Performers include Old Crow Medicine Show, John Prine, Iris DeMent, Rhiannon Giddens, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Amanda Shires, The Lumineers, Drive-By Truckers, Graham Nash, The Milk Carton Kids, Margo Price,
Jason Isbell, Van Morrison and Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm
Special Episode of Austin City Limits Premieres November 18 on PBS – Check local listings here
Nashville, TN and Austin, TX – Austin City Limits (ACL) returns to Nashville for a special broadcast featuring performance highlights from this year’s Americana Honors & Awards. ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2017 premieres November 18 on PBS and delivers dazzling performances that represent the genre’s diversity and excellence. The music-filled hour features many of the night’s award-winners and honorees, including trailblazing newcomers and legendary icons who helped define the genre; among them (in order of appearance): Old Crow Medicine Show, John Prine, Iris DeMent, Rhiannon Giddens, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Amanda Shires, The Lumineers, Drive-By Truckers, Graham Nash, The Milk Carton Kids, Margo Price, Jason Isbell, Van Morrison and Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm. The special airs Saturday, November 18 on PBS – check local listings here for times. ACL airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide and full episodes are made available online for a limited time immediately following the initial broadcast. The show’s official hashtag is #acltv.
Recorded live at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium on September 13, The Americana Music Association’s℠ 16th Annual Honors & Awards ceremony is a celebration of music that is authentic, diverse and original from many genres, both traditional and contemporary.
“Each year this show blows my mind. If there was an infra-red device tracking creativity, Nashville would be the brightest light on the planet,” says Jed Hilly, Executive Director of the Americana Music Association℠. “I’m so grateful and truly humbled by the incredible artists and musicians who grace our stage.”
This year’s show opens with Americana staples Old Crow Medicine Show leading a marching drumline to the famed stage for a jovial rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.”
In true Americana style, the broadcast is chock-full of once-in-a-lifetime musical moments and collaborations. This year’s Artist of the Year winner John Prine joins Iris DeMent, recipient of the Americana Trailblazer Award, for a heartwarming performance of their famous duet “In Spite of Ourselves.” Banjo virtuoso and Album of the Year nominee Rhiannon Giddens delivers a rollicking “Julie,” accompanied by producer Dirk Powell on the fiddle. Mainstays Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, awarded Duo/Group of the Year, perform a sweltering “Time Don’t Wait.”
The highlights continue with the iconic Graham Nash, this year’s recipient of the Americana Free Speech in Music Award, joining the harmony-laced duo The Milk Carton Kids for a pin-dropping take on The Everly Brothers’ “So Sad.” Chart-toppers The Lumineers take the stage for a stomping “Cleopatra,” the title-track of their latest release. This is immediately followed by the Duo/Group-nominated Drive-By Truckers rocking out a searing performance of “What It Means.”
The melting pot genre’s breakout newcomers also roll out show-stopping performances: Emerging Artist of the Year winner Amanda Shires slows down time with a delicate rendition of “Harmless,” and later accompanies her husband and Artist of the Year nominee Jason Isbell for an equally captivating performance of “If We Were Vampires.” Nashville rebel and Artist of the Year nominee Margo Price performs her bluesy new song “Do Right By Me” with gospel greats The McCrary Sisters on backing vocals.
Americana’s biggest night culminates with legends like Van Morrison, this year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree for Songwriting, bringing down the house with his soul-stirring “Transformation” alongside his daughter Shana Morrison on backup vocals. Blues Hall of Famer and the night’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree for Performance Robert Cray teams up with Lifetime Achievement Honorees for Instrumentalist the Hi Rhythm Section and prolific drummer Steve Jordan for an electrifying, horn-filled “You Must Believe in Yourself.”
Hosting the show for a 15th consecutive year, Americana stalwart Jim Lauderdale invites an array of special guests onstage including Price, Emmylou Harris, Shannon McNally, Danny Flowers, Jack Ingram and Elizabeth Cook for the no-holds-barred closing number “Tulsa Time,” a Don Williams classic penned by Flowers. The hour-long broadcast is hosted by Lauderdale, and performers are backed by a first-class house band led by Larry Campbell featuring Robbie Crowell, Jim Hoke, Jerry Pentecost, Chris Wood and The McCrary Sisters.
The show was co-produced by Two Talented Cats Entertainment’s Martin Fischer and Edie Hoback, Michelle Aquilato and ACL Executive Producer Terry Lickona.
Episode Setlist:
Old Crow Medicine Show – “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”
John Prine & Iris DeMent – “In Spite of Ourselves”
Rhiannon Giddens – “Julie”
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives – “Time Don’t Wait”
Amanda Shires – “Harmless”
The Lumineers – “Cleopatra”
Drive-By Truckers – “What It Means”
Graham Nash & The Milk Carton Kids – “So Sad”
Margo Price – “Do Right By Me”
Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires – “If We Were Vampires”
Van Morrison – “Transformation”
Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm – “You Must Believe in Yourself”
Jim Lauderdale, Margo Price, Shannon McNally, Emmylou Harris, Danny Flowers, Jack Ingram and Elizabeth Cook – “Tulsa Time”
Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding future tapings, episode schedules, and live stream updates.