AUSTIN, TEXAS, SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 ― Because the longest-running music tv sequence in historical past, Austin Metropolis Limits is ready to have a good time its fiftieth anniversary subsequent yr. The PBS Austin manufacturing bought its begin in 1974, with Willie Nelson acting on the very first episode, and has since helped Austin, Texas set up itself because the “Stay Music Capital of the World.” Some of the notable items of the present’s historical past is its connection to the Austin Metropolis Limits Music Pageant, which takes place every October.
Not like the pageant, which hosts hundreds of attendees throughout eight levels over two consecutive weekends, the TV sequence presents as much as 20 performances every year from Downtown Austin’s historic, 2,800-seat Moody Theater. Among the many most up-to-date artists to take the stage on the iconic venue was the GRAMMY®-winning duo Rodrigo and Gabrielawho carried out with the Austin Symphony to kick off Season 49 of the present. Main into manufacturing for the brand new season, Audio Supervisor Randy Reynolds determined it was time to modernize the present’s audio options, turning to DPA Microphones to ship a brand new stage of innovation.
With the Rodrigo y Gabriela efficiency, Reynolds chosen DPA 4099 Instrument Microphones for the 26-member symphony and 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid Microphones for percussion. “DPA has high quality, fashionable microphones with distinctive sound, which makes an enormous distinction in a manufacturing like ours,” he says. “Austin Metropolis Limits and its performers are very curious about offering individuals with a singular expertise. I feel we actually did that, and it had quite a bit to do with our partnership with DPA. The microphones are well-made; they maintain up and are the simplest issues on this planet to arrange. We had no points with any of the microphones and it was a really easy course of for us proper out of the field, which is tremendous rad and appreciated.”
As somebody who has been concerned with tons of of stay performances, Reynolds values a microphone that really lets the artists’ voices shine. “I feel what makes DPA microphones particular is that they’ve a really flat response that emphasizes the participant and the eagerness they put into their music,” he says. “That’s the draw for me with DPA―the performer and the efficiency are what’s highlighted essentially the most. That basically enhances the expertise.”
Reynolds additionally defined that whereas the venue does present performers with entry to its microphone locker, most of the extra established acts will include the options they like to make use of. “One of many targets of Austin Metropolis Limits is for the reveals to be fully artist-driven,” he says. “We don’t inform them what gear to make use of, what songs to play and even how lengthy to play. We’re simply right here to assist them, to make sure they’ve the very best efficiency doable. We put a variety of effort into working with the groups to get the sound they need to obtain; one facet of that’s to supply the best high quality tools, like DPA microphones. Since including it to our gear listing, there have been many artists who’re tremendous stoked to see the model on our riders.”
As a child rising up in Houston, Reynolds watched the Austin Metropolis Limits tv present for a few years earlier than fulfilling his dream of becoming a member of the manufacturing, the place he has now been working for practically a decade. A protracted-time DPA person, Reynolds knew from the beginning that he wished the model to be part of the in-house techniques replace and continues to search for groundbreaking methods to supply nice reveals for nice artists.
Acknowledged by Time journal as one of many 10 most influential music packages of all time, Austin Metropolis Limits seems weekly on Austin’s KLRU/PBS with all kinds of musical kinds and genres. Along with performers like Loretta Lynn, B.B. King, Bonnie Rait, Chris Stapelton and Brandi Carlile gracing the stage, Austin Metropolis Limits has earned prestigious accolades similar to a Peabody Award and the Nationwide Medal of Arts. Moreover, the present’s iconic venue―the Moody Theatre―has been enshrined as a Rock & Roll Landmark within the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame and Museum. Austin Metropolis Limits Season 49 begins airing October 7 with 14 episodes.