Tag: Tapings

Categories
Featured News

New taping: Kacey Musgraves and Dale Watson

Austin City Limits is getting back to the country on November 25 with a double-header featuring fast-rising newcomer Kacey Musgraves and Austin honky-tonker Dale Watson.

Hailing from Golden, Texas, Kacey Musgraves began performing at fairs while still in single digits. She has been writing songs since the age 9 and eventually moved to Nashville like her friend Miranda Lambert. Both competed on the singing competition program Nashville Star in 2007. She only came in seventh, but the visit was enough for her to plant her flag on Music Row, scoring a songwriting and production deal with tunesmith-to-the-stars Luke Laird and co-writing Lambert’s smash “Mama’s Broken Heart.” But Musgraves, who cites John Prine and Ray Wylie Hubbard as songwriting inspirations, truly made her mark with her major label debut Same Trailer Different Park. Called “one of the most fully-formed, arresting debuts Nashville’s seen in years” by American Songwriter, Same Trailer spawned the hit singles “Blowin’ Smoke” and “Merry Go ‘Round”  and garnered praise from Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and the New York Times. Come see why Musgraves has earned the accolades.

photo by Jim Chapin

Performing the same night is Austin’s king of country music: Dale Watson. Though born in Birmingham, Alabama, Watson was raised in Pasadena, Texas, spending time in Houston, Los Angeles and Nashville before landing in Austin in the early 90s, which has been his home since. Possessed of a quintessential country baritone, Watson has flown the flag for classic honky-tonk for over two decades and 20 albums, starting with his classic 1995 debut Cheatin’ Heart Attack and moving through landmarks Blessed or Damned, The Truckin’ Sessions and Every Song I Write is For You. He’s performed on Late Night With David Letterman and first appeared on ACL in 1997 as part of an Austin Country Showcase. El Rancho Azul, his latest LP, continues his work as one of the world’s finest C&W singers and songwriters, and we’re thrilled to present Austin’s favorite son once again.

Information on passes to these great shows will appear here a week before each taping. We hope to see you there!

 

Categories
News Taping Recap

Neko Case’s tour de force

When Neko Case last graced the ACL stage, she was still the reigning queen of Americana, a minimalist-minded singer and songwriter in thrall to torch songs and classic country. Over the succeeding decade, however, she’s developed into an eclectic, ambitious artist who won’t be hemmed in by genre restrictions, as her latest LP The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You attests. With that acclaimed work in hand, Case and her band gave us a well-rounded, wide-ranging performance.

Opening with “Where Did I Leave That Fire,” an atmospheric slice of art pop, Case followed directly with “This Tornado Loves You,” one of her most accessible and eccentric tunes. Case and her versatile band, including returning stalwarts Jon Rauhouse, Tom Ray and Kelly Hogan, moved from ringing folk rockers like “City Swans,” “Hold On, Hold On” and “People Gotta Lotta Nerve” to classic balladry like “Night Still Comes,” “Lion’s Jaw” and the particularly gorgeous “Calling Card.” She has a singular affinity for 6/8 time, adding subtle 50s-style melodies to songs like “That Teenage Feeling,” “Wild Creatures” and “The Pharaohs,” and added some funny power pop with the snarky “Man.” Case didn’t forget her roots, however, reaching far back to her earlier work for the countrified gem “Set Out Running,” which exploits the Patsy Cline side of her voice, and the classic beauty “I Wish I Was the Moon.” Despite it being a cover, Case was at her most emotionally vulnerable on Harry Nilsson’s understated ballad “Don’t Forget Me.”

It was an eclectic, brilliant performance that perfectly encapsulated where Neko Case finds her artistry circa 2013. We can’t wait for you to see it early next year – watch this space for broadcast details.

Categories
News Taping Recap

Queens of the Stone Age melt faces at debut ACL taping

Indie rock, singer-songwriters, Americana and soul are great, and we love it all, but sometimes we just need a dose of face-melting rock & roll. Few bands provide that kind of cochlea-destroying good time as well as Queens of the Stone Age did for their first ACL taping. Main Queen Josh Homme has been on the show before, with the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures. (For that matter Queens keyboardist Dean Fertita last visited our stage with the Raconteurs.) But this is the first time he’s brought his main creation to Austin City Limits, and it was a mutual love affair from the first (extremely loud) note.

The quintet opened the show with the pole position track from its breakthrough Songs For the Deaf – “You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire” blasted out on waves of drums and Homme’s instantly recognizable guitar tone. This wasn’t the only time the Queens shook the rafters – “Little Sister,” “My God is the Sun” and “No One Knows” (the Big Rawk Hit, played surprisingly early in the set) reveled in the band’s patented blend of singalong melodies and amp-frying roar. Not everything was about sonic wallop, however – the band wove an eclectic, open-minded musical approach into its distinctive sound, with special attention paid to its acclaimed new LP …Like Clockwork. “If I Had a Tail” and “Smooth Sailing” rode a hipshaking swagger, while “Make It Wit Chu” added a seductive slither that subverted the stereotypical sex rap implied by the title. “The Vampyre of Time and Memory,” “…Like Clockwork” and “I Appear Missing” essayed the Queensly version of power balladry, while “In the Fade” stretched into widescreen psychedelia. “I Sat By the Ocean” added a subtle early 70s David Bowie influence, like Ziggy Stardust filtered through Homme’s vision of acid rock.

The show ended as it began, with a blazing salvo from Songs From the Deaf. The guitar orgy that is “A Song For the Dead” ripped through classic blues metal at nearly hardcore punk velocity, ending the evening in a wave of feedback, Homme’s guitar hanging from the microphone. Queens of the Stone Age’s ACL set is what rock & roll is all about, and we can’t wait for you to see for yourselves when the episode airs early next year. Stay tuned.

Categories
Taping Recap

Fun. creates a unique experience

For some artists, a performance is about self-expression, a way to reveal themselves in a creative fashion. Nothing wrong with that – that approach has given us great art. But for some musicians, a show is all about that distinctive bond with the audience, the magnificent meld of action and reaction that creates a unique experience for band and crowd.

Fun. reveled in that bond during their debut Austin City Limits taping. The band enjoyed a devoted fanbase even before they scored Grammys and number one hits with their LP Some Nights, and their widespread success meant a bigger, more enthusiastic crowd than ever before. The trio and their backing musicians used the marching “One Foot” and the piano popping “All Alone” to prime the pump, so when singer Nate Ruess engaged the audience in some call-and-response lessons before the very Queen-like “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used to Be),” they were ready. But the group teased a bit more with the rocking “All the Pretty Girls,” before bringing the crowd in for “Barlights,” Ruess exhorting the people to join in on the song’s cathartic chorus of “I feel alive!”

“Carry On” brought the audience completely into the fold, as it sang along without prompting to one of fun.’s best-known anthems. “The Gambler,” Ruess’s tender ode to his parents’ relationship, provided a brief respite, but with “We Are Young,” fun.’s Grammy-winning number one hit, the place exploded. Crowd and band became one, as the former sang along with every word, sometimes louder than the band itself. A cover of the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” kept the energy level high, and the encore of “Some Nights” revived the audience singalong, as they provided the massed choral vocals from the recording with the energy of Ruess himself. “Stars” concluded the show with more singing during the bridge, providing a gentle comedown like a cup of coffee after an amazing dessert.

The exuberance came as much from the band’s excitement at being with us as from its rapport with the crowd. “We’re on a stage right now that means the most for us to be here,” remarked guitarist Jack Antonoff. “This is a special, special evening for us,” enthused Ruess. “This is a dream come true – thank you so much for being with us.” We feel it’s safe to say it was a special night for Austin City Limits as well. We can’t wait for everybody to see this episode – check your local listings this fall!

Categories
Featured Live Stream News

Live stream with fun. has been cancelled

UPDATE:

We regret that due to unforeseen circumstances, the live stream of the fun. Austin City Limits taping will not be available.

We’re pleased to announce that Austin City Limits will be live streaming our upcoming taping with fun. around the world! Tune in to the ACL YouTube channel at 8 pm CT on Sept. 13 for to see and hear the radio-conquering, Grammy Award-winning trio blast out the hits and a whole lot more. See you there!

 

Categories
Featured News

New tapings: Queens of the Stone Age, Neko Case and Local Natives

The new tapings just keep on coming, and we’re thrilled to announce three more. Making their ACL debut on October 3 are Queens of the Stone Age. Founded in 1996 by guitarist/songwriter Josh Homme, QOTSA arose from the ashes of influential underground heavy rock act Kyuss, debuting with a self-titled album two years later. Working with a loose confederation of like-minded friends and guests, Homme and Queens have released a steady stream of LPs since, including the bestselling Rated R and Songs For the Deaf, and radio hits like “Feel Good Hit of the Summer,” “The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret” and the Grammy-nominated “No One Knows.” Now QOTSA comes to us on the heels of its much-acclaimed new record …Like Clockwork, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and is their most diverse and varied collection yet. While Homme appeared on the show back in 2009 as part of the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, he has never been on with the band he’s led for 17 years, and we’re excited to have them.

Called by NPR “one of the most memorable and seductive voices in music,” Neko Case returns to Austin City Limits on October 8. The Virginia-born, Washington-bred Case is, of course, no stranger to us, having first appeared on our stage in 2003 for a memorable performance that was eventually released on DVD. Since then, she’s released two more critically-lauded solo albums that demonstrate her mastery of “country noir” — Fox Confessor Brings the Flood and the Grammy-nominated Middle Cyclone (both on Anti-). She’s also continued recording and occasionally touring with Canadian power pop group the New Pornographers. Now Case is coming back to our fair town to both appear at the ACL Music Festival and to tape her second ACL episode, both in celebration of her latest LP on Anti- The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You. We welcome her back.

photo by Neko Case

Finally, we’re happy to bring ACL fans up-and-coming indie rock band Local Natives on October 10. After making a splash at SXSW, the Silverlake, California combo turned heads in 2010 with the shimmering, groovy folk-pop of its self-funded first record Gorilla Manor, which the BBC referred to as “a strong, striking debut that exceeds expectations” and Drowned in Sound called “a stirring album.” After touring with Arcade Fire and the National, the band became tight with National guitarist Aaron Dessner, with whom the Natives produced their second LP Hummingbird. Inspired by the death of keyboardist Kelcey Ayer’s mother and the departure of bassist Andy Hamm, the record contains, according to All Music Guide, “a more atmospheric and introspective collection of songs,” making up what Pitchfork calls “a thoughtful, lovely album with small gestures that provide great rewards.” We’re thrilled to showcase this acclaimed young band.

photo by Bryan Sheffield

Information on passes to these great shows will appear here a week before each taping. We hope to see you there!