UPDATE: The taping giveaway is now closed. Austin City Limits will tape a performance by Brittany Howard on Monday, April 29th at 8 pm at ACL Live at The Moody Theater (310 W. 2nd Street, Willie Nelson Blvd). Austin PBS is giving away a limited number of passes to this taping. Austin City Limits Taping Giveaways are presented by AXS Events.
Winners will be chosen at random and a photo ID will be required to pick up tickets. Winners will be notified via email. Duplicate entries for a single taping will be automatically voided. Tickets are not transferable and will be voided if sold. Standing may be required. No photography, recording or cell phone use in the studio. No cameras, computers or recording devices allowed in the venue.
There’s a double meaning to the title of What Now, the revelatory new album from singer/songwriter Brittany Howard. “With the world we’re living in now, it feels like we’re all just trying to hang onto our souls,” says the Nashville-based musician and frontwoman for four-time Grammy Award-winning Alabama Shakes. “Everything seems to be getting more extreme and everyone keeps wondering, ‘What now? What’s next?’ By the same coin, the only constant on this record is you never know what’s going to happen next: every song is its own aquarium, its own little miniature world built around whatever I was feeling and thinking at the time.” With five Grammy wins and sixteen nominations, Howard follows up her massively acclaimed solo debut Jaime—a 2019 LP that landed on best-of-the-year lists from the likes of Pitchfork, The New York Times and Rolling Stone – with What Now, drawing an immense and indelible power from endless unpredictability. Over the course of its 12 tracks, Howard brings her singular musicality to a shapeshifting sound encompassing everything from psychedelia and dance music to dream-pop and avant-jazz—a fitting backdrop for an album whose lyrics shift from unbridled outpouring to incisive yet radically idealistic commentary on the state of the human condition. Anchored in Howard’s inimitable and infinitely commanding voice—a supreme vessel for channeling raw emotional truth—the record is at turns galvanizing, cathartic, and wildly soul-expanding, and the result is a monumental step forward for one of the most essential artists of our time. “I think the gift I bring is to help people to be more introspective and ask themselves questions,” says Howard. “With a little self-examination, we can learn to be kinder, more compassionate, more understanding of each other. We can see that a lot of us are going through the same shit, and we all just want to be seen for who we really are.”
Update: The giveaway is now closed. Austin City Limits will tape a performance by Jelly Roll on Tuesday, April 9th at 8 pm at ACL Live at The Moody Theater (310 W. 2nd Street, Willie Nelson Blvd). Austin PBS is giving away a limited number of passes to this taping. Enter your name and email address on the below form by Friday, April 5th at 2pm. Austin City Limits Taping Giveaways are presented by AXS Events.
Winners will be chosen at random and a photo ID will be required to pick up tickets. Winners will be notified via email. Duplicate entries for a single taping will be automatically voided. Tickets are not transferable and will be voided if sold. Standing may be required. No photography, recording or cell phone use in the studio. No cameras, computers or recording devices allowed in the venue.
2X Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Jelly Roll (Jason DeFord) debuted Top 3 on the Billboard 200 All Genre Chart and #2 on the Top Country Album charts with his debut Country Album, Whitsitt Chapel (released June 2nd, 2023) – earning the biggest Country debut album in Billboard Consumption Chart history and a Best New Artist Grammy nomination. Following his sweep at the 2023 CMT (Country Music Television) Music Awards where he earned 3 awards to become the most awarded artist of the night, the Billboard Country Power List Cover star and “country’s ‘most authentic’ new artist” (The New Yorker) recently received Billboard’s 2023 Breakthrough Award. “One of Nashville’s fastest rising stars” (The New York Times), Jelly won 4 People’s Choice Country Awards and Best Male Country Artist at the People’s Choice Awards, and was the most nominated male at the 2023 CMA Awards, with 5 total nominations, winning CMA Best New Artist. His hit #1 single “Save Me” — a confessional, vulnerable expression of self-doubt—broke radio airplay records and set the stage for his new season of life and took him to new heights and earned him his 3rd consecutive #1 single at Country radio. He spent a 28-week reign at No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, and with his 3 #1s on Country radio, Jelly earned the most #1s of the year in the format alongside Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs, as well as several multi-genre #1s.
Jelly Roll continues to resonate with fans on a global scale and earn numerous industry milestones – from playing his sold-out hometown show for 18,000 fans at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena to sold-out dates at the Ryman Auditorium to his 44 date sold out headlining arena tour to the release of his critically acclaimed Hulu documentary produced by ABC News, “Save Me.” Featured by Nightline, GMA, GMA3, The New York Times, The Tennessean, Billboard, Variety, American Songwriter, CMT and more, his self-built, unconventional industry rise and unique fan connection has garnered praise from numerous outlets, with Variety noting, “for everyone who’s facing the same struggles, Jelly Roll is their Springsteen,” and American Songwriter echoing, “with a string of accolades and an extremely dedicated following, Jelly Roll has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.”
His current single, “Halfway To Hell” continues to dominate Country and Rock radio in the US as well as international charts including Canada, the UK, Europe, Japan, and more.
Iconic live music series Austin City Limits launched in the fall of 1974 with Willie Nelson as the featured performer for the pilot. That episode became the cornerstone for 50 years of groundbreaking, award-winning music television and a dispatch to the world declaring Austin’s place as a pioneering music city. For his performance, Nelson wore a “Gaucho” style western shirt featuring multi-color Thunderbird embroidery. Now Austin menswear brand Howler Brothers commemorates Austin City Limits’ five decades and the Willie performance that started it all with the release of a golden anniversary capsule collection.
A pair of Austin originals, Howler Brothers and Austin PBS’ Austin City Limits have teamed up again for a limited-time collaboration featuring a trio of new designs; including a long sleeve snap shirt, cotton tee and snapback hat. The collection pays homage to the shirt worn by Austin’s most famous music maker during the October, 1974 taping of the pilot episode. Taking inspiration from Willie’s historic appearance, Howler brings the iconic “Pilot Bird” shirt back to life with a celebratory black and gold rendition. “We are thrilled to once again partner with Howler Brothers to celebrate local music and the musicians that made this the live music capital of the world,” said Luis Patiño, Austin PBS CEO. “Not only is Austin City Limits a quintessential part of the musical heritage and cultural fabric of Austin, its reach has impacted fans and musical artists across the entire country for decades,” says Chase Heard, co-founder and CEO of Howler Brothers. “Partnering with ACL on this exclusive 50th anniversary collection is an honor and privilege for Howler Brothers. While this pays homage to the beginnings of the show, it is without question a celebration of the fans.”
Music fans will have a chance to own a piece of history and to preview and shop this collection on Tuesday, March 26 at Austin City Limits’ Season 50 taping with another Austin-bred original, Gary Clark Jr. Austin PBS and Howler Brothers are celebrating the launch today with a Happy Hour at @3tenaustin on Willie Nelson Blvd. Festivities kick off at 5:30pm to be among the first to shop the new collection, grab a drink, and at 8pm rock out to a simulcast of Gary Clark Jr.’s ACL taping. The free event is open to the public, and entry is subject to capacity. The capsule collection will also be available to shop online.
A monument to music, Austin City Limits has showcased iconic performances from legends and innovators in every genre of popular song for a remarkable five decades. October 17, 2024 will mark 50 years since Austin City Limits began with Willie Nelson taping the pilot episode; the trailblazing program then premiered on PBS in 1975. The series is the flagship of the popular ACL Music Festival and has earned countless accolades including a Peabody Award, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame designation and remains the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. As ACL turns 50, the revered music institution 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. Produced by Austin PBS, and recorded live at ACL’s studio home in Austin, Texas, the show remains a proving ground for legendary artists and innovators of all genres to deliver stellar performances from the venerable ACL stage. Austin City Limits has earned its place in history and will salute its 50th anniversary and incredible legacy with a yearlong celebration featuring archival gems, collaborations, fan activations, all-star Season 50 tapings, a PBS special, live concerts and much more.
UPDATE: The giveaway is over. Austin City Limits will tape a performance by Gary Clark Jr. on Tuesday, March 26th at 8 pm at ACL Live at The Moody Theater (310 W. 2nd Street, Willie Nelson Blvd). We are giving away a limited number of passes to this taping. Enter your name and email address on the below form by Sunday, March 24th at 5pm.
Winners will be chosen at random and a photo ID will be required to pick up tickets. Winners will be notified via email. Duplicate entries for a single taping will be automatically voided. Tickets are not transferable and will be voided if sold. Standing may be required. No photography, recording or cell phone use in the studio. No cameras, computers or recording devices allowed in the venue.
Anyone who has listened to a Gary Clark Jr. album or watched the four-time Grammy Award winner perform live knows that he’s a gifted multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and performer. And never more so than on his last album, 2019’s illuminating This Land. But while This Land signaled a breakthrough in displaying his musical versatility beyond the blues, his fourth studio album,JPEG RAW, represents a quantum leap. “Blues will always be my foundation,” says Clark. “But that’s just scratching the surface. I’m also a beat maker and an impressionist who likes to do different voices. I’ve always loved theater and being able to tell a story. At home when I play the trumpet, I think Lee Morgan, or John Coltrane when I play the sax. I’ve even got bagpipes just in case I need them. So while this is my most honest and vulnerable album about relating to the human condition, it’s also the most freeing.” The album’s title track—an acronym for Jealousy, Pride, Envy, Greed … Rules, Alter Ego, Worlds—examines the role cell-phone society plays in this chaos at the expense of real-life, one-on-one interaction. “I don’t love having a mobile device,” explains Clarkof the song’s origin and the album’s overarching theme. “I miss being able to have more genuine interaction, looking someone in the eyes and learning something, getting a perspective. JPEG RAW is about showing the real and not the edit. We live in a world of edits, filters and redos. We only get one shot.” “When the album sequencing was finished, the band and I realized that we’d made an album into a movie,” he recalls. “That’s what I was going for sonically because that’s how the whole writing process played out. First, it’s about angst and confusion, the unknown. Next, it’s about looking at ourselves internally. And then it’s about what comes after: the hope and triumph.”
Juanes on Austin City Limits, March 2024. Photo by Scott Newton.
“We can’t believe we are here again!” Juanes took the stage at ACL TV for the third time on Monday, having previously performed on season 32 and 39. For his third taping, Juanes presented a hits-packed set drawn from his entire career, and how fitting to welcome him back in celebration of ACL’s 50th anniversary. Bearded, tattooed, wrapped in a sleeveless denim jacket, the Colombian superstar took the stage like the international rock star he is. For his third taping, with songs drawn from his entire career, hopping from jangly guitar pop (“Gris”) to blues rock cumbia (“Mala Gente”) to romantic balladry (“Nada Valgo Sin Tú Amor”) – and that was in the first ten minutes. Backed by his five-piece band, the singer/songwriter not only emphasized the breadth and depth of his catalog, but also his own musicianship, with several extended guitar solos.
But the heart of the show was the interplay with the adoring crowd of diehard fans who turned out to literally cheer him on. Juanes encouraged singing along starting with “Mala Gente;” by the time he got to “Fotografia,” the eager audience needed little prompting, cheering loudly at the first note. Other giddily-received fan favorites included “Es Por Ti,” “La Paga,” “La Camisa Negra,” and the call-and-response powered “La Noche” and “A Dios Le Pido.” But two moments especially stood out. For “Para Tu Amor,” Juanes planted himself in the center of the floor with a mic stand and an acoustic guitar, performing the folky ballad surrounded closely by his loving crowd. In salute to the Mexican contingent of the audience, Juanes performed “Querida,” a classic Juan Gabriel ballad that Juanes recorded with its creator a few years ago. He ended the show with back-to-back monsters: “Me Enamora” and “La Luz,” which gave the crowd plenty of opportunity for call-and-response.
At one point during the show, Juanes talked about coming to Los Angeles in 1996 in order to make it in music, and how hard those years were. “But you know what?” he shrugged. “I made it – Austin City Limits!”
Juanes performs on Austin City Limits, March 4, 2024. Photos by Scott Newton.
Setlist:
Gris – Vita Cotidiana
Mala Gente – Un Día Normal
Amores Prohibidos – Vita Cotidiana
Nada Valgo Sin Tú Amor – Mì Sangre
Volverte A Ver – Mì Sangre
Lo Que Me Gusta A Mi / Fuego / Hermosa Ingrata – Mì Sangre/Mis Planes Son Amarte/
Austin City Limits is thrilled to announce a trio of new tapings for our milestone Season 50: 2X Grammy-nominated Nashville sensation Jelly Roll makes his highly-anticipated ACL debut on April 9, showcasing his breakthrough album Whitsitt Chapel; formative bluegrass act Nickel Creek returns for the first time in a decade on May 5 for their fourth taping, showcasing their latest album Celebrants; and UK phenom, eclectic singer and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier, makes his ACL debut on May 14 on the heels of his sixth Grammy win and the release of his new LP Djesse Vol. 4.
Jelly Roll. Photo by Robby Klein.
Breakout singer-songwriter Jelly Roll (born Jason DeFord) makes his Austin City Limits debut riding country’s hottest hand: he scored a Best New Artist nomination at this year’s Grammy Awards, his 2023 debut country album Whitsitt Chapel debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s All-Genre chart and No. 2 on the Country Album chart, earning him the biggest country debut album in chart history, and he just announced a 37-date “Beautifully Broken” headlining U.S. arena tour. A native of working-class Nashville borough Antioch, Jelly is racking up a string of record-breaking hits and countless accolades, with four 2024 People’s Choice Awards, including Male Country Artist of the Year; was the most nominated male at the 2023 CMA Awards, with five nominations, winning CMA Best New Artist, and swept the 2023 CMT Awards, taking home a trio of awards to become the most awarded artist of the night. He also landed a Billboard magazine “Country Power List” cover, and the chart-topper recently received Billboard’s 2023 Breakthrough Award. His 2023 smash #1 single “Save Me”—a confessional, vulnerable expression of self-doubt—broke radio airplay records and set the stage for a new chapter in his life. Jelly Roll held the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Emerging Artist chart for 25 straight weeks, the longest run in that ranking’s history. Whitsitt Chapel— named for the small Tennessee church he grew up going to—takes listeners on a “Backroad Baptism” through songs of faith, addiction, love and life in-between with powerful highlights including “Need A Favor” and “Hungover In a Church Pew.” “A collection of songs about Saturday night sins and Sunday morning sanctity,” raves The Tennessean. “I’ve always felt like my music lived somewhere between Willie Nelson and 3-6 Mafia,” Jelly tells American Songwriter, as he straddles country, rock and rap to create songs that resonate with his legions of fans across the globe. In addition to his radio and streaming success, he has also become a pop culture phenomenon and is the subject of an acclaimed Hulu documentary charting his remarkable ascent from former inmate to music-making stardom. His self-built, unconventional industry rise and unique fan connection have garnered praise from numerous outlets, with Variety noting, “For everyone who’s facing the same struggles, Jelly Roll is their Springsteen,” and American Songwriter echoing, “with a string of accolades and an extremely dedicated following, Jelly Roll has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.” His current single, “Halfway To Hell” currently dominates Country and Rock radio.
Nickel Creek. Photo by Josh Goleman.
GRAMMY Award-winning trio Nickel Creek—Sara Watkins (fiddle), Sean Watkins (guitar), and Chris Thile (mandolin)—is in the midst of a triumphant year following the release of their acclaimed album, Celebrants—their first new project in nine years. Recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A, Celebrants was released to critical praise and earned a 2024 Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album. Of the record, NPR Music raves, “the trio sounds and plays better than ever…these songs are nuanced and honest, not fantasy but one suited for introspection,” while Paste praises, “their instruments and voices alternately blend and shine…it’s a joy to have the gang back together,” and Spin proclaims, “giddily ambitious…breathtaking instrumental interplay between mandolin, guitar, and fiddle.” Together a sum of more than their staggering parts, Nickel Creek revolutionized bluegrass and folk in the early 2000s and ushered in a new era of what we now recognize as Americana music. After meeting as young children and steadily earning the respect of the bluegrass circuit over the course of a decade, the trio signed with venerable label Sugar Hill Records in 2000 and quickly broke through with their Grammy-nominated, Alison Krauss-produced self-titled LP. Since that effort, the group has released a trio of acclaimed studio albums: 2002’s This Side, which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album, 2005’s Why Should the Fire Die? and 2014’s A Dotted Line. Known for their high energy live shows, Nickel Creek will continue to perform through 2024 including an extensive headline tour this spring, a special co-bill with Andrew Bird for several weeks in July, and will join Kacey Musgraves throughout her North American arena tour this fall. Nickel Creek made their ACL debut in Season 26 in 2001, returned in Season 28 and in 2014 for Season 40, and we’re thrilled to welcome them back for our golden anniversary.
Jacob Collier. Photo by Tom Bender.
Recognized by audiences, critics, and fellow musicians alike as one of the most gifted young artists of modern times, 29-year-old music prodigy and North London native Jacob Collier has already notched a seemingly endless list of achievements, including becoming the first British act in history to win a Grammy Award for each of his first four albums, along with 12 Grammy nominations, including the top honor of Album of the Year in 2021. He continues the creative streak in 2024, scoring his sixth career Grammy win at this year’s awards, marking an astonishing fifth consecutive year of nominations. Djesse Vol. 4 marks the epic climax to the four-part journey that Collier first began in 2018 with the release of Djesse Vol. 1; this final album completes the quartet with 16 sweeping tracks and an epic list of special guests and collaborators including Brandi Carlile, Stormzy, Michael McDonald, Kirk Franklin, Chris Martin, Chris Thile, Anoushka Shankar, John Legend and John Mayer; as well as the “Audience Choir,” the collective recorded voices of more than 150,000 audience members from every corner of the world across Collier’s last two years of global touring. The Guardian raves, “A thesis would be required to do Djesse Vol. 4 justice, but it is ultimately an invigorating and irrepressible record, unlike anything else you are likely to hear.” His 2016 debut LP In My Room, recorded, produced and played entirely by Collier, heralded the arrival of a staggering musical mind, traversing everything from microtonal of the Flintstones theme to folk-influenced ballads. An ensuing one-man-band international tour saw him developing an innovative live show where he played and layered twelve instruments to recreate the world of In My Room onstage. “My audiences are so musical and they participate so readily in the music,” says Collier. “When I play live, I’m not just showing up to entertain, it feels like we’re all coming together to make music in unison.” That natural pull towards musical collaboration went on to inform Collier’s plans for his ensuing Djesse series of releases. “After being on my own,I realised I wanted to work with other people and learn from them,” he explains. “I decided to make a quadruple album including every genre under the sun, where each collaborator made music that was special to me. I wanted to plunge myself into the deepest possible waters of creativity.” The resulting volumes of Djesse have delivered on Collier’s ambitious promise, featuring musical themes that encompass everything from orchestral composition to folk songwriting, R&B, rap and pop. “The key skill to collaboration is drawing things out of people that they didn’t know they had in them,” he says. “It’s all about being taken by surprise and holding the potential for things changing. “I’m just following my voice to see where it takes me next,” says Collier. “I’m keeping my mind and ears open, as there is still so much more to discover and create.”
We’re thrilled to welcome these incredible artists to the ACL stage for our milestone season. Want to be part of our audience? We will post information on how to get free passes a week in advance of each taping. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for notice of postings. The broadcast episodes will air on PBS this fall as part of our anniversary Season 50.
