Austin City Limits Turns 40

Austin City Limits, the longest-running music program in television history, aired its first show on October 14, 1974, making 2014 the 40th year for the popular music show on PBS.

It all started in 1974 when KLRU (then KLRN) program director Bill Arhos, producer Paul Bosner and director Bruce Scafe birthed the idea for the show when PBS put out a call for original programming from its member stations. Scafe had already directed the music show The Session for WSIU in Carbondale, Illinois, while Bosner was a dedicated fan of the "cosmic cowboy scene" in Austin. After Bosner introduced Arhos to Jan Reid’s book The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock, which covered the progressive country scene, the three men came up with the idea for a TV program that would showcase the diverse mix of country, blues, folk and psychedelia found in Austin. Austin City Limits was born with the title coming from Bosner, who saw the sign every week when he drove in from Dallas to Austin.

Since its debut, Austin City Limits has gone on to become he only television show to have been awarded the Presidential Medal of the Arts. Time magazine has called it one of the "10 most influential music programs of all time." It’s a show that constantly presents a large variety of musical styles and genres, having hosting everyone from Willie Nelson to BB King to Foo Fighters. The how has been enshrined as a Rock & Roll Landmark in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

For the 40th year, four acts have been announced thus far. The show will welcome the following artists:

• Los Lobos, who has been on the show four times, will return on April 14th after having been away for 12 years. In 2002, during their last performance, they rocked the stage so hard, it knocked some of the tree set pieces down, forcing the ACL crew to conduct a repair while the band continued playing.
• Valerie June will make her first appearance on the ACL stage on May 28th, performing songs from her national debut, Pushin' Against a Stone, which was named one of "The 50 Best Albums of 2013" by Rolling Stone.
• Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds will tape their debut episode on July 20th. The Australian-born singer / songwriter, known for his dark songs and dark voice, will take the ACL stage with his longtime band for what promises to be a spellbinding performance.
• San Francisco-based folk-rockers Thao & The Get Down Stay Down will be taping their ACL debut on August 14th. Led by singer-songwriter Thao Nguyen, the band has built a devoted following based on their feisty live shows.
• Country star Eric Church will be taping his ACL debut on September 23rd, performing songs from his critically-acclaimed new album The Outsiders, which debuted at #1 on Billboard‘s Top 200 and Country charts. Spin named Church "the most exciting, sonically fearless singer in Nashville."

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Austin city limits, Eric Church