Acl Presents: Americana Music Festival 2012 Showcases Americana Music's Best and Brightest

ACL PRESENTS: AMERICANA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2012 SHOWCASES AMERICANA MUSIC'S BEST AND BRIGHTEST

PERFORMERS INCLUDE ALABAMA SHAKES, BONNIE RAITT WITH JOHN HIATT, THE MAVERICKS, BOOKER T. JONES, CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS, RICHARD THOMPSON, JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT, GUY CLARK AND MORE

Episode Airs November 10, 2012 on PBS

Nashville, TN and Austin, TX—November 7, 2012—Austin City Limits (ACL) travels to Nashville for the second consecutive year to capture highlights from performances at the 2012 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards. ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2012 delivers an incredible line-up of artists that celebrates the best of Americana music today. Recorded live September 12th at The Americana Music Association's 11th Annual Americana Honors and Awards ceremony at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, the program showcases the genres' established and rising stars. Currently the fastest growing and one of the best-selling genres, Americana music honors the roots of American music and has been hailed by The New York Times as “the coolest music scene today”.

Performers included in this very special broadcast are some of the best and brightest new faces of Americana, as well as legendary icons who helped define the genre: Bonnie Raitt with John Hiatt, Booker T. Jones, Alabama Shakes, The Mavericks, Richard Thompson, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Hayes Carll with Cary Ann Hearst, Guy Clark, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, and an all-star finale tribute to Levon Helm. The hour-long program airs Saturday, November 10th on PBS (check local listings for times).

The broadcast opens with a rousing performance of the Booker T. & the MG's classic “Green Onions,” led by Booker T. Jones with house band members Don Was, Brady Blade and Rami Jaffee and accompanied by an illustrious band of guitar slingers including Larry Campbell, Richard Thompson, Buddy Miller, Kenny Vaughan and Darrell Scott. Highlights of the program include Bonnie Raitt and John Hiatt in a magnetic duet of “Thing Called Love,” Guy Clark's poignant performance of his song “My Favorite Picture of You” and new Americana torchbearers Alabama Shakes tearing down the house with “Be Mine.” The annual Americana Honors and Awards ceremony, helmed by host Jim Lauderdale, and featuring an Americana all-star house band led by Buddy Miller, has been called the “best awards show in the world” by Paste Magazine.

An all-star finale pays tribute to legendary Americana trailblazer Levon Helm, with a moving performance of The Band classic “The Weight.” Led by Levon's daughter Amy Helm and his former Levon Helm Band-mates Teresa Williams and Larry Campbell, the trio are joined on the Ryman stage by guest vocalists Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard and Bonnie Raitt trading verses in a truly unforgettable moment.

The show was filmed by High Five Entertainment and co-produced by its president Martin Fischer, Austin City Limits Executive Producer Terry Lickona, and Americana Music Association Executive Director Jed Hilly.

About the Americana Festival and Conference, presented by Nissan Now in its 13th year, this year's festival and conference, presented by Nissan, took place September 12-16, 2012. The event brought together fans and music industry executives alike offering four days of celebration through seminars, panels and networking opportunities by day and raw, battery-recharging showcases each evening. The Honors and Awards Show is the featured performance of the festivities taking place at the historic Ryman Auditorium. For more information visit americanamusic.org.

About the Americana Music Association The Americana Music Association is a professional trade organization whose mission is to provide a forum for the advocacy of Americana music and to promote public awareness of the genre to support the creative and economic viability of professionals in this field. Dedicated to building and promoting the Americana genre and the individuals who participate in that industry, the Americana Music Association works closely with artists, labels, radio stations, retailers, print media, festivals, agents, publishers and more to help organize and build the infrastructure necessary for the Americana genre to achieve success both creatively and financially.

About ACL Presents ACL Presents is music programming created by, or in association with, KLRU, the producers of Austin City Limits (ACL). ACL Presents programming includes television specials, live events, web series and recorded music presentations and is made in the spirit and standards of the legendary PBS series Austin City Limits, the longest-running live music series in television history. ACL Presents collaborations have included: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass with KQED and Americana Music Festival with Nashville Public Television (NPT). For more information please visit acltv.com.

Media Contact:

Maureen Coakley [email protected] t: 917.601.1229

Maury Sullivan KLRU-TV [email protected] t: 512.475.9087