Music
October 9, 2020
Watch an Animated Rendering of Willie Nelson From the All-Virtual Austin City Limits Music Festival
Nelson’s rendition of ‘On the Road Again’ gets special treatment for this year’s all-virtual festival.
Austin City Limits
Music
December 12, 2019
Nashville Now Owns a Major Piece of Texas Music History
The owners of the Grand Ole Opry snapped up ACL Live At The Moody Theater earlier this week.
Music
November 7, 2019
A Love Letter to Lizzo: How the Houston-Raised Musician Made a Name for Herself
The artist found her musical roots in Texas. It took leaving for her to become a star.
Music
October 25, 2019
When Tekle Met Maggie: An Eritrean Refugee and a Rising Pop Star Share ACL Live’s Stage
Mezghebe fled East Africa, landed at Texas’s Casa Marianella, and performed with Maggie Rogers in Austin.
Music
October 15, 2019
In Praise of ACL’s Late Night Shows Series
Music still sounds different coming from more intimate venues, where daytime festival acts can take center stage.
Style & Design
October 14, 2019
Lizzo-Themed Cowboy Hats and Custom Chaps: The Best Westernwear Looks at ACL
Fringe, rhinestones, and boots were in full display at the Austin music festival.
Music
October 8, 2019
Shawn Colvin: “Since I Was Five Years Old, Music Saved My Life, Over And Over”
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the Grammy-winning musician considers her struggles and her legacy as she enters the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.
Music
October 7, 2019
Kacey Musgraves’s “Yeehaw” Chant, and Other ACL 2019 Highlights
Texan stars dominated the annual Zilker Park festival.
Music
October 4, 2019
Your ACL Style Guide for the Apocalyptic Heat
The October music festival is still landing smackdab in the middle of a Texas summer. Here’s how to dress.
The Culture
July 25, 2019
Watch an Hour-Long Performance by Gary Clark Jr. on ‘Front and Center’
Clark and his band bring the heat on the PBS series.
Music
November 13, 2018
The Power Issue: Amy Corbin Is Programming Music Festivals in an Age When Music Festivals Are King
As radio and television stop breaking new bands, the curator behind Austin City Limits Music Festival’s crowd-drawing lineups has become a major player in the popscape.
Music
October 9, 2018
Lisa Loeb: “Having a Huge Hit Is Amazing. I’m Not Angry at It at All.”
Talking with the Dallas native who scored big with 1994’s “Stay (I Missed You)” and won a Grammy earlier this year for an album of children’s music.
Music
October 6, 2018
Did Paul McCartney Mistake the Chilean Flag for the Texan One at ACL?
He proudly waved the South American country's flag toward the end of his headlining set Friday night.
Music
June 9, 2018
Kacey Musgraves Takes Her Place as a Proudly Subversive Texan
At her Austin City Limits performance, Musgraves paid homage to female country icons.
Music
May 1, 2018
When Will ACL Put Women Center Stage?
The festival has delivered on its commitment to genre diversity, but women and artists of color are still underrepresented.
Music
October 3, 2017
ACL Festival Offers Refunds To Anyone Who Feels Unsafe After The Vegas Shooting
The policy is in effect now.
Music
January 3, 2017
Terrence Malick’s Austin Music Movie Is Finally Actually Happening
The reclusive Texas filmmaker’s long-simmering saga of love and betrayal in the Austin music world premieres on March 17.
Music
November 18, 2016
What Sound On Sound Can Teach Us About The Future Of Texas Music Festivals
The inaugural festival in McDade—and the successor to Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest—could suggest where music festivals are going.
Music
December 3, 2015
C3 Presents Hired A Lobbyist For The Right To Host Events At National Mall
The festival titan wants access to government-owned lands for its events.
Music
October 31, 2015
Kendrick Lamar Takes On Austin City Limits
King Kunta brings his A-game to a taping of the flagship PBS music show.
The Daily Post
September 24, 2015
C3 Announces Auckland City Limits Festival. Nope, That’s Not A Typo
We chatted with C3 partner Charles Attal about how an iconic Austin music festival ended up in New Zealand.
Music
July 23, 2015
Steady as He Goes
How Shakey Graves made the leap from cult figure to major festival draw.
Music
May 5, 2015
Austin City Limits Releases a (Relatively) Diverse Festival Lineup
Standard-fare ACL acts like the Foo Fighters and the Strokes are joined by Drake, The Weeknd, Alabama Shakes, A$AP Rocky, and more. …
Music
October 6, 2014
There Are Lots of Guitars, Laptops, and Turntables on the Austin City Limits Festival Stages This Year [Photos]
The new, but enduring, Texas music tradition experiences some growing pains in Year Thirteen as it attempts to reflect the interests of music in 2014. …
Music
October 5, 2014
Video: Stuart Murdoch Sings With Kid’s Choir at ACL
The Belle and Sebastian frontman joined festival stalwarts the Barton Hills Elementary School Choir for four of his own songs…
The Culture
October 3, 2014
Concert Music Is Not Dead
Terry Lickona, an "Austin City Limits" producer for all but three of the show's forty seasons, talks about growing the concert music show, and outlasting MTV.
The Daily Post
October 3, 2014
Uber May Be an ACL Sponsor, But It’s Still Illegal in Austin
Every wristband comes with a $30 credit for a service that can't legally be taken to the festival.
TV
September 29, 2014
Austin City Limits, Now 40, Feels Younger Than Ever
A lot has changed since the KLRU show first started.
The Daily Post
September 11, 2014
Blue Bell And The Austin City Limits Festival Are Both Soliciting Videos From Their Fans
If you love ice cream and/or outdoor music festivals, and you're not camera shy, they want to hear from you. …
Music
May 9, 2014
How Long Blues
What will it take for Stevie Ray Vaughan to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?…
The Culture
March 20, 2014
Phantom of the Opry House
Sixteen photographs of some of the cooler moments of Austin history, as taken by Scott Newton, the longtime official photographer of “Austin City Limits.”…
First Times
January 15, 2014
My First Willie
Somehow I lived in Texas more than twenty years without seeing Willie Nelson. This had to end.
Music
October 14, 2013
Winners And Losers From The First Two-Weekend ACL Festival
For the first time in its history, the Austin City Limits Music Festival stretched over two weeks, a format that worked out well for some—and not so well for others. …
Music
October 10, 2013
Not Your Average School Choir
Only in Austin would a local kid's choir share the bill with Lionel Richie, Muse, The Cure, and Wilco.
The Daily Post
October 4, 2013
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Is in Texas and Drug Questions Followed Him Here
Rob Ford, the Toronto mayor whose international reputation is mostly the result of a series of drug allegations, is in Austin right now. …
Politics & Policy
May 13, 2013
5 Things You’ll Be Talking About in June
According to the Rick Perry camp, sometime this month our governor will announce whether he plans to run for Texas's top office yet again.
Music
January 21, 2013
Ten Photos from ACL Fest 2012
Ten photos from the 11th Annual Austin City Limits Festival.
Music
January 21, 2013
Five Things to Know about Willie’s New Album
Why Willie Nelson's Heroes is shaping up to be his biggest record in some time.
Eat My Words
October 14, 2012
Pâté Letelier and Tiff’s Treats detail their ACL prep work
On Friday, I began looking into how different food vendors and restaurants were gearing up for the Austin City Limits Music Festival. So far, I’ve spoken with Second Bar + Kitchen, Torchy’s Tacos, and The Salt Lick; today, I finish off my inquiry with Pâté Letelier and Tiff’s Treats. Read…
Eat My Words
October 13, 2012
Torchy’s Tacos and The Salt Lick detail their ACL prep work
Yesterday, I reached out to a few food vendors and restaurants to find out how they’ve been preparing for the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which attracts thousands of avid music fans from all over the world. To start things off,…
Eat My Words
October 12, 2012
ACL Music Festival attracts more than just music fans
The Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) kicks off today, and it isn’t just the music scene that is attracting hoards of attendees to the festival grounds. The food lineup is just as alluring as the assortment of bands scheduled to…
Music
September 30, 2012
Making an Austin City Limits Debut
Terry Lickona, the television show's executive producer, talks about some of the acts that will step on the Austin City Limits stage for the first time, including Radiohead and Kat Edmonson.
Business
August 17, 2012
Downtown Austin’s Construction Boom
The New York Times took note of the dozens of hotel, retail, office, and residential projects underway in downtown Austin.
The Culture
November 7, 2011
Ryan Gosling Invades Fun Fun Fun Fest
There were three days worth of bands at Auditorium Shores in Austin this past weekend, but all anybody talked—and tweeted and blogged and Tumblred—about was Ryan Gosling.
Music
August 31, 2011
Behind the Lineup
Who is Amy Corbin? Oh, just the person who booked Stevie Wonder—and all the other bands you're stoked to see—for ACL.
Music
August 31, 2011
Charlie Jones’s Kitchen Counter
The concert promoter shows us his other passion.
Music
February 1, 2008
Charlie Jones
He didn’t invent the outdoor music festival—perhaps you’ve heard of Woodstock?—but he’s as responsible as anyone for its resurgence as a twenty-first- century form, and he’s just now getting started. As one of three principals at Capital Sports and Entertainment, the College Station native and onetime club booker was the…
Jordan's Pick
September 30, 2007
Big State Festival
Here comes another all-the-decibels-you-can-handle musical gathering. The Big State Festival, which spans a weekend this month (and has a moniker only a Texan could love), is aiming to do for country music what the Austin City Limits Music Festival does for rock and roll: that is, lure in thousands…