season premiere Archives - Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits launches a new slate of must-see performances from music’s finest with a singular highlight as its season premiere: famed guitar virtuoso duo Rodrigo y Gabriela take viewers on a sonic adventure with their super-charged instrumentals, accompanied by the Austin Symphony Orchestra. The Mexico City natives are joined by over 30 musicians from the world-class ensemble to bring to life their latest album In Between Thoughts…A New World. This groundbreaking performance marks the very first time the live music series has partnered with the esteemed orchestra, one of Austin’s leading arts institutions. The hourlong episode premieres October 7 at 7pm CT/8pm ET. 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 program, produced by Austin PBS and recorded live at ACL’s studio home ACL Live in Austin, Texas, 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 49 years as the music institution nears a remarkable half-century milestone. Austin City Limits celebrates 50 years as a live music beacon in 2024: on October 17, 1974, Willie Nelson taped the pilot episode and the trailblazing series premiered in 1975. Stay tuned for news on special concerts, fan events and activations as Austin City Limits salutes an incredible legacy of 50 golden years of American musical history and iconic performances.

For over two decades, the duo of Gabriela Quintero and Rodrigo Sánchez have captivated audiences across the globe with their fast, rhythmic and wildly inventive guitar playing. In their first appearance on the ACL stage in a decade, they return with a one-of-a-kind collaboration featuring the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Rodrigo y Gabriela open the spellbinding hour with a furious clash of acoustic and electric guitar amid a maelstrom of distortion and flashing lights. Their latest album In Between Thoughts…A New World is a highpoint of their career and it serves as the centerpiece of this ACL performance. The work is designed to bring about an “expansion of consciousness” as the guitarists lead viewers on an exhilarating thrill ride showcasing their hypnotic, muscular blend of song which owes as much to rock and heavy metal as to the music of their native Mexico.

Renowned previously for their signature acoustic interplay, this latest outing introduces electric guitar, as Rodrigo’s blistering, intricate fretboard moves create an alchemy with Gabriela’s dazzling flamenco-based acoustic rhythms. Accompanied by the Austin Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Peter Bay, the innovative duo explore new sonic horizons, expanding their sound from classical to metal in a stunning, high-energy hour. The orchestra soars with lush strings and powerful percussion on the magical “The Eye That Catches The Dream” and the guitar maestros receive a standing ovation as the powerful set-closer “Descending to Nowhere” reaches its epic climax.

“We’re always looking for new ways to make history, so after 49 years this is our first collaboration with a symphony, and we found one of the best in our own backyard,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “The Austin Symphony under Peter Bay’s baton provides a rich, lush accompaniment to the jarring, furious guitar riffs of Rodrigo y Gabriela. It’s pure magic.”

Episode setlist:

Astrium In Corpore

True Nature

The Eye That Catches the Dream

Egoland

Monster

Seeking Unreality

The Ride of the Mind

Broken Rage

Finding Myself Leads Me to You

In Between Thoughts…A New World

Descending to Nowhere

Season 49 Broadcast Line-up (second half of season to be announced separately)

Oct. 7 Rodrigo y Gabriela featuring the Austin Symphony Orchestra

Oct. 14 Jenny Lewis / MUNA

Oct. 21 Lil Yachty / Sudan Archives

Oct. 28 Margo Price / Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

Nov. 4 Jorge Drexler

Nov. 11 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Nov. 18 Foo Fighters

Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. The complete line-up for the full 14-week season, including seven new episodes to air beginning January 2023, will be announced at a later date. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding live streams, future tapings 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.

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.

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!