jazz to joyful, danceable pop and neo-soul”, while Billboard called it “a delightful marriage of contemporary jazz melodies and slick pop.” WE ARE represents a completely new sonic chapter for Jon Batiste. He wrote and planned much of the project in about a week from his dressing room at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he’s the musical director and bandleader. The album was recorded in New York, Los Angeles and in his native New Orleans, melding inspiration from his new home and new collaborators with that of the Batiste musical dynasty. On WE ARE, Batiste presents a captivating musical experience to the world rooted in catharsis, joy, freedom, contemplation and sensuality. It’s a love letter to his southern roots and the heritage of Black Music with guest appearances by Mavis Staples, Quincy Jones, Zadie Smith, PJ Morton, Trombone Shorty, St Augustine Marching 100, his father Michael Batiste, grandfather David Gauthier and many more. It is a meditation steeped in the sounds of the times with collaborators including POMO (Anderson.Paak), Ricky Reed (Lizzo), Jahaan Sweet (Drake, Eminem) as well as songwriter Autumn Rowe and producer Kizzo.
Batiste says, “WE ARE is a message of love for humanity, of humble reverence for our past, and of a hopeful future, in which we are the ones who can save us. The art reveals its motive to you. You just have to wait for the Spirit to tell you what it wants.” We are thrilled to welcome him for his first-ever appearance on the ACL stage.
photo by Bobby Cochran
Newly nominated for Emerging Act of the Year at the 2021 Americana Music Awards, Charley Crockett has become one of the leading lights in independent country music following a decade of busking on the streets of New York City and New Orleans, and only two years removed from life-saving open-heart surgery. The South Texas native crafts his self-proclaimed “Gulf & Western” sound by synthesizing country, blues, soul, cajun, Western Swing, R&B and other pieces of American roots music into an unmatched, truly singular sound. When Crockett’s voice comes out of your speakers, there is no confusing him for any other artist. Rolling Stone raves Crockett is “Gearing up for a breakout year” and NPR Music calls him “such a fascinating mix, very 21st century and very vintage.” The Wall Street Journal agrees, “Mr. Crockett’s unique vocal style is one third Ernest Tubb honky tonk with clipped-word diction, one third Bill Withers low-key, soulful crooning, and one third jazzy French Quarter second-line swagger.”
Hailing from the Texas bordertown of San Benito, Crockett was raised in an isolated, rural part of the Rio Grande Valley by a single mother in a trailer surrounded by sugar cane and grapefruit fields. As a teenager he was into free-styling and rapping. He spent formative years living with his uncle in New Orleans where he first became a street performer who discovered a love for folk music. In New York City he played hip hop and blues on street corners and in subway cars. What’s important to his identity as an artist, says Crockett, is that he has lived the songs he writes and sings. The prolific artist surprise released 10 For Slim: Charley Crockett Sings James Hand, a tribute to his friend and Texas honky tonk hero James Hand in February, and will release another full-length album of new songs later this year. We’re excited to welcome Charley Crockett and his band the Blue Drifters to the ACL stage.
