KLRU Austin

Billy Joe Shaver is the quintessential country songwriter, but that s just a big word that doesn't do justice to the honest, raw intensity and outpouring of heart and soul in his lyrics. Over 50 artists have recorded his songs, but nobody does it better than Billy Joe, and that s why this show is so important. Recorded on August 14, 1984, Billy Joe holds back nothing. There s the grit, there s the attitude, there s the defiance. But there s also the intimacy, the poetry, the stories.

Eight albums in, Simpson’s dabbled in bluegrass and outlaw country and prog rock. It all coalesced into distinctly American, drawl-rich, ballooning music.

A thrilling and often beautiful concert sitting unseen in a vault for a number of years, Lucinda Williams: Live from Austin, TX is the Louisiana-born singer-songwriter's complete, pre-edited performance from a 1998 appearance on Austin City Limits. With its 16 well-chosen songs, largely culled from Williams's most rewarding material since the 1980s, Live is indispensable for longtime fans and a great introduction to her unique artistry for the uninitiated.

Joined by his long-running five-piece band The Dukes, Earle hit the stage kicking off his Guy Clark tribute with the classic “Dublin Blues,” receiving exuberant cheers at the opening line “Wish I was in Austin.” Earle immediately went into “Texas 1947,” featuring the expert pedal steel work of Ricky Ray Jackson. After sharing a short story about how he met Guy Clark while hitchhiking around Texas, the band performed the ode to the Hill Country honky-tonkin’ queen “Rita Ballou,” featuring Eleanor Whitmore on violin. Following a tale about Clark’s loyalty to Texas BBQ over Tennessee style BBQ, Joe Ely joined Earle on stage to perform “Desperadoes Waiting For a Train” – two Texas music legends trading verses on one of the state’s most influential songs.

The Texas Tornados brought their Tex-Mex sound to the Austin City Limits TV show in 1990. Now that performance is available on DVD. It features Doug Sahm, Freddy Fender, Augie Meyers, and Flaco Jimenez at their best!

Cheap Trick headlines the Auditorium Shores stage at South by Southwest 2010 in Austin, Texas.

A long-haul trucker turns to YouTube to combat loneliness and social isolation. Under the handle “MsDivaTrucker43,” she discovers a supportive community of women who share her struggles of life in the margins. It is difficult for women in an industry that is 96% male to see themselves succeeding. Tamara's words of wisdom and encouragement offer women a model and a path forward.

From an episode of Hardly Sound, this is a documentary focuses on enigmatic underground Texas musician, Jandek as he weaves through a one-act play called "Kooken".

Spoon emerged in the early aughts and Austin City Limits is proud to present highlights from the band’s multiple appearances on the program over two decades. Pitchfork hails them as “one of the most stand-up bands of their generation” and as Rolling Stone raves of their twenty-five-year streak: “It’s just been one long stretch of slow-build greatness.” The 14-song, the career-wide hour is a master-class from a band that has inspired legions of diehard fans and made it strictly on its own terms: jagged guitar, tight melodies, and killer hooks, as frontman Britt Daniels’ indelible vocals, fuse with drummer Jim Eno’s impeccable beats to create a sound all their own.

Looking back, why did it take ten years to finally lure Waylon Jennings to the Austin City Limits stage for his first performance? Like everything else about the man, he did things his own way - when he was damn good and ready. Maybe it had something to do with that other Texas singer, that Red-Headed Stranger who shook things up in Austin and country music in general. Waylon wasn't sure what the fuss was all about (as he sang, It don t matter who is in Austin, Bob Wills is STILL the King! ). This special package contains both a CD and DVD of Waylon Jenning s FIRST Austin City Limit s performance, recorded in August 1984.

This performance, captured on the ACL stage on November 15, 1976, shows Roy Buchanan in his prime at the age of 37. Indeed, it may well be the best high-quality audio/video recording of his complete performance known to exist.

John Hiatt's performance in 1993 for the Austin City Limits TV show was a typical John Hiatt performance. Incredible songs are sung with passion and energy. Now that amazing performance is available on DVD with some bonus songs that were not included in the original broadcast