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Featured News

ACL artists collect 2023 Grammy Award nominations

Grammy season is upon us, as the nominations for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards were announced on Tuesday. We’re proud to see so many of our featured artists and distinguished alumni rack up nominations. Our Season 48 opener Brandi Carlile received seven nods, including Album of the Year for In These Silent Days, Record of the Year, Best Americana Performance and Best American Roots Song for “You and Me On the Rock,” on which she collaborated with fellow 48ers Lucius, and Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for “Broken Horses.” She showcased both nominated songs in her dazzling season premiere along with highlights from the celebrated album, which will encore on your local PBS station next year, check acltv.com for episode schedules.

Maren Morris on Austin City Limits, Oct. 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

We’re thrilled to showcase many of the nominees, including Maren Morris, Spoon and The War on Drugs, in full-hour performances in the second half of our Season 48, which will begin airing early next year, and the complete broadcast line-up will be announced in early December. Country star Maren Morris, who recently taped her first-ever ACL appearance, received a trio of nominations, including Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for “Circles Around This Town” and Best Country Album for Humble Quest. Austin-bred indie rockers Spoon received their first-ever nomination, Best Rock Album, for their acclaimed LP Lucifer On the Sofa. The War On Drugs scored a Best Rock Song nod for “Harmonia’s Dream” from their I Don’t Live Here Anymore.

Cimafunk on Austin City Limits, May 3, 2022. Photo by Scott Newton.

Current Season 48 standouts garnering accolades include Cuban sensation Cimafunk, who recently debuted on ACL in a performance for the ages, and received his first nomination (but surely not his last) for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album for El Alimento, while genre-defying songstress Allison Russell got nods for Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song for “Prodigal Daughter,” her collaboration with singer/songwriter Aoife O’Donovan. ACL Hall of Famer Lyle Lovett picked up a nomination for Best Americana Performance for “There You Go Again” alongside his pals and fellow AC Hall of Famers Asleep at the Wheel.

Sheryl Crow sings “I Shall Believe” with Brandi Carlile, Brittney Spencer and Lucius’ Jess Wolfe during the 8th annual ACL Hall of Fame induction, Oct. 27, 2022. Photo courtesy Austin City Limits.

Cheers to this year’s esteemed ACL Hall of Fame inductee Sheryl Crow, who returns to the Grammys with a nom for Best American Roots Song for “Forever,” a new song from her acclaimed 2022 documentary Sheryl. Stay tuned for our upcoming ACL Hall of Fame broadcast featuring the nine-time Grammy winner, which airs early next year and features one-of-a-kind collaborations including Sheryl and Brandi Carlile.

Kendrick Lamar performs on Austin City Limits, 2015. Photo by Scott Newton.

Season 48 artists aren’t the only ones who need to clear space on their mantle, however. Season 41 standout Kendrick Lamar collected a whopping eight nominations, including Record, Song and Album of the Year, plus the four Rap categories and Music Video of the Year. ACL four-timer Miranda Lambert garnered four nominations, including Best Country solo performance for “In Her Arms,” a song she first performed on last year’s Season 47 season premiere alongside co-writers Jon Randall and Jack Ingram. Our friend and ACL Hall of Famer Bonnie Raitt also scored four nods, including Song of the Year for “Just Like That” the title track from her acclaimed 2022 album. We here at the house that Willie built, are beyond thrilled to see Willie Nelson earn four nominations, including three in the Country field, proving that, at 89 years young, his career keeps rolling on.

Dolly Parton performs her ACL debut in 2000. Photo by Scott Newton.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, of course. Our prestigious alumni who received multiple nominations include Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Rosalía, the Black Keys and Angelique Kidjo, while single nods were had by Buddy Guy, Norah Jones, Elvis Costello, the late Dr. John, Florence + the Machine, and far too many more to list here. We encourage you to check out the full list of nominations is here. Co-produced by ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, the 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will broadcast on Sunday, February 5, on CBS. Good luck to everyone nominated.

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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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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

Episode recap: Miranda Lambert with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall

Austin City Limits is thrilled to launch Season 47 with a gem: an intimate hour of songs and friendship with country superstar Miranda Lambert joined by songwriting partners Jack Ingram and Jon Randall. The trio showcase their acclaimed collaborative project The Marfa Tapes, an album recorded in the West Texas desert town of Marfa, in a new installment premiering Saturday, October 2 @9pm ET/8pm CT. 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. 

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. 

“Welcome to Marfa” hollers Texas songwriting legend Jack Ingram, as he kicks off the captivating hour. “We’re on a journey together, to Marfa, Texas,” explains Miranda Lambert. “Thank you in advance for going down this songwriter trail with us—we hope you have some fun and cry a little and laugh a little and drink a lot.” The co-writers and longtime friends perform highlights from their recent trio record, The Marfa Tapes, alongside hits from their songwriting catalog including “Tin Man” and “Tequila Does.” The native Texan singer-songwriters, armed with acoustic guitars and intricate harmonies, take viewers on a “journey together out to the West side” of Texas where, Lambert says, “there’s a special kind of magic” and where the stripped-down songs were conceived, intentionally capturing the “dust, wind and the cactus” of the high desert. “Thanks for enjoying this campfire we’re trying to bring to you,” says ace guitarist Randall. The songwriters share the stories behind the songs: “There’s been some men in my life that have driven me to drink a little bit more,” confesses Lambert, introducing the soul-baring heartbreaker “Ghost.” The trio perform the first song they wrote on their initial trip to Marfa together in 2015, the gutpunch “The Wind’s Just Gonna Blow” with Lambert adding, “it started the whole shebang.” The entertaining hour offers laughter and levity with the country-cheater anthem “Am I Right or Amarillo,” and finds Lambert staring down a backstage temptress on “Geraldene,” with the takeaway “You’re trailer park pretty but you’re never gonna be Jolene.” Each songwriter shines in the spotlight, taking turns in the lead. The three trade verses on “Tin Man” for a stunning rendition of their 2018 ACM Song of the Year and close out the memorable hour with the rollicking ode to late nights and liquor with the spirited “Tequila Does.” 

photo by Scott Newton

“This hour will take you out to the wide open spaces of West Texas, where these songs came to life, and give you a rare look at the creative process of three of Country’s best songwriters,” said ACL Executive Producer Terry Lickona. “The only thing missing is the tequila.”

Episode setlist:

Two-Step Down to Texas

Am I Right or Amarillo

Ghost

Anchor

In His Arms

Tin Man

Waxahachie

Geraldene

Wind’s Just Gonna Blow

Amazing Grace – West Texas

I Don’t Like It 

We’ll Always Have the Blues

Tequila Does

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 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.

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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.

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Featured News Taping Recap

Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall bring Marfa to ACL

There’s nothing like starting a new Austin City Limits taping season with something special. Singer/songwriters Jack Ingram and Miranda Lambert have spent time on our stage before, but not quite like this. Coming together with friend and fellow tunesmith Jon Randall, the Texas natives hit the small West Texas town of Marfa to create The Marfa Tapes, a stripped-down and intimate set of songs generated around a campfire (“to let the dust get in ‘em,” said Lambert) that could only come from a band of pals with time to kill and talent to burn. Now the trio has chosen to perform these songs in our studio, in their first-ever full-length show, a week prior to the record’s release, for a season kickoff like no other we’ve had. 

“Welcome to Marfa!” said Ingram as Randall broke into the Western swing rhythm of “Two Step Down to Texas,” a jovial celebration of Austin with Lambert on lead vocals and Ingram on whistle solo. Atop their stools and under their cowboy hats, the trio shifted to waltz time for “Am I Right or Amarillo,” a Randall-led tune that sounds like a honky-tonk classic you haven’t heard in ages. “We’re so happy to be the first show back at ACL,” noted Lambert from the stage. “It’s a dream to be here. Thank you for enjoying the campfire – we hope you laugh a little, cry a little and drink a lot!” The tune “Ghost” followed, its nod to one of Lambert’s ex-paramours carried by the threesome’s stirring harmonies. Ingram took the spotlight next with the metaphorical “Anchor,” remarking that “these guys are the only ones who’d write a song with me about drowning…and love.” After elucidating some of the twenty years of history the three friends have shared, Lambert introduced the lovely single “In His Arms,” written, she said, while staring into the Marfa sunset. 

The atmosphere moved from sunset to starlight, as Ingram and Lambert told the story of the group’s first night in Marfa. That resulted in Lambert’s award-winning hit “Tin Man,” which the trio then performed with round robin vocals, Randall to Lambert to Ingram. “Let’s give Jon a big hand,” said Ingram about his session ace friend. “He’s carrying a lot of these guitar parts.” The man who got his start playing guitar for Emmylou Harris in her eighties band the Nash Ramblers then explained how The Marfa Tapes was recorded: three microphones, some guitars, and a few drinks. That led into the song “Waxahachie,” a ditty that grew out of an argument over which Texas highway leads to it – an argument settled by Lambert’s mom. (For the record: it’s IH 35.) Randall then knocked out the bluesy riff for “Geraldene,” a snarky shot across the bow of a would-be predator. The trio immediately shifted gears with “The Wind’s Gonna Blow,” a close-harmony ballad that was the first tune written for the project. That led to “Amazing Grace (West Texas),” a sparse, heartfelt tribute to the locale in which the record was made.  

Ingram told a story about fading into the night merely by walking away from the campfire the threesome shared, which prompted Lambert to remark, “I don’t like it when he disappears like that.” That was the genesis of “I Don’t Like It,” turning the songstress’ casual complaint into a meditation of the fragility of love. “We’re putting these songs down just the way we did in Marfa,” Lambert noted about the performance’s raw and unfiltered nature. Nobody complained, especially when Ingram led the trio into the closing time ode “We’ll Always Have the Blues.” The next song paid loving, if irreverent, tribute to the late Guy Clark by citing his classic “Homegrown Tomatoes” in a song by the same name. “We were not drinkin’ when we wrote this song,” Lambert insisted (to Ingram’s casual denial), before launching into the cheeky “Tequila Does,” a song that first appeared on Lambert’s most recent album Wildcard before finding its second home on its writers’ LP. 

For the final number, the trio raised a glass to another lost legend – Austin music pioneer Jerry Jeff Walker, who passed away in 2020. That meant, of course, closing the show with “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother,” penned by Ray Wylie Hubbard, made famous by Walker and sung by the three friends in their best outlaw style – with a little help on the chorus from the crowd. With that rowdy exit, Ingram, Lambert and Randall left the stage, leaving behind a performance other seasons will be hard-pressed to match as kickoffs go. We can’t wait for you to see it when it airs this fall on your local PBS station as part of our Season 47.

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Featured News Taping Announcement Uncategorized

TAPING: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall’s The Marfa Tapes on 4/28 – limited audience

Austin City Limits welcomes Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall as they present their upcoming album The Marfa Tapes on April 28 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater.

Deep in the heart of the Trans-Pecos lies a little town with an outsized grip on the American imagination: Marfa, Texas. For decades Marfa has attracted artists and wanderers, visionaries and misfits, loners and oddballs. The desolate meeting of high desert and rugged mountains is a filmmaker’s dream (see No Country For Old Men or There Will Be Blood, both of which were filmed here), and the infinite, empty sky leaves you with little doubt as to your place in the universe. Marfa is the perfect place to lose—or find—yourself. For singer/songwriters Miranda Lambert (who has visited the ACL stage three times),  Jack Ingram (who last appeared 25 years ago in Season 22) and Jon Randall (who makes his ACL debut), it was both. 

Writing retreats to Marfa became a regular tradition for Lambert, Randall, and Ingram, one that yielded both massive hits and profound personal growth. When the trio returned for five days this past November though, they came not to write, but to record, capturing a captivating new album inspired by the stark beauty of west Texas and the deep, lasting bonds the three have forged there. Recorded raw and loose with just a pair of microphones and an acoustic guitar, The Marfa Tapes is a work of audio verité, an intimate, unadorned snapshot of a moment in time fueled by love, trust, and friendship. The trio recorded much of the album outdoors, inviting the ambient sounds of the desert to seep into their live, bare bones performances, and the atmosphere is utterly transportive. While a few of the tracks here may already be familiar to country listeners—ACM Song of the Year “Tin Man” turns up in its original, stripped-down state, as does fan favorite “Tequila Does”—the vast majority of the material has never been heard outside of Marfa, and the result is a rare glimpse inside the creative process of three of the genre’s most accomplished writers and performers, a candid, unvarnished look at Lambert, Randall, and Ingram’s undeniable chemistry in its purest, most honest form.

The songs on this album would sound great anywhere, but there’s something about these recordings, about the rustling of the wind and the crackling of the fire, that brings the music to life in a way no band arrangement or studio production ever could. The spaciousness here leaves plenty of room for the imagination to roam, and the desert, mountains, and sky are all just as integral to the sound as Lambert, Randall, and Ingram themselves. In the end, Marfa isn’t just the setting for this album; it’s the soul. 

Due to implemented safety measures and the ongoing uncertainty from COVID-19, there will be no giveaway for access to attend upcoming ACL tapings. With the safety of the artists, crew and guests top of mind, the limited studio audience will be prioritized to our donors who make Austin City Limits possible and who have continued to support the show during this challenging time and beyond. We will expand the audience as safety measures allow and will post giveaway opportunities on ACLTV.com as available. Thank you for your patience as we work to reopen safely. We can’t wait to get back to the music with our supporters and fans. 

Unfortunately, there will not be a public live stream of this taping. As always, the performances captured in our current tapings will broadcast this fall in ACL’s 47th season, and we encourage you to catch our encore episodes on your local PBS station.