How long have you been wringing your hands and gnashing your teeth wishing you could see a classic edition of Austin City Limits that you forgot to tape — or that aired in the days before you got one of them newfangled VCRs (or even that you only have on a Beta tape)? Well, fret no more, since the local PBS institution debuts in “classic” re-run form on CMT beginning Friday, March 15, at 8pm. The press release says that “The Best of Austin City Limits will offer viewers the opportunity to relive, or experience for the first time, performances spanning the last 27 years by country’s elite including the Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, George Strait, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, Alan Jackson, and many more.” Luckily, the ACL library also contains shows by people you really want to see, like Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, John Mayall, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Michael Nesmith, and so on. Charlie Robison will host the airings, and first up is the legendary 1975 pilot episode starring a 42-year-old Willie Nelson. After that, Charlie hosts a nepotism special featuring himself and his wife’s band the Dixie Chicks (in a 1999 performance) on March 22, and the Allman Brothers (in a 1996 performance) on March 29.
This article appears in March 8 • 2002.