Garth Brooks Shouldn’t Be in the ‘Austin City Limits’ Hall of Fame

Random Notes 62 Comments


Let’s start this off with all the preambles about the greatness of Garth Brooks. Yes, he seems like a nice guy. Yes, he does tons for charity. Yes, even though country purists wince whenever his name is uttered like they just swallowed a June bug, the catalog of Garth Brooks is quite good, and quite country, even if he commercialized the music more than ever before.

But the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame? No, sorry. That’s not for someone like Garth Brooks.

Last week, Austin City Limits announced that to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of their Hall of Fame and to launch their 50th season, Garth Brooks will be inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. They also made sure to emphasize that “For the first time in the decade-long history of the ACL Hall of Fame, only one inductee will be honored at this epic 10th Anniversary Hall of Fame celebration.”

Well of course. Because Garth Brooks should never be forced to share the spotlight with anyone else.

The Austin City Limits Hall of Fame should be reserved for the performers from Austin and Texas that are seminal to the city and the state’s music scene. Austin City Limits was founded to bring the music of Austin to the world, and perhaps showcase a few national acts to help draw attention to the presentation. But over time, they continue to get away from that mission.

When you look at the roster of the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, you should see the most important people to Austin music. And in many respects, you do. Inductees include Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Marcia Ball, Joe Ely, Alejandro Escovedo, Flaco Jiménez, Lyle Lovett, Lloyd Maines, Lucinda Williams, and of course Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble.

There are also some performers in there that don’t really have a lot to do with Austin or Texas music, but did have landmark appearances on the show and feel like part of the extended family—folks like John Prine, Loretta Lynn, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Bonnie Raitt. Even Wilco makes sense. You can see a full list of inductees right here.

But last year they threw a bit of a curve ball when inducting Trisha Yearwood. No offense to Trisha whatsoever. She’s great, and had appearances on the show in 1992, 1996, and 2000. But you just knew that if Trisha was going in, either hubby Garth was sniffing around, they were hoping he’d appear at the induction, or he used his Garth power to get her in first before accepting his own induction.

Garth Brooks did appear on Austin City Limits a couple of times during the 25th Anniversary season. But is he in any way significant to the Austin music scene? Were those appearances in any way remarkable except for at one point Garth breaking out the Chris Gaines material? Meanwhile, what about inducting Steve Earle, Doug Sahm and/or The Texas Tornados, Nanci Griffith, Patty Griffin, even The [Dixie] Chicks, or the recently departed Kinky Friedman, whose wild Season One episode is the stuff of legend, even though it never aired?

At the same time, we’re still waiting for Austin City Limits debuts for super important Austin-based bands like Silverada and Shane Smith & the Saints who are two of the greatest live acts on the planet at the moment. Willis Alan Ramsey has been playing Austin regularly again, and depending on who you speak to, was as important to Austin music as anyone.

Inducting Garth Brooks into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame is a naked attempt to draw attention to the show and to appease corporate sponsors. But just like PBS and NPR, Austin City Limits is supposed to be a non-commercial enterprise, and an alternative outlet to mainstream country radio.

Is the legacy of Garth Brooks going to benefit from yet another accolade to cite on the Wikipedia page? Of course not. But some Austin or Texas legend that never had the benefit of a major label, corporate radio, or massive tours may have their legacy cemented by an ACL Hall of Fame induction that otherwise could go forgotten or diminished if not for that opportunity.

For sure, Austin City Limits can’t only focus on the up-and-comers and fading legends of Austin or it risks fading away itself. Since its inception, the show had always brought in bigger names from the industry. But Garth Brooks in its Hall of Fame? That’s not for him. It’s for all the other country and roots music legends who spent their careers living in Garth’s shadow.

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