Exhibit ACL
Driving to the New Braunfels Museum of Music & Culture (www.nbmuseum.org), which sits astride the Guadalupe River a few doors down from Gruene Hall, for an exhibit on Austin City Limits is like going to Katy for an auction of Houston Oilers memorabilia, but it’s still well worth the trip. Besides vintage sound equipment, publicity stills, and ticket stubs, there’s a complete mock-up of the ACL set, complete with the Frost Bank Tower in the faux skyline (the KLRU backdrop has yet to be updated). The behind-the-scenes documentary offers revealing commentary on both the show and the ACL Festival – which just added Lone Star legend Roky Erickson for his first official concert appearance in 20 years – as do Scott Newton‘s annotations to his resplendent photographs. Newton’s recounting of Ray Charles‘ encounter with a Mexican free-tail bat in his dressing room is hilarious, while George Strait‘s 1982 ACL debut “marked his graduation from the clubs and honky-tonks to the concert stage.”This article appears in June 17 • 2005.