Iowa Public Television

Austin City Limits

Shelby Lynne/Toni Price (#2603)

For more than a decade, Shelby Lynne was a talented but struggling square-peg in the round-hole-world of Nashville country music. Her enormous promise was always evident but her talent alone did not make the task of fitting in any easier. Admired and respected by her peers in the business, the five well-received records she made failed to connect with the public. About ready to toss in the towel, she retreated to her Alabama home tofigure out what to do next. Her coping skills - which included writing soul-baring songs dissecting her personal struggles - turned out to be remarkably adept. What ultimately came out of the full-contact confrontation with her own heartache and disappointment is a record that has completely transformed Lynne and rejuvenated her career. I Am Shelby Lynne, which is about as Nashville as a pair of scruffy Doc Marten's, has created the kind of buzz that makes her a shoe-in for the year's biggest comeback. During her Austin City Limits performance, Lynne relies on material from I Am to display emotions so raw - and real - you can practically scrap your knuckles on them. Doing songs such as "Gotta Get Back," " Life Is Bad," and "Leavin'," Lynne leaves little doubt she's coming from a place heartfelt and true to life. She made her Austin City Limits debut back in 1991 with her pal WillieNelson. Returning with a hit record and her career sizzling, Lynne leaves little doubt who she is today. Toni Price makes her Austin City Limits debut at a fortuitous time in her spiraling career. The reigning queen of Austin's thriving blues scene has reached the heights in her adopted home and is clearly ready to conquer the world-at-large. For more than seven years, Price has held court every Tuesday during happy hour at Austin's venerable Continental Club for what has become a musical experience that is so celebratory and affecting that one local critic described it as "a rare and precious dose of old Austin soul." Those who know it may not be able to describe it, but they will attest with fervor bordering on religious zealotry that it is a rare happening. By comparison, few road shows manage to attract the numbers and generate the energy that Price does week-in and week-out. That special vibe more than carries over during her appearance on the famous Austin City Limits stage. Price draws her material primarily from What draws them like lemmings is Price's warm and welcoming bohemian charm, and her beautiful, Bonnie Raitt-like voice. The latter, whether live or on one of her four stellar albums on Antone's Records, imbues her country-folk-blues repertoire with heart and soul. Her latest, Low Down and Up, reaches the same heights of artistic merit people have come to expect. In the words of Billboard, the album "proves once again that she's a major-league talent who deserves to be heard." [57 minutes]

This episode has not aired in the past few months on Iowa Public Television.