Music festival credited for saving ‘Austin City Limits’

“We started as more or less an extension of the television show, with a lot of the same philosophies in place,” says Charlie Jones, a producer of the Austin City Limits Music Festival that concluded its seventh annual run last weekend. A New York Times review declaring that ACL deserves recognition as a “first-tier rock fest, with a regional twist” includes this observation from Terry Lickona, booker and producer of the PBS series produced locally by KLRU-TV for three decades: “At the time the festival started, it not only rejuvenated the TV show but very well may have saved it,” Lickona says. “We were at a crossroads, struggling with funding, and we needed to shake things up. The success of the festival opened the doors to a new generation.”