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A hater’s take on Cold War Kids at ACL Fest
What can I say about my opinion of Cold War Kids going into their ACL Fest set that couldn’t be said about the Cold War itself? “How did we let this be a thing for so long, and why? Was there a point...
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ACL Fest: Jack Garratt schools on one-man showmanship
Jack Garratt’s set at ACL Fest Saturday could serve as a lesson on how a solo artist leaning heavily on electronic instrumentation and/or pre-programmed elements can ensure their live show goes beyond...
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ACL Fest: Cage The Elephant’s ballistic rock proves the kids are all right
For a music fan of a certain age, finding live music experiences that get anywhere near the magic of early concert memories can be like chasing a high—one that always seems to get a little farther out...
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The ‘Wild,’ wild fest face-off: Wild Child vs. Wild Belle
Austin City Limits Fest organizers are clearly messing with us. The very different Wild Belle, a Chicago-born dancehall-leaning pop sibling act, and Austin indie folk group and local radio hit-makers...
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ACL Fest solidifies Pete Yorn’s place in revisionist history
“Do you remember Pete Yorn?” I asked this question to multiple people at ACL Fest and got a blank stare in return. Am I the only one who remembers Pete Yorn? As evidenced by the crowd at the Miller...
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Margo Price has a toe-tapping melancholy time at ACL taping
Margo Price and her band taping “Austin City Limits” on Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. Courtesy of KLRU-TV/Austin City Limits. Photo by Scott Newton Monday, that most dreaded of days, turned out to be the...
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Electric byte orchestra Ra Ra Riot winds up ACL’s Sunday mood
Ra Ra Riot performs on the HomeAway on the final day of weekend two of the 2016 Austin City Limits Festival at Zilker Park Oct. 9, 2016.Erika Rich for American-Statesman Even nerds can be rock stars,...
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Big Head Blues Club salutes Willie Dixon at the Belmont
Big Head Blues Club — from left, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Todd Park Mohr, Billy Branch and Mud Morganfield — in a studio session at the Statesman before their show at the Belmont on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016....
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Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, B.B. King get a full ACL Hall of Fame salute
Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal at the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Induction and Celebration at ACL Live on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016. Rodolfo Gonzalez/American-Statesman When the time came for Mavis...
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‘Sparks Fly’ at Taylor Swift’s only 2016 concert at Formula One Austin
Taylor Swift performs her only full concert of 2016 during the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin on Oct. 22, 2016. (Suzanne Cordeiro/For American-Statesman) In a...
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Our new best friend Adele rolled deep at the Erwin Center
Roughly ten minutes after 8 p.m. Friday night, the lights in the Frank Erwin Center dimmed and the enormous set of perfectly lined eyes resting on a gigantic v-shaped screen that covered the stage...
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Guy Clark tribute hits all the right notes at Texas Book Festival
All the planets were in alignment for this one. On what would have been legendary songwriter Guy Clark’s 75th birthday, the Texas Book Festival brought author Tamara Saviano to town for her new Clark...
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Parker Millsap braves the darkness at ACL taping
Parker Millsap with drummer Patrick Ryan, bassist Michael Rose and fiddler Daniel Foulks taping “Austin City Limits” on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. Courtesy of KLRU-TV/Photo by Scott Newton Parker Millsap...
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Dan Penn brings a lifetime of sweet soul music to the Stateside
Dan Penn plays the Stateside at the Paramount on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016. Contributed by Mike Fickel Dan Penn thought he should let folks know what kind of evening was in store. “I sometimes tend to...
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Alejandro Escovedo rocks his ‘ACL’ taping with a special band
From left: Kurt Bloch, Scott McCaughey, Alejandro Escovedo, John Moen and Peter Buck taping “Austin City Limits” at ACL Live on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016. Scott Newton/courtesy of KLRU TV It’s almost...
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Dolly Parton’s tour de force of talent and charm wins over Erwin Center
About the time Dolly Parton picked up a rhinestone-studded soprano saxophone 10 songs into her marathon show at the Erwin Center on Tuesday night, it was hard to imagine that she could possibly be...
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Black Fret awards $220,000 in grants to 20 Austin acts at annual gala
Boiling down what Black Fret can do for local bands to the most fundamental essentials, Swimming With Bears singer Joe Perry noted that when his band goes out on tour, they often save money by...
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Review: Shearwater shows growth, power at 3Ten performance
Sarah Cass Sometimes you run into a band at exactly the wrong time. Consider summer 2008, when Austin art rockers Shearwater were in the middle of their Island Arc trilogy of albums (2007’s “Palo...
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Terry Allen casts Lubbock and Juarez in full color at the Paramount
Terry Allen, right, with his son Bukka at Waterloo Records in 2013. Allen performed Saturday night at the Paramount Theatre. Alberto Martinez/AMERICAN-STATESMAN By John T. Davis Special to the...
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Don Henley plays the hits and pays moving tributes at ACL Live
Don Henley and bandmates singing “Seven Bridges Road” at ACL Live on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. Suzanne Cordeiro for American-Statesman A few songs into a sold-out Saturday night concert at ACL Live, Don...
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