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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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ACL salutes the winners of the 2023 Grammy Awards

A big “Huzzah!” from Austin City Limits to the winners of last night’s 2023 Grammy Awards. Co-produced for the 12th year by ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, the 65th ceremony celebrated the breadth, depth and variety of modern music, bestowing awards on several of our distinguished alumni. Season 48 opener Brandi Carlile took home a trio of top awards: Best Rock Performance and Best Rock song for “Broken Horses,” and Best Americana Album for In These Silent Days, the album from which it comes. ACL three-timer and Hall of Famer Bonnie Raitt won one of the Big Four awards with “Just Like That,” the title track of her acclaimed recent album, taking Song of the Year, as well as Best American Roots Song. She also earned a Best Americana Performance award for her song “Made Up Mind.” Rap icon Kendrick Lamar took home trophies for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for “The Heart Part 5,” as well as Best Rap Album for Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Singer Sam Smith won the Best Pop/Duo Performance award for “Unholy,” his duet with Kim Petras, who made history last night as the first openly trans performer to win a Grammy. And shout out to Willie Nelson, who’s been on ACL more times than anyone and recorded the pilot back in 1974—the icon added to his Grammy shelf awards for Best Country Solo Performance (“Live Forever,” from the Billie Joe Shaver tribute album of the same title) and Best Country Album (A Beautiful Time). 

Other winners from the ACL catalog include Rosalía, Wilco, Taj Mahal, the Neville Brothers’ Aaron Neville, August Greene’s Robert Glasper, Ry Cooder, Natalia Lafourcade, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Special shout-outs to Jack Antonoff, who appeared on ACL in Season 39 as a member of fun., for winning Producer of the Year for the second year in a row, and keyboardist Leo Genovese, who backed up Esperanza Spalding in Seasons 35 and 38 and Residente in Season 44, for sharing the Best Improvised Jazz Solo award with saxophone great Wayne Shorter. Find the complete list of winners and nominees here.

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ACL salutes the 2021 Grammy winners

Austin City Limits extends our congratulations to our distinguished ACL alumni for their big wins at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards. 

For the second year in a row, Billie Eilish won the top prize Record of the Year, this year for her single “Everything I Wanted,” as well as picking up the Best Song Written For Visual Media trophy for “No Time to Die,” the title track for the upcoming James Bond film. H.E.R. collected wins for Song of the Year for her single “I Can’t Breathe” (featured on the Judas and the Black Messiah soundtrack) and Best R&B Song for “Better Than I Imagine,” her collaboration with Robert Glasper (also of August Greene) and Meshell Ndegeocello. Our beloved John Prine picked up two awards for his posthumous single “I Remember Everything,” including Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song. 

Other ACL performers that need to make space on their trophy shelves this year include: James Taylor, Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, John Legend, Vince Gill, Brandi Carlile (as part of the Highwomen), Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton, Natalia Lafourcade, Sarah Jarosz, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, and Beck

We’re thrilled to feature many of the recent Grammy-winners on ACL’s upcoming Season 47. Miranda Lambert launches the new season with an April taping showcasing her newest collaborative project and later this season we’ll be showcasing Brittany Howard in her solo ACL debut and looking forward to hosting Sarah Jarosz in her third ACL outing. Stay tuned for more. 

You can see the full list of winners here. Congratulations to all. 

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Congratulations to the 2021 Grammy nominees

The nominations for the 63rd annual Grammy Awards have been announced, and while we’re happy for all the nominees this year, we’re chuffed for our Austin City Limits alumni who made the list. The Grammy Awards telecast, co-produced by ACL’s own Terry Lickona, will broadcast on January 31, 2021, hosted for the first time by The Daily Show host, Emmy-winner and Grammy-nominated Trevor Noah. 

We’re especially excited for our hometown heroes Black Pumas, who’ve scored nominations for Record of the Year and Best American Roots Performance for their hit “Colors,” as well as a nom for Album of the Year for the deluxe edition of their self-titled debut. We’re also thrilled that our own Ruthie Foster, whose episode airs on January 17, gained a Best Contemporary Blues Album nom, and Rufus Wainwright, whose sensational ACL debut aired back in October, earned a Best Traditional Pop Album nod. Mavis Staples, whose classic Season 38 performance encored two weeks ago, earned a Best American Roots Song nod for her duet with Norah Jones, while John Legend, whose magnificent Season 36 episode with the Roots encored in November, was nominated for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance. The late John Prine, whose memorable hour kicked off our 46th season, got two nods for Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song.  

Brittany Howard, ACL two-timer with her band Alabama Shakes, cleaned up with half a dozen nominations. Pop princess Billie Eilish received four, while country queen Miranda Lambert took three. Beck, Sarah Jarosz, Lucinda Williams and Brandi Carlile each got two nods. Dolly Parton, the late Leonard Cohen, Coldplay, Sturgill Simpson, H.E.R., Eric Church, David Byrne, Wilco, James Taylor, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Vince Gill, Natalia Lafourcade, Bettye LaVette, the Robert Cray Band, Bela Fleck, Michael Kiwanuka and the Steep Canyon Rangers scored one apiece. 

We’d also like to give special shout-outs in the coveted Producer of the Year category: to nominee and ACL three-timer Dan Auerbach and Dave Cobb, who hasn’t performed on ACL but has produced a ridiculous number of artists who have. It’s also a wonderful day in the PBS neighborhood as public television legend Fred Rogers is celebrated for Best Historical Album for It’s Such a Good Feeling: The Best of Mr. Rogers. Congratulations to all. 

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ACL congratulates the 2020 Grammy winners

Austin City Limits extends our congratulations to our Season 45 ACL performers for their big wins at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards. 

Billie Eilish took top honors last night, taking the trifecta of Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Record of the Year, as well as Best New Artist and Pop Vocal Album of the Year, all thanks to her double platinum debut When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (Her brother and creative partner Finneas also won Producer of the Year.) You can watch Billie showcase the LP on ACL in a new full-hour episode premiering Saturday, Feb. 1 on PBS – check your local listings, of course. 

photo by Scott Newton

Season opener Gary Clark Jr. also took home multiple trophies, winning Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance, and Best Contemporary Blues album. Other Season 45 guests with brand new Grammy awards on their shelves include Patty Griffin (Best Folk Album), Cage the Elephant (Best Rock Album), Vampire Weekend (Best Alternative Music Album) and Rosalía (Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album). The Spanish singer/songwriter/dancer will be featured in a full-hour performance in our season finale premiering February 8. 

photo by Scott Newton

We also salute ACL alumni Grammy winners: Tanya Tucker (Best Country Song, co-written by ACL two-timer Brandi Carlile, and Best Country Album – amazingly, her first wins in her decades-long career), Willie Nelson (Best Country Solo Performance), Elvis Costello (Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album), Sarah Jarosz and Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins (Best American Roots Song as part of supergroup I’m With Her), Esperanza Spalding (Best Jazz Vocal Album), Rodrigo y Gabriela (Best Contemporary Instrumental Album), Delbert McClinton (Best Traditional Blues Album), Keb’ Mo’ (Best Americana Album), Angelique Kidjo (Best World Music Album), Dolly Parton (sharing the Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance with King and Country) and John Legend (Best Rap/Sung Performance, for “Higher,” his collaboration with DJ Khaled and the late Nipsey Hussle). 

photo by Scott Newton

In addition, beloved singer/songwriter John Prine (saluted by his old friend Bonnie Raitt) and punk rock progenitor Iggy Pop both received Lifetime Achievement Awards for their distinguished service to music. ACL congratulates all the honorees and 2020 Grammy Award winners. 

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ACL Congratulates the 2020 Grammy Nominees

Austin City Limits congratulates all the nominees for the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. But we’d like to shine a spotlight on the many nominees who appear on ACL in our current Season 45 as well as nominees from prior seasons. We’re especially proud to showcase five of this year’s Best New Artist nominees this season.

A hale and hearty congrats to the artists who contributed to our milestone season 45, including Billie Eilish, who scored top noms for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Engineered Album, while her brother Finneas, who produced the album and performed with her on her upcoming episode, earned a nod for Producer of the Year. Soul sensation H.E.R. also gathered a slew of nominations, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song, while Austin hero and ACL season 45 opener Gary Clark Jr. earned noms for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Contemporary Blues Album and Best Music Video. 

Indie rock gods Vampire Weekend clock in with nods for Album of the Year, Best Rock Song, and Best Alternative Music Album, while Spanish superstar Rosalía clicks off the boxes for Best New Artist and Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album. Cage the Elephant was nominated for Best Rock Album and Patty Griffin for Best Folk Album. Plus Maggie RogersBlack Pumas and Tank and The Bangas share the nominations with Eilish and Rosalía for Best New Artist. Sarah Jarosz was nominated for Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song as part of I’m With Her, who appear in our upcoming special broadcast ACL Presents: Americana 18th Annual Honors. In addition, ACL vet Jimmie Vaughan and young blues guitar slinger Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, both of whom appear in our upcoming Hall of Fame special on Dec. 28, were each nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album.

“I think it’s pretty cool (and speaks well for us) that we’ve had so many nominees on the show this season,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, “ including five of the Best New Artist nominees.”

Many of our distinguished alumni received nominations this year as well. Veteran country music queen Tanya Tucker, who appeared in Season 11, garnered noms for Song of the Year, Best Country Album, Best Country Song, and Best Country Solo Performance for the album While I’m Livin’, created in collaboration with Brandi Carlile. Indie rock icon Bon Iver got nominated for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Alternative Music Album, and Best Recording Package, while Dan Auerbach received a Producer of the Year nod. Our friends Esperanza Spalding, Dolly Parton, Brittany Howard from Alabama ShakesCalexico and Iron & Wine got two nominations apiece (the latter two bands for a collaborative album), while Willie NelsonElvis CostelloEd SheeranRosanne CashKhalid, Reba McEntire, CeCe WinansRhiannon GiddensMiranda LambertVince GillRodrigo y GabrielaJohn LegendAngelique Kidjo, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Eric ChurchChris StapletonAndrew BirdPistol Annies, Keb’ Mo’, Delbert McClinton, and David Gray got one each.

A full list of all nominees can be found here – good luck to them all. The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards will telecast on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020.