In 1976 America's longest running music concert television show began. It was to feature all genres of Texas music: Country, blues, tejano, and rock etc. Featured artists have included Merle Haggard, Tom Waits, Roy Orbison, Fats Domino, Rosanne Cash, Leonard Cohen, The Dixie Chicks, Chris Isaac, Wilco, and of course, Stevie Ray Vaughan, just to name a few. That show is Austin City Limits: the very first performer was Willie Nelson.

This evening, I had the extreme pleasure of attending an Austin City Limits taping featuring Iron and Wine, otherwise known as Sam Beam, a SC native and resident of Dripping Springs.

It has always been said that getting into an ACL taping is impossible. Indeed. While working and streamlining KUT, I just so happen to hear the announcement that "Space Available" passes were being given away at KUT studios. They sometimes last a mere 5 minutes. Nice indeed that I work at UT. Even nicer that I am just a few blocks from KUT. Nicer still that my boss(es) care not where I am so long as work is complete. I snagged my passes easily. The following day, one must stand in line to be given a number at 5pm. Once the number is given, one can leave but must return by 7pm. At 7:30 after the "important"' people who have reserved seats and have not shown up are forgotten, the "Space Available' peons are allowed into the studio.

I arrived today to wait in line for my number at 3:40. Sweaty, tired, thirsty, & sick and tired of listening to the brats around me, I left with numbers 20 and 21. This even though physically, I was the 7th person in line, but I suppose these are frivolous details.

Onward into the studio. Wow. It's much smaller than I thought. Really small. Perhaps holding only 250 people but I am a horrible judge at these things. Tis a strange thing to find oneself in a place only seen on TV. The cameras are huge, intrusive, and everywhere. Still, it was so fascinating and intriguing, I loved it. One of the huge camera "booms" (not sure if that is correct) would come from the right or left, threatening to knock one in the head. It was slow and some of us, along with the camera staff, would tap others on the shoulder to tell them to duck. Holly and I loved spying the writing on the camera man's (all men) clipboards: handwritten notes - "Sam, guitar, sam, audience..." They seamlessly flipped those pages while directing their lenses this way and that.

I was a short ten feet from Sam Beam and his band - the setting is so very intimate... We locked eyes more than once as I swayed to his song. Like all talented musicians, he took old favorites and new, reworking them to infuse jazz and even a touch of reggae or funk. These are the real musicians. They care not about playing what others want to hear and instead bend to their own ear and artistic freedom. So refreshing and... my god, you should have seen and heard them play... it is an experience I will treasure always.