Written by: Kai Eldridge, Music Discovery Editor, OnesToWatch | Last updated: July 10, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Austin City Limits has shaped American music for more than 50 years through its PBS television series and annual Zilker Park festival.
- This guide traces ACL’s evolution by genre, showing how country roots expanded into rock, indie, hip-hop, pop, Americana, electronic, and Latin music.
- Landmark moments include Willie Nelson’s 1975 debut, the 2014 launch of the ACL Hall of Fame, and recent inductees such as Brandi Carlile in 2026.
- Recent festival lineups from 2024 through 2026 highlight that evolution, with headliners ranging from Tyler, the Creator and Chris Stapleton to Charli XCX and Rüfüs Du Sol.
- Discover the next generation of artists who could headline future ACL stages by exploring OnesToWatch’s curated lists and editorial features.
Quick Answer: What Is Austin City Limits?
Austin City Limits is a dual-format music institution: a PBS television series that has aired since 1975 and an annual outdoor music festival held each October in Austin, Texas. The TV series’ cultural impact shows in its status as the only program to receive the National Medal of Arts, while the festival, launched in 2002, has grown into one of the country’s largest music events, drawing hundreds of thousands of fans across two weekends to Zilker Park.
Country Legends Who Defined ACL
Country music anchored ACL’s earliest seasons and set the tone for everything that followed. These artists shaped that foundation on both the TV series and festival stages.
- Willie Nelson — inaugural Hall of Fame inductee and a defining presence across multiple TV seasons
- Garth Brooks — 2024 Hall of Fame inductee who performed a career-spanning set including “Friends in Low Places”
- Trisha Yearwood — inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023
- Chris Stapleton — headlined the 2024 ACL Music Festival
- Sturgill Simpson — performed at the 2024 ACL Music Festival
- Loretta Lynn — multiple TV series appearances across decades
- Emmylou Harris — a recurring presence on the TV series bridging country and Americana
- Lyle Lovett — a Texas native and longtime ACL TV staple
- Kris Kristofferson — appeared on the TV series during its formative years
Rock & Blues Icons Expanding the ACL Sound
Rock and blues pushed ACL beyond its country base and helped define the broader “Austin sound” for national audiences. The TV series captured some of the most celebrated live performances in both genres.
- Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble — 2014 Hall of Fame inductees alongside other key figures from ACL’s early years
- The Avett Brothers — delivered a career-spanning set featured in a recent TV episode
- My Morning Jacket — appeared in multiple seasons and entered the Hall of Fame in 2025
- Kings of Leon — part of the 2026 ACL Music Festival lineup
- Twenty One Pilots — featured in the 2026 ACL Music Festival lineup
- B.B. King — appeared on the TV series during its classic era
- Los Lobos — a recurring rock and roots act on the TV series
- Bonnie Raitt — a longtime ACL TV performer who helped induct Brandi Carlile at the 2026 Hall of Fame ceremony
- Billy Strings — performed on Season 52 of the ACL TV series with an extended two-set performance
Indie & Alternative Standouts on the Rise
Indie and alternative acts turned ACL into a launchpad for new generations of fans. Many artists first appeared on the TV series, then returned later as festival headliners.
- Brandi Carlile — 2026 Hall of Fame inductee who first appeared on the ACL stage more than 15 years ago
- The xx — part of the 2026 ACL Music Festival lineup
- Arcade Fire — multiple ACL festival and TV appearances
- Vampire Weekend — a recurring ACL festival act
- Spoon — an Austin-based act with deep ACL TV history
- Wilco — multiple TV series appearances spanning several seasons
- Fleet Foxes — featured on the ACL TV series
- Phoebe Bridgers — appeared at the ACL festival during the early 2020s
Hip-Hop & R&B Trailblazers at ACL
Hip-hop and R&B grew from occasional bookings into core pillars of the ACL festival. These artists show how the brand keeps pace with contemporary music culture.
- Tyler, the Creator — headlined the 2024 ACL Music Festival
- Norah Jones — performed at the 2024 ACL Music Festival
- Leon Bridges — a Texas native who performed at the 2024 ACL Music Festival
- Samara Joy — featured on the ACL TV series performing songs from Linger Awhile and Portrait
- Erykah Badu — a Dallas native and ACL festival alumna
- Gary Clark Jr. — an Austin artist with multiple ACL TV and festival appearances
- Anderson .Paak — performed at the ACL festival
- SZA — appeared at the ACL festival during the early 2020s
- Lizzo — performed at the ACL festival before her mainstream breakthrough
Pop Performers Who Took the ACL Stage
Pop artists now draw some of the largest single-day crowds at ACL, signaling how the festival has widened its reach beyond its roots.
- Charli XCX — headlining the 2026 ACL Music Festival
- Lorde — part of the 2026 ACL Music Festival lineup
- Dua Lipa — performed at the 2024 ACL Music Festival
- Chappell Roan — performed at the 2024 ACL Music Festival
- Billie Eilish — appeared at the ACL festival during her rise to global stardom
- Taylor Swift — performed at the ACL festival in the early years of her career
- Olivia Rodrigo — performed at the ACL festival
- Post Malone — appeared at the ACL festival
- Tate McRae — performed at the ACL festival
Rising pop acts highlighted by OnesToWatch already mirror the kind of artists who often graduate to ACL’s biggest stages.
Americana & Folk Favorites on the ACL Stage
Americana and folk thrive in ACL’s intimate TV setting, where storytelling and acoustic arrangements sit at the center. These artists helped broaden the show beyond strict country labels.
- John Prine — inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023
- Brandi Carlile — a defining Americana voice and 2026 Hall of Fame inductee
- Gillian Welch — multiple ACL TV appearances
- Townes Van Zandt — appeared on the TV series during its early decades
- Guy Clark — a Texas singer-songwriter and ACL TV regular
- Patty Griffin — featured on the ACL TV series
- The Decemberists — performed on both the TV series and at the festival
- Iron & Wine — appeared on the ACL TV series
- Mandolin Orange (Watchhouse) — featured on the ACL TV series
- Alison Krauss — a recurring Americana presence on the TV series
Electronic & Dance Acts at ACL Festival
Electronic and dance music transformed ACL’s late-night energy, with EDM headliners now drawing some of the festival’s biggest crowds.
- Rüfüs Du Sol — part of the 2026 ACL Music Festival lineup
- Skrillex — featured in the 2026 ACL Music Festival lineup
- Pretty Lights — performed at the 2024 ACL Music Festival
- Flume — appeared at the ACL festival
- Disclosure — performed at the ACL festival
- Odesza — a recurring ACL festival act
- Bassnectar — performed at the ACL festival during the 2010s
- Deadmau5 — appeared at the ACL festival
- Diplo — performed at the ACL festival
Latin & Global Sounds on Austin City Limits
Latin and global artists now play a larger role at ACL, reflecting Austin’s cultural landscape and the rise of regional Mexican and Latin urban genres worldwide.
- Carín León — performed at the 2024 ACL Music Festival as a regional Mexican headliner
- Selena — honored through ACL’s broader Texas music legacy programming
- Flaco Jiménez — a Tejano legend with deep ACL TV history
- Los Lobos — bridging Latin rock and roots across multiple ACL appearances
- Natalia Lafourcade — appeared at the ACL festival
- Bomba Estéreo — performed at the ACL festival
- Café Tacvba — appeared at the ACL festival
- Bad Bunny — performed at the ACL festival
- J Balvin — appeared at the ACL festival
Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Inductees
The Austin City Limits Hall of Fame launched in 2014 to honor artists who shaped the series’ first half-century. Each induction features tributes from peers and full-set performances at ACL Live at The Moody Theater. Since the 10th Anniversary ceremony in 2024, the Hall of Fame has focused on a single artist each year, giving that artist a deep, career-spanning tribute.
| Year | Inductee(s) | Primary Genre |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Bill Arhos, and Darrell Royal | Country; Blues/Rock; Other |
| 2023 | John Prine; Trisha Yearwood | Folk/Americana; Country |
| 2024 | Garth Brooks | Country |
| 2025 | My Morning Jacket | Rock/Americana |
| 2026 | Brandi Carlile | Americana/Folk/Rock |
Standout ACL Episodes and Eras by Decade
Each decade of ACL’s TV run has produced landmark episodes that document changing sounds in American music. These highlights show how the series kept expanding its scope.
- 1970s: The series premiered in 1975 with Willie Nelson, which brought the Austin sound into a national conversation. Early seasons focused on Texas singer-songwriters and country outlaws who rarely appeared on mainstream television.
- 1980s: Stevie Ray Vaughan’s appearances became some of the most-watched episodes in the series’ history. His sets cemented ACL’s reputation as a blues and rock platform alongside its country roots.
- 1990s: The series expanded into Americana, folk, and alternative country. Artists like Lyle Lovett and Emmylou Harris delivered performances that defined this broader roots era.
- 2000s: My Morning Jacket’s Season 31 taping in 2006 introduced the series to a new generation of indie rock fans. The ACL festival launched in 2002 and dramatically broadened the brand’s reach.
- 2010s: The Hall of Fame debuted in 2014 with the inaugural class noted above, formalizing ACL’s legacy-building role. My Morning Jacket’s later return and other cross-genre bookings reflected the show’s widening palette.
- 2020s: Season 52 features Billy Strings in an extended two-set performance, Samara Joy performing material from Linger Awhile and Portrait, and The Avett Brothers delivering a career-spanning set.
Recent Performers (2020s): 2024–2026 Festival & TV Lineups
Recent ACL festival editions show how the brand now balances country, hip-hop, Latin, EDM, and pop within a single weekend. These lineups mirror the genre diversity seen on the TV series.
2024 ACL Music Festival
- Country/Americana: Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Leon Bridges, Norah Jones
- Hip-Hop/R&B: Tyler, the Creator
- Latin: Carín León
- Pop: Dua Lipa, Chappell Roan
- Electronic: Pretty Lights
2026 ACL Music Festival
- Pop: Charli XCX, Lorde
- Rock: Twenty One Pilots, Kings of Leon
- Indie: The xx
- Electronic: Rüfüs Du Sol, Skrillex
Independent artists building momentum today often become the names filling ACL lineups like these within a few short years.
Who Was the First Performer on Austin City Limits?
Willie Nelson was the first performer on the Austin City Limits television series. The show premiered in 1975 on PBS, and Nelson’s taping established the program’s identity as a platform for Texas music and the broader American roots tradition. His status as the inaugural performer later informed his selection as one of the inaugural inductees into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2014.
Who Played ACL in 2016?
The 2016 Austin City Limits Music Festival featured a wide-ranging lineup that included Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, Kendrick Lamar, and Bonnie Raitt, among many others. On the TV series side, My Morning Jacket returned for their Season 42 taping in 2016, one of several appearances that preceded their 2025 Hall of Fame induction.
How to Watch ACL Archives
Full episodes and archival performances from the Austin City Limits TV series are available through acltv.com, where the show maintains a digital library of past seasons. Many episodes are also accessible via PBS streaming platforms. The Hall of Fame ceremony highlights, including the 2026 Brandi Carlile induction, air as part of the regular season broadcast on PBS, and Season 52 highlights are scheduled to air following the live ceremony at ACL Live at The Moody Theater.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many seasons has Austin City Limits been on the air?
Austin City Limits entered its 52nd season in 2026, making it the longest-running music series in American television history. The show has aired continuously on PBS since its 1975 premiere, covering more than five decades of American music across country, rock, blues, folk, Americana, and other genres.
What is the difference between the Austin City Limits TV show and the ACL Music Festival?
The Austin City Limits TV series is a PBS program that tapes intimate, full-set performances at ACL Live at The Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. It has aired since 1975 and is the only television program to have received the National Medal of Arts. The ACL Music Festival is a separate annual outdoor event held each October at Zilker Park in Austin, launched in 2002. The festival features dozens of artists across multiple stages over two weekends, while the TV series focuses on single-artist or dual-artist episodes with extended performance formats.
Who has been inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame?
The Austin City Limits Hall of Fame was established in 2014 to recognize artists and figures central to the show’s history. Confirmed inductees include Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Bill Arhos, and Darrell Royal (2014), John Prine and Trisha Yearwood (2023), Garth Brooks (2024), My Morning Jacket (2025), and Brandi Carlile (2026). Since the 2024 ceremony, the Hall of Fame has honored a single artist per year with a dedicated in-depth tribute and performance at ACL Live at The Moody Theater.
How does OnesToWatch connect to Austin City Limits’ legacy?
Many of the artists who have headlined the ACL festival or appeared on the TV series, including Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Doechii, SZA, Dua Lipa, and Taylor Swift, began as independent emerging artists. OnesToWatch operates as a modern discovery pipeline for artists at that stage, providing editorial features, curated playlists, and annual selections that highlight independent acts most likely to graduate to stages like ACL’s. The platform has covered more than 850 artists over the past decade, with many alumni now performing in arenas worldwide.
What genres does the ACL festival typically feature?
The Austin City Limits Music Festival consistently presents a broad mix of genres to reach audiences across generations. Core categories include country, rock, indie and alternative, hip-hop and R&B, electronic and dance, pop, Americana and folk, and Latin and global music. The 2026 lineup leans more heavily into pop megastars and EDM, while 2024 and 2025 maintained stronger representation from country and hip-hop headliners.
Austin City Limits, in both its TV and festival forms, has become a reliable launchpad and validation stage for American music talent across genres and generations. The artists who will define its next era are already performing in clubs, releasing independent records, and building audiences online. OnesToWatch exists to identify those artists before the rest of the world catches up. Explore OnesToWatch’s 2026 artists list and discover the names that could be headlining ACL stages in the years ahead.