‘Austin City Limits’ Season 47 Is Worth Stopping Down For

Not every season of Austin City Limits these days is worth stopping down for, or has such close ties to the country and roots scene like it did back in the program’s heyday. But the first portion of Season 47 sure does. Set to premier on Saturday, October 2nd, there are quite a few performers that it will be worth seeing on one of music’s most important stages.

On October 2nd there will be an hour long set of native Texan Miranda Lambert sharing the stage with songwriters Jack Ingram and Jon Randall reprising tracks from their recent album together The Marfa Tapes. All three of these performers and songwriters were custom made for the Austin City Limits stage.

On October 23rd, the future of bluegrass will be on proud display as both Sarah Jarosz and Billy Strings will take the stage. Both of these performers won Grammy Awards in 2020—Sarah for Best Americana Album for her project World on the Ground, and Billy took home Best Bluegrass Album for Home. This will be an episode not to miss.

Then Brandy Clark and Charley Crockett will be paired together on October 30th. Along with writing some of the best songs in mainstream country over the last few years, Brandy Clark is a great performer in her own right. Native Texan Charley Crockett gets his first opportunity on the stage, speaking to his rising popularity in the country and roots realm.

Another performer on the season with country and roots ties is Jade Bird, whose recent album was produced by Dave Cobb and who recently move to Austin. Native Texan Leon Bridges, Brittany Howard formerly of Alabama Shakes, and the legendary Jackson Browne will also appear on the season.

One person we will not see on the stage for Season 47 will be Sturgill Simpson, who was supposed to tape a bluegrass episode at one point. But due to COVID-19 and other conflicts, it never came about. And now that Sturgill has been sidelined due to a ruptured vocal chord, it may be quite a while before he is able to fulfill that commitment.

Full schedule for the first portion of Season 47:

October 2 – Miranda Lambert with Jack Ingram & Jon Randall
October 9 – Jade Bird / Dayglow
October 16 – Jon Batiste
October 23 – Sarah Jarosz / Billy Strings
October 30 – Brandy Clark / Charley Crockett
November 6 – Leon Bridges / Khruangbin
November 13 – Jackson Browne
November 20 – Brittany Howard