Formula 1 weekend has a new hook for music fans. On Thursday, Circuit of The Americas announced that The Weeknd will be headlining this year's United States Grand Prix, alongside Taylor Swift.
The Weeknd will wrap up the entire F1 affair with a performance on Sunday, October 23. The acclaimed rhythm and blues artist played Austin City Limits Music Festival in 2015, during a sold-out tour for his album Beauty Behind the Madness.
Swift's performance — her first since the wildly successful 1989 World Tour — will take place on Saturday, October 22. This double bill from two Grammy Award-winning musicians promises to be a stellar follow-up to Elton John's buzzy 2015 concert.
The 2016 U.S. Grand Prix returns to Circuit of The Americas Friday, October 21, through Sunday, October 23. Three-day passes, starting at $150, include attendance to both concerts; Sunday-only tickets are also on sale for $99.
There's no one official arbiter of Austin's musical taste, but Austin City Limits (ACL) is as close as you'll get. The organization is enshrining a new band in its Hall of Fame for 2025: alternative rock band My Morning Jacket. The new inductee will be honored at ACL's 11th annual Hall of Fame live taping on August 1.
This will be the first time the annual event is open to the public. Although anyone has a chance at attending, they'll need to be lucky. Instead of selling tickets, ACL is giving away free passes that fans will have to win.
My Morning Jacket will be making their first appearance on the ACL stage in nearly a decade, according to a press release. The night will also be notable because it's only the second time a single artist is inducted; the first was Garth Brooks in 2024.
"We are so beyond honored to be included alongside so many of our heroes and favorite legends in the ACL Hall of Fame!” said My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James in a press release. “We can’t wait to hit that sacred ACL stage again on August 1st and celebrate this great honor with our beautiful fans."
Since 2006, My Morning Jacket has performed on the Austin City Limits TV program three times. The release calls the performances "revelatory." But James was on the stage even more, appearing solo, with Monsters of Folk, and as a guest with Bright Eyes and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
ACL also considers the wider achievements of each inductee, and praises My Morning Jacket as "one of the most vital forces in American rock-and-roll." The statement offers special credit for a career of more than 25 years while maintaining the verve of the band's early successes.
My Morning Jacket is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, and comprises vocalist and guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, guitarist Carl Broemel, drummer Patrick Hallahan, keyboardist Bo Koster. Their 10th studio album, Is, arrived March 21, 2025, marking their first album in nearly four years.
“All these songs [on Is] came into existence out of an attempt to connect with something beyond the human experiment, which for me is the whole purpose of music – that connection with something larger than us, yet something we are all equally a part of,” said James.
“My Morning Jacket’s debut in 2006 was on the heels of their breakthrough album ‘Z,’ and they shook the rafters in ole Studio 6A,” said ACL executive producer Terry Lickona in the same release. “Few acts can compare to their ability to take command of the stage — so much so that they appeared three times in ten years! Austin City Limits is proud to welcome them to our Hall of Fame, and I have a feeling the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is next!”
Other ACL Hall of Fame members include Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Marcia Ball, Los Lobos, Lyle Lovett, Buddy Guy, Wilco, Alejandro Escovedo, Sheryl Crow, and more than 25 others.
The recorded performance will be aired in an hourlong broadcast episode within Austin City Limits' upcoming Season 51, premiering this October on PBS. More information about how to join the ticket giveaway will be posted by ACL in July.
