Tag: Season 38

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Episode Recap New Broadcast News

Radiohead kicks off Austin City Limits’ new season this weekend!

The day after we recorded Radiohead  back in March, our reaction was, “Radiohead taped Austin City Limits last night. It almost feels like that’s all we need to say.” Even now, months later with the Season 38 premiere upon on us, we still feel the same sense of met anticipation. It was a happening that fans and we had personally been waiting for and it finally came to fruition. A band like Radiohead, (well, let’s be honest – there really isn’t a band out there like Radiohead) that can constantly challenge themselves and evolve to change their sound to continue to make beautiful and inspiring music is a rare gift. We are incredibly grateful to open up our 38th season with such progressive rock icons and modern day musical legends.

Radiohead opened their set with “Bloom,” the busy and fitting song for the occasion that opens their 2011 self-released album The King of Limbs. From there the group goes to the piano-heavy and melodic “Daily Mail,” another new song from last year. The rest of the set features a collective mix of tracks from TKOL, Hail to the Thief, Kid A, OK Computer, and new singles. One highlight of the night is when they played a forgotten B-side, “The Amazing Sounds of Orgy.” Of course the essence of the night was captured at the very end when the band played the big hits and crowd favorites, “Idioteque” and “Paranoid Android.”

For those that missed seeing the taping live, this is your opportunity to see what many described as being a passionate and “life-changing” performance. You can truly feel the energy of the band and the audience in this episode, and Thom Yorke’s dancing may even inspire you to flail around in your living room. (Seriously, if you don’t dance during “Idioteque” then there may be something wrong with your well-being.)

Don’t miss the premiere of Season 38 this weekend featuring Radiohead! Check your local listings for times and stations here. Also, don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook, if we get to 90,000 likes (we’re really close!) we’ll post an interview with Ed O’Brien and Thom Yorke. You can also follow us on Twitter and Tumblr for updates about tapings. Tune in next week for Bon Iver!

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Featured News Taping Announcement

Taping announcements: Delta Spirit, Gary Clark, Jr. and Esperanza Spalding

As leaves turn brown and the weather grows cooler, we have more exciting tapings to announce: an ACL debut with Delta Spirit and return visits from Gary Clark, Jr. and Esperanza Spalding.

Formed in San Diego and based in Brooklyn, modern rock quintet Delta Spirit have steadily built a loyal live following over the course of seven years and three records. Originally self-released before being picked up by Rounder Records, the band’s debut Ode to Sunshine gave its earnest, spiritually-inclined guitar pop enough attention to earn it spots on Late Night With Conan O’Brien and Last Call With Carson Daly. The group’s second record History From Below hit the Billboard album chart at #174, while its current self-titled LP entered at #103 and earned the #1 slot on BB’s Heatseekers chart. As likely to include beats hammered out on trashcan lids as sprightly melodies played on the usual rock instruments, Delta Spirit has brought its sound into the light the old-fashioned way: with good records, hard work and steady touring. Come find out on November 2 why the buzz is growing.

photo by Frank Maddocks

Gary Clark, Jr. has been tearing up Austin stages since he was a teenager, and has lately made a name for himself across the country as well. Though known for his driving blues-rock guitar style, there’s more to his music than just twelve bars and guitar solos. As Rolling Stone notes, Blak and Blu, his major label debut, “[owes] as much to Kurt Cobain and the Ramones as Buddy Guy and John Lee Hooker, indebted to hip-hop and psychedelia…grounded in tradition while standing on the brink of change.” Clark has appeared on ACL before, as part of the Tribute to Bluesman Jimmy Reed with Jimmie Vaughan and Omar Dykes, impressing his fellow musicians and our viewers. On November 30, he’s coming to show Austin City Limits what his own music can do.

photo by Carlos Pericas

With one foot in jazz, the other in soul and both hands on her bass, Esperanza Spalding has become a rising star in both critical and commercial circles. A restless creative spirit, the young musician/singer/composer has absorbed everything from jazz to Brazilian pop to R&B to classical music in her creative evolution. Her most recent album Radio Music Society leans most heavily in a soul direction, with a set of original tunes, plus covers of Michael Jackson’s Stevie Wonder-penned “I Can’t Help It” and Wayne Shorter’s “Endangered Species,” featuring lyrics by Spalding herself. The former Berklee School of Music professor first appeared on ACL three years ago, where she wowed an audience unfamiliar with her music, and she continues to do so every time her show is rebroadcast. On December 2, Esperanza Spalding is back, with a whole new program, and we couldn’t be happier.

The usual lottery for taping passes will be announced on our Tapings page as we get closer to the dates. We have more exciting announcements coming soon!

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Featured News

Taping Announcement: Jack White

As charismatic as he is talented, there’s no denying that Jack White is one of the most exciting musicians to hit the scene in the last decade. The Detroit native brought blues-based rock & roll back to the mainstream with the White Stripes and indulged in acclaimed side projects the Raconteurs (who graced our stage in 2006) and the Dead Weather. Earlier this year came Blunderbuss, White’s first album under his own name, which debuted at #1 on the charts in the US, UK, Canada and Switzerland. Q Magazine calls the eclectic record “a concentrated shot of charisma, undiluted and intoxicating,” while Rolling Stone notes that it has “huge riffs, wild ideas, tunes for miles: Jack White has created a classic.” The Guardian asserts that “Blunderbuss is White at his most strange, contradictory and unfathomable, and therefore at his best.” Now White is coming to Austin to headline one night of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, and we couldn’t resist enticing him to bring music from every stage of his career, to our stage for an episode of ACL. Please join us on October 14 for an unforgettable night of rock & roll.

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Featured News

Season 38 begins on October 6

Austin City Limits will premiere its brand new season Saturday, October 6th, with a rare, full-hour performance from iconic British band Radiohead. Coming up, we’ve got a killer line-up of the best in popular music, including 2012 Best New Artist Grammy winner Bon Iver, Bonnie Raitt with Mavis Staples, the Shins, the Civil Wars and more. We also have an ACL Presents special airing this fall showcasing the Americana Music Festival.

Austin City Limits – Season 38 preview from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

“We’re proud to continue the tradition of presenting a diverse, eclectic mix of some of the most original music being made today,” says ACL Executive Producer Terry Lickona.  “One thing that hasn’t changed in the last 38 years is that ACL has a way of bringing out the best in an artist’s performance – whether it’s a rising new star or a legend. This year is no exception.”

Season 38 Current Broadcast Schedule (seven additional episodes/artists to be announced at a later time)

October 6, 2012       | Radiohead
October 13, 2012     | Bon Iver
October 20, 2012     | Bonnie Raitt with Mavis Staples
October 27, 2012     | The Shins | Dr. Dog
November 3, 2012   | The Civil Wars | Punch Brothers
November 10, 2012 | ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2012 (Hosted by Jim Lauderdale and featuring performances by Carolina Chocolate Drops, Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin, Alabama Shakes, Lifetime Achievement Honoree Bonnie Raitt and more)

Radiohead on Austin City Limits “Morning Mr Magpie” from Austin City Limits on Vimeo.

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Featured News Taping Announcement

Taping announcement: Norah Jones

ACL fans need no introduction to Norah Jones – the eclectic singer/songwriter has graced our stage twice before. Her upcoming third taping on October 18, however, comes on the heels of her acclaimed album Little Broken Hearts. Not only is Hearts a classic break-up album, but it also comes with imaginative production and co-writing from the iconoclastic Brian Burton, AKA Danger Mouse, who has himself visited ACL as part of Gnarls Barkley. Combining Burton’s otherworldly textures with Jones’ raw, heart-on-sleeve writing produces what The Boston Globe called “a striking change-up” and The Philadelphia Inquirer deemed “her best album in ages.” Meanwhile NPR notes, “Always more versatile than most people think, Jones fits all of this smart material to perfection, marking her second decade as a star while making her sound cooler and more unflappably sophisticated than ever.” We’re proud to present an ACL veteran moving in new directions. We hope you can join us.

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News Taping Recap

Tim McGraw Enthralls in ACL Debut

“This is a really special night for us,” noted Tim McGraw a few songs into his debut ACL taping. It’s a sentiment echoed by both crowd and crew, as the country superstar blazed through a set of his distinctive brand of rockin’ country music. Opening with his recent country chart topper “Felt Good On My Lips,” McGraw easily placed the willing audience in his hip pocket, hopping off stage and shaking hands with the front row of the crowd. The adoring crowd roared.

McGraw previewed several songs from his upcoming, as-yet-untitled new album for eager fans. From the instantly catchy (and no doubt hitbound) anthem “Mexicoma” and the mid-tempo country pop tune “One of Those Nights” to the emotional ballads “Book of John” and “Friend of a Friend,” McGraw sang the fresh tuneage with as much conviction as with the songs everyone already knew, ensuring their place in his repertoire for years to come.

So you can imagine the groundswell of enthusiasm when McGraw did play some of his classics. The singer’s specialty is singalong anthems, after all, and whether the song was a call for personal empowerment (“Unbroken”), a burst of working class angst (“All I Want is a Life”) or a tribute to man-children everywhere (“A Real Good Man”), McGraw and audience melded into one excited – and exciting – voice. Even when he brought the proverbial lights down low with the regret-filled ballads “Everywhere” and “Red Rag Top,” the energy stayed level and the crowd was right there with him.

McGraw ended the main set with the emotional journey of his massive #1 single “Live Like You Were Dying” – a career-defining hit if there ever was one. But he brought the encore and the show to a close with the heavy riffs and hillbilly humor of his current hit “Truck Yeah,” the kind of lighthearted tune guaranteed to crack a smile on the most jaded face, and the kind of singalong anthem for which arena concerts are made. Viewers at home will get their chances to sing along as well when the episode airs this fall – we hope you tune in and join us!