Get your lighters out for an entertaining, sing-along hour of Austin City Limits (ACL) as recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo make their first-ever appearance on the series with a thrilling, career-spanning hour of rock gems and highlights. The new installment premieres January 27 at 7pm CT/8pm ET as part of the series Season 49. ACL airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings) and full episodes are made available to stream online at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast. The show’s official hashtag is #acltv. 2024 marks the 50th Anniversary of the revered music institution, which continues its extraordinary run as the longest-running music television show in history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for an incredible five decades. A monument to music, ACL has showcased iconic performances from legends and innovators in every genre of popular song for 50 years. Produced by Austin PBS, and recorded live at ACL’s studio home ACL Live in Austin, Texas, the show remains a required stopping point for the finest acts to deliver stellar performances from the venerable ACL stage. On October 17, 1974, the notoriously TV-shy Willie Nelson taped the pilot episode; the trailblazing series then premiered on PBS in 1975. This Peabody Award-winning program has earned its place in history and will salute its golden anniversary and incredible legacy with a yearlong celebration featuring archival gems, all-star tapings, a PBS special, live concerts and much more.
Forty-plus years into a legendary career, singer-songwriter Pat Benatar and producer-musician Neil Giraldo remain one of rock’s favorite unions. Benatar’s staggering vocals and take-no-prisoners attitude, along with Giraldo’s trailblazing artistry forged an undeniable chemistry in the late ‘70s and a singular sound that delivered iconic rock anthems. In their ACL debut, the powerhouse pair and their two-piece band showcase their bonafides with a hit parade of fan-favorites including “Promises In The Dark,” “Shadows Of The Night,” “Hell Is For Children” and “Love Is A Battlefield.” Benatar tells the crowd “We love this song as much as you do, and the most important thing about it is it brings people together,” before delivering an intimate version of one of their biggest hits, the power ballad “We Belong,” with Giraldo trading his mighty guitar for piano. The classic rock MVPs reach back to 1979 for their breakthrough hit, “Heartbreaker,” “the song that started it all,” notes Benatar, and pay tribute to another famous union as they weave in the June and Johnny Cash immortal “Ring of Fire”; Benatar’s voice soars on the epic choruses as Giraldo shreds his guitar full-throttle with blistering solos and the ecstatic crowd erupts in a sing-along and standing ovation for a dazzling close.
“It’s rare to have a rock & roll legend light up the ACL stage, so it’s twice as special to have TWO,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “Both Pat and Neil show they can still ‘fire up’ an audience with classic hits and blazing guitar solos.”
Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo setlist:
All Fired Up
We Live For Love
Promises In The Dark
We Belong
Shadows Of The Night
Hell Is For Children
You Better Run
Love Is A Battlefield
Heartbreaker/Ring of Fire
Season 49 Broadcast Schedule (Second Half):
January 13 Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors John Prine
January 20 Robert Glasper | DOMi and JD BECK
January 27 Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo
February 3 Tanya Tucker | Brittney Spencer
February 10 Noah Kahan | Flor de Toloache
February 17 Alanis Morissette
February 24 Bonnie Raitt
March 2 Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors Trisha Yearwood
Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding upcoming Season 50 tapings, live streams and episode schedules or by following ACL on Facebook, Twitter, IG and TikTok. Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews.
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.