Tag: Season 38

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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!

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ACL @ the Alamo News

Movies in the Park features Austin City Limits

We are so excited about our upcoming broadcast season on PBS that we want to preview it for our Austin fans first! Join us on September 6 at 8:30 pm at Republic Square Park when we join forces with the Alamo Drafthouse and Austin Parks Foundation and go behind the scenes of some of our most exciting tapings to date – Bon Iver, Bonnie Raitt, the Shins and more. Plus we will screen the season premiere featuring Radiohead.  And if this sneak peek isn’t enough – it’s free! Grab your friends and a blanket and join us at Republic Square Park to experience ACL on the grass and under the stars!

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News

Ticket Giveaway: Tim McGraw 8/6

Austin City Limits will be taping a performance by Tim McGraw on Monday, August 6th, at 8 pm at ACL Live at The Moody Theater (310 W. 2nd Street, Willie Nelson Blvd).  We will be giving away a limited number of space available passes to this taping. Enter your name and email address on the below form by 9 am Thursday,  August 2. Passes are not transferable and cannot be sold. Standing may be required.

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News Taping Recap

Kat Edmonson lights up the stage for her ACL debut

“You’ll have to forgive me, I’m finding myself a little bit speechless tonight,” commented Kat Edmonson. She may have been at a loss for words when it came to talking, but when it came to singing, she had no hesitation. Owner of both a soulful tone — somewhere between Billie Holiday and Blossom Dearie — and a sterling set of songs, Edmonson lit up the stage for her Austin City Limits debut.

The singer/songwriter has the amazing ability to produce fresh material that sounds, shall we say, experienced – the jaunty jazz tune “Long Way Home,” for example, or the lullaby-like waltz “I’m Not In Love,” which could have come from a 60-year old Disney film. “What else can I do,” she crooned over a samba rhythm, “I’m still in love with you” from “What Can I Do?” sounded like an old standard, but is, in fact, an Edmonson original.  Even the blues-tinged ballad “Hopelessly Blue,” written by Miles Zuniga of the Austin rock band Fastball, came across as a great tune rediscovered.

Edmonson sang several of her tried and true songs including the sly “Champagne,” the slinky cha-cha “This Was the One” and the string-driven “Lucky.”  Her lauded skills as an interpreter were also on display as she mesmerized the crowd with a pair of gorgeous, melancholy ballads drawn from different decades: the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds classic “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” and the 1940-vintage Ink Spots slow dancer “Whispering Grass.” She closed the set with the straightforward folk/pop of “I Don’t Know,” a Willie Bobo-associated song written by Sonny Henry, the author of Santana’s “Evil Ways.”

By the end of the show, Edmonson had led the audience back to the start, opening and closing the evening with the same song. She gave her tune “Nobody Knows That” a frothy jazz/pop reading at the beginning, then stripped it down to piano and voice for the encore. It was a perfect way to bookend a stellar evening that celebrated song and voice in equal measure. We can’t wait for you to see and hear the remarkable Kat Edmonson – this fall on PBS.