Austin City Limits TV Season Finale Premieres 2/13 with Tedeschi Trucks Band

Article Contributed by Coakley Press | Published on Thursday, February 11, 2016

Austin City Limits (ACL) caps a standout Season 41 with a sensational hour of music from American roots superstars Tedeschi Trucks Band in their ACL debut.  The hour-long season finale premieres Saturday, February 13th at 8pm CT/9pm ET.  ACL airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings for times) and full episodes are made available online for a limited time at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast.  In the following weeks, the Peabody Award-winning series will continue to broadcast fan-favorite encore episodes weekly until the new season premieres in the fall.  ACL recently announced the first round of tapings for the series upcoming Season 42: Iggy Pop in his first-ever appearance on the ACL stage, joined by Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme, the debut of Grammy-nominated international superstar Natalia Lafourcade and one of indie-rock’s finest bands, My Morning Jacket, returning for their third ACL performance.  Viewers can stay tuned to acltv.com for episode schedules and news regarding live streams of upcoming tapings.   

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Susan Tedeschi, a three-time ACL veteran who first appeared on the program in 1999, and her guitar hero husband Derek Trucks merged their solo careers to form the Tedeschi Trucks Band in 2010.  The now 12-piece strong powerhouse—one of music’s most talented and admired ensembles—lights up the ACL stage in their debut, arriving at the top of their game and presenting gems from their newly-released third studio album, Let Me Get By.  Opening with the uplifting new track “Don’t Know What It Means,” the virtuoso outfit, complete with horns and back-up singers, perform a thrilling seven-song set combining their distinctive hybrid of Memphis soul, R&B, blues, rock and classic song craft.  Tedeschi puts down her guitar to let her powerful vocals shine on several standout covers including a Joe Cocker-inspired version of the Box Tops’ hit, “The Letter,” and the Leonard Cohen classic “Bird On A Wire.”  As they close out the stellar set with a highlight, “Midnight in Harlem” (from their Grammy-winning 2011 debut Revelator), featuring Trucks’ mesmerizing slide-guitar solo, TTB turn the soulful ballad into a gorgeous wall of sound for a perfect close to a thrilling performance and an outstanding season.  The transcendent set has the Austin crowd walking on air inspired by the undeniable power of great music.  

"Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks are a match made in blues-rock heaven, and are proof-positive of the old maxim that the whole is greater than the sum of these musical partners,” says ACL executive producer Terry Lickona.  “Together they show how their new songs are a big leap forward for these road veterans."

Tedeschi Trucks Band setlist:
Don’t Know What It Means
The Letter
Bird On A Wire
Anyhow
Let Me Get By
I Want More
Midnight In Harlem