How 51 seasons of a Texas public access TV show immortalized music

Welcome to the Texas Canon , a series that dives into the movies, TV shows, books, albums  and more that represent us and reach far beyond the Lone Star State's borders. Today, we look at the long-running music program "Austin City Limits."

Austin has long been known as the "Live Music Capital of the World," bolstered by big names and venues large and small. But perhaps what has helped that moniker stick most is Austin City Limits , a public access TV program whose 51st season premiered on Oct. 4 . 

The format is simple: It's a filmed concert. The production isn't particularly sleek; there are no pyrotechnics or digital effects. It's just a musical act in front of an artful reproduction of the ever-evolving Austin skyline with a live and interactive audience. 

Even as Austin gets flashier, Austin City Limits remains easy-going and uncomplicated. Tapings are free and open to the public based on a lottery system. The set hasn't changed much over the years. And artists love being there. Many will cite getting on the ACL stage as a major career goal or share that they watched the program while they were kids, just dreaming of making it. 

It all started in 1974, when Austin PBS, KLRU-TV (then KLRN) program director Bill Arhos, producer Paul Bosner and director Bruce Scafe responded to PBS's request for original programs from member stations. The trio wanted to showcase Austin's music scene-especially the progressive country, or "cosmic country," that felt unique to Austin's nightclubs. They filmed the pilot on Oct. 17, 1974 , which was then pitched to PBS as part of its 1975 pledge drive. 

Austin City Limits premiered, rightfully, with Willie Nelson . (The pilot was actually supposed to feature B.W. Stevenson, who was taped on Oct. 16, 1974. But the recording was deemed unusable, and the audience was so small "that it was embarrassing," according to Scafe.) Nelson, notably TV-shy, appreciated the attention to audio and the simplicity of the production. 

It worked, and the first season got the greenlight. Season one, episode one aired in 1976, featuring Austin band Asleep at the Wheel and a reunion of Bob Wills's Original Texas Playboys.

Decades later,  Austin City Limits has since moved past its cosmic country origins to include any and all genres. The list of ACL alumni is massive : Johnny Cash, Billie Eilish, Etta James, B.B. King, Wilco, Kacey Musgraves, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Norah Jones, Death Cab for Cutie, Merle Haggard, Radiohead, John Prine ... all have graced the stage at Studio 6A on the University of Texas campus or ACL Live at The Moody Theater, ACL 's home since 2011. 

Now the longest-running music program in television history and the only television show to have been awarded the National Medal of the Arts, Austin City Limits is also arguably one of the most important musical media collections in the world.

" One of the things that makes Austin City Limits remarkable is to have these time capsules, these moments in time captured by the artists," Emily Bolf, associate producer for ACL , told Austin Monthly in 2024. "I can't really think of another show that does that."

The artists who have been on Austin City Limits through the decades see that as well. 

" Austin City Limits is one of the only film and TV outlets that documents great musicians at the peak of their powers," Beck, who has performed twice on ACL , told Billboard . "In decades to come, the shows are going to be some of the best documents and snapshots of this era of music … These music documents are treasures."

In honor of the show's 50th anniversary in 2024, Austin PBS undertook the massive project of digitizing its collection of ACL episodes and hundreds of thousands of photos to preserve its history. Episodes and clips are available for streaming online, and of course, it still airs on PBS stations across the country.   

But besides creating a trove of music history, Austin City Limits has brought live music (sort of) into millions of homes, no matter how far from Austin they were. Yes, it's easier than ever to get stuff right in the palm of your hand, but ACL is special in its simplicity, variety and commitment to just showing some good tunes in a nearly uninterrupted set. 

The now unfortunate thing is that ACL needs public broadcasting, which is struggling amid massive cuts in federal funding under the Trump administration . It's something that can't exist on today's streaming ecosystem, as ACL Executive Producer Terry Lickona, who has been in the role since 1979, put it.

"Imagine me walking into the offices back in the day, or even today, of one of the commercial television networks or streaming services and pitching the idea for a weekly music show that one week might have Kendrick Lamar and the next Dolly Parton and the week after that Samara Joy," Lickona told Billboard earlier this year . "It's such an eclectic mix of all different artists, some well-known, some totally obscure and avant-garde. PBS is the only place that a show like ours could exist. We never could have survived in any sort of commercial environment where it's more about the ratings and revenue." 

Austin PBS lost nearly $3 million in federal funding. Lickona told Billboard that about 25 percent of ACL 's annual budget came from those funds. It's a big gap to make up-not to mention the reality that communities across the country could fully lose their local PBS stations .  

These are formidable opponents. But ACL has seen decades of strife outside its studio in the 51 years since Willie Nelson opened the pilot with "Whiskey River."

"Nothing lasts 50 years without a lot of struggle and a lot of challenges, financial, political and otherwise," Lickona said. "We will carry on somehow, because too many people depend on Austin City Limits for these 50 years."

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This article originally published at How 51 seasons of a Texas public access TV show immortalized music .