Willie Returns to Austin City Limits

Willie Nelson, Voting Rights Rally at the Austin Capitol, 2021 (photo by Jana Birchum)

Art in Public Places applications are open until Oct. 22. Helmed by the city’s Economic Development Department, the program commissions local visual artists to create site-specific installations that reflect the history of Austin landmarks. This open call is seeking to commission work at the Elisabet Ney Museum, Armadillo Park, Walter E. Long and John Treviño Parks, Red Bud Isle, and Johnny Morris Road and Ross Road, both of which the city considers “substandard streets.” Budgets for each piece range from $100,000 to $625,000. Apply and find application assistance at austintexas.gov/aipp.

Willie Nelson is taping a new Austin City Limits set, 50 years to the day after he performed for the PBS program’s inaugural episode. On Oct. 17, Nelson and Family, alongside opening act Asleep at the Wheel, will perform at the Long Center for a special ACL 50th anniversary show. Tickets to the free event have already been allotted via lottery, but highlights will air in an hourlong special next year as part of Austin City Limits’ 50th season. To keep the party going, expanded tours of the Moody Theater are on sale for $20 throughout the month of October. In other ACL-adjacent news: Austin City Limits Radio is once again KGSR. After announcing in August that they were leaving the 97.1 FM frequency in favor of an HD-2 and online streaming model, the organizers (who rebranded to Austin City Limits Radio in 2018) behind Blues on the Green and the Drop-In are back to their old name.

Modern Rocks Gallery now has some impressive photos of Nineties icons under its belt. The rock photography museum – also home to Scott Newton’s archive of Austin City Limits photos – has unveiled a new collection by Chris Cuffaro, who captured the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, No Doubt, Fiona Apple, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Soundgarden in their heyday. Peruse oft-reposted images from Nirvana’s 1991 CREEM Magazine shoot, or a long-haired, boots-wearing 1992 Chris Cornell portrait, at 916 Springdale Wednesday to Saturday afternoons, or purchase a (surprisingly reasonably priced) print online – most of the images in the collection start at $250.