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Encore Broadcast News

Encore: Florence + the Machine and Lykke Li

Austin City Limits made its name by showcasing the best American music, but over the past several years we’ve hardly limited ourselves to North American borders. This Saturday you can see some of the best music coming out of Europe, as we encore our fantastic episode featuring Florence + the Machine and Lykke Li.

Exploding out of the U.K., Florence + the Machine bring their unique vision of rock – incorporating everything from gutsy vocals to ethereal harp to raging guitars – to our stage for a blazing show. Twin anthems “Dog Days Are Over” and “What the Water Gave to Me” raise the roof as Florence Welch twirls across the stage like a beat-besotted ballerina. Florence fans know the score – this band is a force of nature.

The music of Lykke Li is more difficult to pin down, but that makes her work all the more enticing. The Swedish chanteuse (ACL’s first Scandinavian artist) deftly mixes elements of girl group pop, steamy soul and stately torch song for an otherworldly sound all her own. “Get Some,” “I Follow Rivers” and the gorgeous “Sadness is a Blessing” highlight this heavenly half-hour – tune in to hear Lykke Li’s distinctive sonic signature for yourself.

photo by Scott Newton

It’s a night of refreshingly unique indie rock this Saturday – check the episode page for more goodies, and your local listings for exact airtimes. Keep up with ACL on Facebook,Twitter and our newsletter. Next week: Coldplay.

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Encore Broadcast Featured News

Encore: Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic has spent time on the ACL stage before, visiting us in Seasons 26 and 31. But we never had a show quite like this. Not only was the Georgia band on a tour celebrating its 25th anniversary, but this Season 37 gem was recorded on St. Patrick’s Day during Austin’s venerable South By Southwest Music Festival. In other words, this episode treats fans to a retrospective show recorded in a party atmosphere. The south’s most resilient jam band performs not only recent material like “Dirty Side Down,” “Up All Night” and the salutatory “May Your Glass Be Filled,” but also reaches deep into its sizeable catalog.  Highlights include the choogling “Pigeons,” from its 1991 self-titled second record, the Junior Kimbrough cover “Junior,” from its reputation-solidifying 1994 LP Ain’t Life Grand, and the concert staple “Chilly Water,” from all-the-way-back-in 1988’s debut Space Wrangler. Add a feisty take on Tom Waits’ “Goin’ Out West” to the party and we’ve got a special Widespread Panic show.

Check out the episode page for more pertinent info, and check your local listings for showtimes. Don’t forget to check in with our Facebook and Twitter pages and newsletter for ACL news. Next week: Robert Earl Keen and Hayes Carll.

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Encore Broadcast News

Encore: Mumford & Sons/Flogging Molly

Folk rock has a long and glorious history and this weekend, we present a pair of contemporary music’s best folk rock practitioners, as we present an encore broadcast of Mumford & Sons and Flogging Molly.

Riding high on its wave of success from the bestselling Sigh No More, Mumford & Sons dazzles with fan favorites “The Cave” and “Roll Away Your Stone” and, poignant ballads “Timshel” and “Awake My Soul.” Iif you’re a super fan, you’re in for a special treat with “Lover of Light,” a previously unrecorded track. The energy on the night of the taping vibrated the walls, and it translates directly to the screen.

Speaking of energy, Flogging Molly comes next. The band storms the stage with tuneful melodies and puts on a magnificent show with their unique brand of Celtic folk/punk. We hope you tune in to enjoy lively renditions of “Requiem For A Dying Song,” “Tobacco Island,” “Devil’s Dance Floor,” and “Likes of You Again.” Bandleader Dave King called their ACL taping “the most important live performance they’ve ever done” – hard to say if that’s true, but this show makes a strong case.

photo by Scott Newton

You can find more details on the episode page. Don’t forget that you can hit up our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages for more ACL TV information. Next week: The National and Band of Horses.

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Encore Broadcast News

Encore: The Decemberists and Gillian Welch

Most music aficionados categorize themselves as lyrics versus music types. Both are essential to creating one-of-kind songs, but people seem to always identify most with one or the other. Fortunately for both types, this weekend Austin City Limits is bringing you an encore episode that features two artists that are known for their eloquent lyrics as well as their beautifully crafted harmonies: The Decemberists and Gillian Welch.

Portland natives The Decemberists have graced Austin City Limits twice and each time is as memorable and heartfelt as the other with their crowd participation and musically eclectic performance. In this episode we hear mostly from the group’s 2011 album The King is Dead with special accompaniment from Gillian Welch on “Down By The Water,” and Welch and David Rawlings on the final song, “All Arise!” There’s also the appearance of “The Rake’s Song,” from 2009’s Hazards of Love,  that serves as a crowd favorite and frontman Colin Meloy’s personal favorite recording.

Going with the “less is more” approach in their music, Gillian Welch and longtime partner David Rawlings have been creating their known sparse yet haunting music for two decades. Welch is also no stranger to the Austin City Limits stage – her appearance with us in Season 37 marked her third recording. Welch and Rawling perform predominantly from their 2011 album The Harrow & The Harvest, and also perform a classic rendition of “I’ll Fly Away.”

Whether you’re all about connecting with music on a lyrical level or a purely musicianship standpoint, you won’t be disappointed this weekend with this encore episode.

Be sure to check your local listings for showtimes to see this episode and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr to keep up with updates on tapings and airings. Next week: the Avett Brothers and the Heartless Bastards.

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Encore Broadcast News

Encore: Miranda Lambert & Jeff Bridges

Couldn’t make it to the Stagecoach festival this weekend? Well look no further because this Cinco de Mayo, Austin City Limits is bringing you some southern twang, pink guitars, shotgun mic stands and serious country with this encore episode featuring Miranda Lambert and Jeff Bridges.

Miranda Lambert has become a household name since her appearance on Nashville Star back in 2003 and is now, undoubtedly, one of country music’s biggest names. Miranda, whose father is a singer/songwriter, admits that she wasn’t always keen on singing growing up, but once she turned 17 she realized that music was the most natural way for her to express herself. Since then Miranda has released four studio albums and now has a side project with Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley called Pistol Annies, who join Lambert to sing “Hell On Wheels,”  their biggest hit of their album by the same name.

photo by Scott Newton

The highly acclaimed actor/singer Jeff Bridges joins Miranda in this episode singing hits from the Crazy Heart soundtrack as well as songs from his 2011 self-titled debut. Known for his prolific acting career, Bridges shows fans a different side displaying his singing and songwriting ability. While shooting Crazy Heart, Bridges realized that he was a bit tired of the “acting thing” and wanted to go back to his original interest: music. Highlights of the performance include the songs, “Somebody Else” and “What a Little Bit of Love Can Do,” written by beloved Austin musician Stephen Bruton.

So sit back and relax this Saturday with country music’s most famous and talented names. You won’t regret it watching this episode, but you may regret all Cinco de Mayo fiestas so do yourself a favor and join us this weekend.

Be sure to check your local listings for showtimes to see this episode and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr to keep up with updates on tapings and airings. Next week: the Decemberists and Gillian Welch.

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Episode Recap Featured News

Coldplay takes ACL to Paradise

This weekend we are excited to present a special episode featuring Coldplay.  Recorded last September, the performance features the band debuting several new songs off their latest release Mylo Xyloto, including “Paradise,” “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” and “Hurts Like Heaven,” as well as old favorites like  “Viva La Vida.”

MTV News called it a special night “when a band with a major arsenal finds a way to take its giant energy and squeeze it down into a much smaller space, without losing any of their arena-packing magic.”

Originally presented as a New Year’s Eve special to ring in 2012, the Coldplay show was a milestone for Austin City Limits. Coldplay gave us an extra-special performance, and we’re thrilled to bring it back this spring.

Coldplay performs on Austin City Limits

You can see for yourself this Saturday – check your local listings for the time your PBS station will broadcast this awesome episode. You can also go here for biographical info, pictures and the setlist. Don’t forget to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages and to sign up for our newsletter for more ACL TV sweet stuff. Next week: a guitar-saturated encore episode with Sonic Youth and the Black Keys.