Tag: The War And Treaty

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Episode Recap Featured New Broadcast News

ACL lifts us up with The War And Treaty and Ruthie Foster

photo by Scott Newton

Live music beacon Austin City Limits offers a glorious hour of uplifting music for troubled times, featuring two of live music’s most powerful voices: husband-and-wife duo The War And Treaty and 2021 Grammy nominee, singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster. The new installment premieres Saturday, January 16 as part of the iconic series Season 46 – check your local listings for showtimes. The episode will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, January 17 @10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits.  With live music on hold, ACL continues to provide viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance. The program airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings for times) and full episodes are made available online for a limited time at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding future tapings, episode schedules and select live stream updates. 

Known for a live show that’s almost revival-like in its intensity, Nashville-based breakout act The War And Treaty showcase gems from their acclaimed 2020 album Hearts Town. Named Americana Music Awards 2019 Emerging Act of the Year, partners and collaborators Michael and Tanya Trotter deliver an impassioned ACL debut with their earthy, rock-infused Southern soul. “America, it’s time to unite. We need each other,” says Trotter from his piano bench as he leads the 10-piece ensemble and the pair drive home the plea for unity in times of division on “Beautiful.” The duo shine on “Take Me In,” a stunning anthem of inclusion, adding a verse from the Ray Charles version of “America the Beautiful” to powerful effect. The dynamic act reach new heights with a show-stopping number inspired by Charles, “Hey Pretty Moon,” closing out in dazzling harmony.

Blues and soul luminary Ruthie Foster returns to ACL for the first time in nearly two decades with a career-spanning set in a radiant performance. The Austin American-Statesman hails this homegrown treasure as “a transcendent singer with uncommon power and emotion” and she shines in a sparkling set accompanied by her 4-piece band and a trio of backing vocalists. Foster’s uplifting songs blend blues, folk, gospel and soul, including the jewels “Brand New Day” and “Feels Like Freedom.” Foster fondly calls her live shows “Hallelujah Time,” and a set highlight is the feel-good empowerment anthem “Phenomenal Woman” from 2007’s The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster, showcasing her powerhouse vocals and contagious joy. She dips into the catalog of the mighty Staples Singers for “The Ghetto,” a gorgeous, piercing tune of history and social commentary. 

photo by Scott Newton

“Given the troubled state of our country today, this may well be our most meaningful show of the season,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “There’s a message and a spirit behind the music that we all need to hear right now. We are also proud to once again celebrate Austn’s most passionate musical voice, Ruthie Foster.”

The War And Treaty setlist: 

Five More Minutes

Beautiful

Take Me In

Jubilee

Hey Pretty Moon 

Ruthie Foster setlist:

Brand New Day

Phenomenal Woman

Feels Like Freedom

The Ghetto

Runaway Soul

Season 46 Broadcast Schedule:

January 9 Foo Fighters Rock Austin City Limits

January 16 The War And Treaty | Ruthie Foster

January 23 Ray Wylie Hubbard

January 30 The Best of Spoon

February 6 Texas Icons: Jerry Jeff Walker & Billy Joe Shaver

February 13 Allen Toussaint: New Orleans Legend

ACL’s Season 46 premiered in October with standout performances from 2021 Grammy nominee Rufus Wainwright, UK country-soul sensation Yola, rock and country trailblazers The Mavericks, acclaimed Austin standout Jackie Venson, salutes to late ACL legends John Prine and Stevie Ray Vaughan, a celebration of 50 years of Asleep at the Wheel and more.

Tune-in, log on, and let ACL be a trusted sidekick for entertainment during these challenging days. 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.

About 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 46th 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 KLRU 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, KLRU-TV and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, RigUp, the Austin Convention Center Department and Cirrus Logic. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com. 

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Featured New Broadcast News Uncategorized

ACL announces 2nd half of Season 46

photo by Scott Newton

Live music beacon Austin City Limits announces the second half of Season 46, with six new installments to begin airing in January 2021 as part of the program’s thirteen-episode season. ACL has featured some of the most iconic performances in live music for over four and a half decades, and continues to bring viewers a stellar slate of broadcast episodes featuring a mix of new performances (taped during the current Covid-19 pandemic without an audience) and installments featuring highlights from ACL favorites, continuing Austin City Limits’ run as the longest-running music television show in history. The program returns on Saturday, January 9 at 8pm CT/9pm ET with an epic hour celebrating the 25th Anniversary of rock superstars Foo Fighters. 

Season 46 returns in January with a must-see hour, Foo Fighters Rock Austin City Limits, a silver anniversary celebration of the rock superstars, featuring a hit parade of classics from the powerhouse band’s two unforgettable ACL appearances in 2008 and 2014. ACL spotlights one of modern rock’s finest bands, Austin’s own Spoon, with The Best of Spoon, offering a fascinating look at the band’s evolution dating back to their debut on the series in 2003 to the recent present via highlights from the four-time ACL veterans. Blues and soul luminary Ruthie Foster, a 2021 Grammy Award nominee, returns for the first time in nearly two decades. Dynamic husband-and-wife duo The War And Treaty, Americana Music Awards 2019 Emerging Act of the Year, deliver a show-stopping ACL debut. 

A season highlight is the long-awaited debut of ‘70s outlaw country legend Ray Wylie Hubbard, currently enjoying one of the greatest second acts in music, in an epic hour. In a year of profound loss, ACL salutes a pair of Texas icons we lost during 2020, Jerry Jeff Walker and Billy Joe Shaver, pioneers of Austin’s cosmic cowboy movement in the mid-1970s, in an hourlong installment featuring historic highlights from the influential troubadours’ multiple appearances on the ACL stage. Season 46 closes out with one of the most-requested episodes in the ACL archive: a vintage hour with the late New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint, performing iconic gems from across his half-century career, originally broadcast over a decade ago during ACL’s Season 35, and remains one of the most enduring, entertaining hours in ACL’s history.

photo by Scott Newton

“In a year like no other, we’re proud that we were able to capture seven brand-new performances for our 46th season,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “As always, they include a mix that’s eclectic, electric and even a touch eccentric. On top of that, we were able to pull some gems out of the ACL goldmine to celebrate some highlights from the past, and honor those who helped to create the ACL legacy.”

Season 46 Broadcast Schedule:

January 2 ACL Hall of Fame: The First 6 Years

January 9 Foo Fighters Rock Austin City Limits

January 16 The War And Treaty | Ruthie Foster

January 23 Ray Wylie Hubbard

January 30 The Best of Spoon

February 6 Texas Icons: Jerry Jeff Walker & Billy Joe Shaver

February 13 Allen Toussaint: New Orleans Legend

A special broadcast, ACL Hall of Fame: The First 6 Years, premieres Saturday, January 2 at 8pm CT/9pm ET. Check local PBS listings for times. Austin City Limits celebrates the first six years of the annual ACL Hall of Fame, from the inaugural induction celebration in 2014 to 2019’s sixth annual ceremony. The 14-song, all-star salute, recorded live in Austin, Texas,  features best–in-class performances and collaborations, many never-before-broadcast, from the annual celebrations in a performance-packed hour. Hall of Fame honorees including Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy, Los Lobos, Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash and Kris Kristofferson perform alongside special guests.

ACL’s Season 46 premiered in October with standout performances from 2021 Grammy nominee Rufus Wainwright, UK country-soul sensation Yola, rock and country trailblazers The Mavericks, acclaimed Austin standout Jackie Venson, salutes to late ACL legends John Prine and Stevie Ray Vaughan, a celebration of 50 years of Asleep at the Wheel and more. The series will continue to broadcast fan-favorite encore episodes through the end of 2020. 

Tune-in, log on, and let ACL be a trusted sidekick for entertainment during these challenging days. 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.

photo by Scott Newton

About 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 46th 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 KLRU 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, KLRU-TV and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, RigUp, the Austin Convention Center Department and Cirrus Logic. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.

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Featured News Taping Recap

The War and Treaty bring messages of love and hope to ACL

photo by Scott Newton

We here at Austin City Limits were so blown away by the performance of The War And Treaty on ACL Presents: Americana 18th Annual Honors last year that we knew we had to feature them for a full set on the show. Basing the set around their acclaimed new LP Hearts Town, the Michigan-bred husband-and-wife duo of Michael and Tanya Trotter did not disappoint, hitting real heights with their earthy, rock-infused soul. 

Backed by an eight piece band and set up on stage so they could look at each other at any time, the Trotters kicked off the show with the jazzy groove of “Yearning,” as much a seduction as a plea. The tempo revved up for the rocking “Jealousy,” as the pair acknowledged the titular emotion, before kicking it out the door. The Trotters deftly altered the mood with “Liquid Lies,” which started as a sultry simmer before going into a full-tilt boil. “We’re here to sing to you, America,” stated Michael. “We’re here to sing not just to Austin, but we’re here as representation of what thriving and overcomers look like. So let’s give ourselves a hand.” Then they went into the dramatic “Beautiful,” a tune from Hearts Town recorded with Americana star and ACL two-timer Jason Isbell, subbed for here by W&T back-up singer Will Merrill during the song’s round robin vocals. The band then got funky with “Maryland,” a frisky tribute to the state from which Tanya hails with a round of solos from guitarist Matt Laurence, keyboardist Brett Sandler, trumpeter Joe Jordan and saxophonist Chuck Mullican. 

The party definitely needed a cool down after that performance, so the band reached back to its debut EP Down to the River for the ballad “Til the Morning.” Of course, “cool down” is a relative term for this group, as the fire definitely burned in the couple’s impassioned singing. Bassist Max Brown then picked up an acoustic guitar for the folky “Jubilee,” dedicated to Anne Wade, a high school-age singer/songwriter the Trotters are mentoring. The group shifted to old school R&B for “Hey Pretty Moon,” a gorgeous tune inspired by Ray Charles. After that powerhouse, it was time to raise the roof once again, which they did with the jazzy, New Orleans-flavored “Little Boy Blue,” as much a showcase for Mullican and Jordan as the singers. Michael then led the band into the clever pop of “Hustlin’,” “which is what we’re doing now.” TW&T then launched into the title track of their new album, the truly heartwarming “Hearts Town.” 

The band dipped into a Stax/Volt groove for “Five More Minutes,” a song inspired by the PTSD U.S. Army veteran Michael brought back from his two tours in Iraq that’s scoring radio play here in Austin, and no wonder: it’s a perfect blend of melody and groove. Michael then asked the audience, both in person and at home, for a moment of silence for everyone lost in 2020, due to the pandemic or otherwise. In particular, TW&T wanted to pay tribute to the late John Prine, a friend and mentor who showcased the band at his Grand Ole Opry appearance. It was the perfect lead-in to “Take Me In,” the band’s beautiful ballad of inclusion and unity. The band ended the song by leaning into their gospel side, running through “Amazing Grace” and “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.” The show closed with the fiery “Need Someone to Love,” a sweeping climax that embraced the crowd, the crew, the streaming audience and the whole world with its message of love. It was a fantastic way to end the night, and we can’t wait for you to see it when The War And Treaty’s episode airs early next year as part of our Season 46 on your local PBS station. 

photos by Scott Newton
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Featured Live Stream News Taping Announcement Uncategorized

New tapings: Ruthie Foster 11/1, The War And Treaty 11/5

photo by Ricardo Piccirillo

Austin City Limits is proud to announce a pair of highly-anticipated tapings showcasing acclaimed artists who blur the lines between soul, gospel, folk and blues. On November 1, an Austin treasure returns to our stage, as Ruthie Foster tapes her second appearance; on November 5, we welcome one of Nashville’s hottest acts, The War And Treaty, in their ACL debut. Austin City Limits is delighted to announce we will live stream both these tapings along with the previously announced long-awaited taping of Texas songwriting legend Ray Wylie Hubbard on October 21. With live music still on pause, ACL continues to provide viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance. ACL offers fans a unique opportunity to watch the trio of tapings live in their entirety from the safety of their homes and screens at this location on each date at 7pm CT/8pm ET. ACL has taped before a live audience for its entire 45-year history, and recently resumed tapings without a live audience. The broadcast version of these tapings will air later this season as part of our Season 46 on PBS.

In the tight-knit musical community of Austin, Texas, it’s tough to get away with posturing. You either bring it, or you don’t. If you do, word gets around. And one day, you find yourself duetting with Bonnie Raitt, or standing onstage with the Allman Brothers at New York’s Beacon Theater and trading verses with Susan Tedeschi. You might even wind up getting nominated for a Best Blues Album Grammy — three times in a row. And those nominations would be in addition to your seven Blues Music Awards, three Austin Music Awards, the Grand Prix du Disque award from the Académie Charles-Cros in France, a Living Blues Critics’ Award for Female Blues Artist of the Year, and the title of an “inspiring American Artist” as a 2018 United States Artists Fellow.

There’s only one Austinite with that résumé: Ruthie Foster. Drawing influence from legendary acts like Mavis Staples and Aretha Franklin, Foster developed a unique sound unable to be contained within a single genre. That uniqueness echoes a common theme in Ruthie’s life and career – marching to the beat of her own drum. Ruthie’s latest album Live at the Paramount, swings back to the days (and nights) when Lady Ella sang Ellington and Sinatra blasted off with Count Basie and Quincy Jones. Ruthie refers to her live shows as “hallelujah time,” and we are thrilled to welcome her back to the ACL stage for her first headlining appearance since her 2003 debut. 

photo by David McClister

Since forming in 2014, dynamic duo The War And Treaty have won critical acclaim and amassed a following as eclectic as their sound itself, a bluesy but joyful fusion of Southern soul, gospel, country, and rock-and-roll. Known for a live show nearly revival-like in intensity, the husband-and-wife team of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount-Trotter endlessly create an exhilarating exchange of energy with their audience, a dynamic they’ve brought to the stage in opening for the legendary Al Green, touring with the likes of Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell and taking the stage at the 2020 Grammy Awards earlier this year, performing alongside icons like Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Gary Clark Jr., and Common.

So when it came time to choose a title for their recently released sophomore album, The War And Treaty quickly landed on Hearts Town—the couple’s affectionate nickname for their ardently devoted fanbase. “Hearts Town is a neighborhood strictly made up of people who all share the same kind of heart: hearts that love, hearts that heal, hearts that don’t see division,” says Michael. “There’s all different types of people within that neighborhood, but they’re still somehow all working together—which is exactly the kind of town we want to live in.” Their full-length debut for Rounder Records, Hearts Town arrives as the follow-up to 2018’s Healing Tide, a widely acclaimed effort that saw The War And Treaty named 2019’s Emerging Act of the Year by the Americana Music Association. 

While the new album unfailingly harnesses the thrilling vitality of their live set, each song spotlights The War And Treaty’s heart-on-sleeve storytelling and poetic simplicity with greater impact than ever before. The War And Treaty drive home their impassioned plea for unity in times of division. “We were seeing so much anger in the world as we were making this album, so we wanted to give people something that told them, ‘Stop looking for the next Dr. King or Malcolm or Mother Teresa, and start looking for the first you,’” says Michael. “Right now a lot of people are feeling so deeply engulfed in pain and surrounded by negativity, and sometimes you just need to hear that you’re good,” says Tanya. “That’s the whole idea behind Hearts Town: no one’s trying to change what you think or how you talk or anything else about you. You’re just fine the way you are.” We’re proud to welcome The War and Treaty to the ACL stage.