Austin City Limits Oral History Project

In the spring of 2007, Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez’s oral history course in the University of Texas at Austin (UT)’s Department of Journalism collaborated with the UT Center for American History (now the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History) and PBS affiliate KLRU-TV on the Austin City Limits Oral History Project. Rivas-Rodriguez’s students conducted interviews with individuals responsible for creating and giving rise to the [second] longest-running live music series [Austin City Limits] in television history and resulting cultural impact in Austin, Texas.

Created by KLRU-TV (then KLRN-TV) program director Bill Arhos in 1974, Austin City Limits is a television program devoted to performances of various American musical styles. Originally drawing from the Austin country music scene, the show has expanded to include blues, folk, rock, and other styles and performers, such as Emmylou Harris, B. B. King, Willie Nelson, and Sonic Youth.

...