After 50 years of the live music TV seriesAustin City Limits(ACL), Austinites have plenty to look back on. Adding something new while appreciating the past, a two-hour broadcast April 4 will gather some of the top performers over the years for one big concert.

Titled "Austin City Limits Celebrates 50 years," the PBS broadcast will be hosted by Austin-based actors Jared and Genevieve Padalecki, who will share personal stories about ACL shows they've attended. It'll be based on archival footage of "defining moments and appearances," with each vintage pull followed up by an artist interview or a new performance.

Austinites who get the Austin PBS station on TV can watch there from 7-9 pm Central Time, or anyone can tune in on PBS.org and the Austin PBS app. Online users may need to change their local station selection.

Lyle Lovett is a longtime favorite on ACL.Photo by Scott Newton

According to a press release, the broadcast lineup features Chris Stapleton, The Mavericks, Leon Bridges, Indigo Girls, Brandy Clark, Cam, Ángela Aguilar, Shawn Colvin, Lyle Lovett, Billy Strings featuring Sierra Hull, Rufus Wainwright, and Gary Clark Jr. joined by Eve Monsees.

Archival clips from both vintage and recent performances will feature:

• Dolly Parton
• Willie Nelson
• Tom Waits
• Ray Charles
• Nancy Griffith
• Emmylou Harris
• Townes Van Zandt
• The Chicks
• Tracy Chapman
• Lauryn Hill
• Kacey Musgraves
• Foo Fighters
• Olivia Rodrigo
• Jon Batiste
• Brandi Carlile
• Billie Eilish
• H.E.R.
• Noah Kahan
• Jelly Roll

Ángela Aguilar brings glamor in what might be the evening's most formal looks.Photo by Scott Newton

Every performance will be notable in some way, but the opening cover stands out: Country superstar Chris Stapleton will play Willie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground."

Nelson is an ACL favorite, having famously played the pilot episode that was taped on October 17, 1974, and later aired in 2025. In that first broadcast, Nelson and his band also played "Whiskey River," "Bloody Mary Morning," "Crazy," "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," and other classics. (The country 70s fashion onstage and in the audience is also worth taking a look back at.)

The next couple of decades — the 80s and 90s — return in a renewed version of ACL's songwriter circles, where performers will play each other's songs. That's where Indigo Girls, Brandy Clark, and Cam come in, first sharing songs and then trading off on verses of Indigo Girls' "Closer To Fine."

Brandy Clark, Indigo Girls, and Cam in the songwriter circle.Photo by Gary Miller

The broadcast will also pay tribute to Latin acts and Hall of Fame nominees over the years, plus one of Austin's greatest musical icons, Stevie Ray Vaughan; the latter is played by Gary Clark Jr. and Eve Monsees.

In the show's time as the longest-running music series ever on TV, it won a Peabody Award and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame landmark designation, and is the only TV series awarded the National Medal of Arts, according to the release. It also nods to executive producer since 1978 Terry Lickona, who won the prestigious Beacon Award, presented by Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, and more anecdotally has become one of Austin's most enduring symbols of musical authenticity.

"The entire history of Austin City Limits has been about music legacy and music discovery," said Lickona in the release. "It's about original, authentic music from every genre, anywhere and everywhere. An eclectic music program like ours couldn't exist anywhere else but PBS, thanks to a half-century of support for public media."

The release wraps up with a full broadcast setlist:

Chris Stapleton: "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground"
The Mavericks: "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down"
Leon Bridges: "Beyond"

Songwriters Circle:
Indigo Girls: "Share the Moon"
Brandy Clark: "Dear Insecurity"
Cam: "Burning House"
Indigo Girls w/Brandy Clark & Cam: "Closer to Fine"

Ángela Aguilar: "Piensa En Mi"
Ángela Aguilar w/ Trio Los Panchos: "Todo Una Vida"
Shawn Colvin w/ Lyle Lovett: "The Facts About Jimmy"
Lyle Lovett: "12th of June"
Billy Strings w/ Sierra Hull: "Soldier's Joy" (instrumental)
Billy Strings w/ Sierra Hull: "Midnight on the Stormy Deep"
Rufus Wainwright: "Going to a Town"
Rufus Wainwright: "Hallelujah"
Gary Clark Jr. w/Eve Monsees: "Dirty Pool"
Gary Clark Jr. w/Eve Monsees: "Pride and Joy"