April 22nd, 2009

What: Dia De Los Ninos
When: Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Where: St. John Branch Library and Community Center, 7500 Blessing Avenue

KLRU will be at theAustin Public Library’s annual Dia de los ninos / Dia de los libros (Day of the Child/Festival of Books) this Saturday. There will be storytellers, dancers, music, free snacks, free books and much more.

April 1st, 2009

KLRU is starting production for a new Web-only music series called ACL Stage Left. This show will premier on the Web this summer. KLRU be announcing more details in the coming months.

We’ll be taping a performance by David Garza on April 8 at 7 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.) in the KLRU’s Studio 6A. RSVP here

ACL Stage Left is a new web music series brought to you by KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, the station responsible for the iconic PBS series Austin City Limits. Like its forerunner, ACL Stage Left features intimate performances of both bands you know and bands you’ll want know. ACL Stage Left will delve into the experience of music and the stories of the people who create it by featuring both performances and interviews with the artists. It will be presented this summer as part of klru.tv - a new online video resource.

March 11th, 2009

Documentary fans will have the opportunity to see award-winning P.O.V. films again—or discover them for the first time — in a new monthly online series. Groundbreaking documentaries from P.O.V.’s 21 seasons on PBS can now be seen in their entirety for a limited time on the series’ Webby Award-winning website, www.pbs.org/pov. Among the films on view are American Aloha and My American Girls, at www.pbs.org/pov/videos.html. In March, P.O.V. will stream Sweet Old Song in honor of the centennial of the late Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong. P.O.V. (Point of View), which begins its 22nd season on PBS in June 2009, is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series and the winner of a Special News & Documentary Emmy Award for Excellence in Television Documentary Filmmaking.
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February 6th, 2009

Austin City Limits “Drive-By Truckers followed by Ryan Bingham”
Saturday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m.
Additional air dates: Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 10 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 13, at 11 p.m.
Preview the show at austincitylimits.org

True children of the south, Athens, Georgia’s Drive-By Truckers embody the contradictory cultural impulses of contemporary life below the Mason-Dixon line. Natives Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley formed the band in the mid-90s from the ashes of regional favorite Adam’s House Cat, folding their love of punk, country & western, Southern rock, pop and straightahead rock & roll into a three-guitar, multi-songwriter powerhouse. On seven highly acclaimed albums, including Decoration Day, The Dirty South and the massive Southern Rock Opera, the Truckers survey the modern South with a complex blend of realism-tempered regional pride and compassionate but uncompromising analysis. Both celebrating the accomplishments and dissecting the flaws of Southern culture, the band’s intelligent narratives have garnered them an audience far beyond regional or national borders, resulting in ever-growing record sales, popular tours and multiple appearances at the major music festivals (including several stints at the Austin City Limits Music Festival). In celebration of the group’s latest album Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, the Drive-By Truckers hit studio 6A for a set of smart, passionate rock & roll.
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January 15th, 2009

Central Texas Gardener producer Linda Lehmusvirta is participating in Bloom Day, which started a few years ago by Carol a garden blogger in Indiana.  Every month, on the 15th, people from around the country and even from around the world, blog about what is blooming on that day in their gardens.  Each blogger then sends an email to Carol, who then posts the links on her blog.

Linda was up early to take the pictures of all the things blooming right now. You can see her post about it here at klru.org/ctg/blog

January 14th, 2009

Did you hear the one about PBS airing a comedy series? It’s no joke, but it is funny. Tonight, KLRU will present the first episode in the series MAKE ’EM LAUGH: The Funny Business of America, (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/makeemlaugh/) a six-hour comedy epic showcasing the most hilarious men, women, and moments in American entertainment and why they made us laugh. Hosted by Billy Crystal, the documentary series explores the currents of American comedy throughout a century of social and political change, illuminating how comedy has tackled and poked fun at our political system, race relations, gender issues, and the prevailing American standards and taboos in everyday life.

The series premieres tonight at 7 p.m. on KLRU.

Melding performance, biography and history, MAKE ’EM LAUGH features interviews with over 90 comedians, writers, producers, and historians including Judd Apatow, Roseanne Barr, Anne Beatts, the Smothers Brothers, Carol Burnett, Sid Caesar, George Carlin, Larry David, Will Ferrell, Leonard Maltin, Cheech Marin, Steve Martin, Chris Rock, Mort Sahl, Dick Van Dyke, and many, many more.

Each one-hour episode focuses on a distinct genre of American comedy – from the most ingenious physical schtick, to those fast-talking wiseguys, to the most incisive satire and parody – re-acquainting viewers with some of their favorite classics. Billy Crystal will introduce each episode and Amy Sedaris (Strangers With Candy) will narrate throughout.

September 19th, 2008

Dish Network is experiencing technical difficulties which has resulted in KLRU being unavailable for people who use this service. Dish Network is investigating the issue and hopes to have KLRU back on the air soon.

UPDATE: KLRU is back on the Dish Network

August 26th, 2008

Program: Democratic Convention Coverage
Date: Monday to Thursday, 8/25 to 8/28
Time: 7 p.m.

PBS’ convention coverage, anchored by Jim Lehrer of The Newshour, includes extended uninterrupted coverage of podium activities and speeches; reporting from the floor of the convention; newsmaker interviews; political analysis and historical perspective. The Newshour senior correspondents Gwen Ifill, Ray Suarez, Judy Woodruff and Margaret Warner will join Lehrer. Political analysis will be provided by New York Times columnist David Brooks and syndicated columnist Mark Shields. Presidential historians Michael Beschloss and Richard Norton Smith will add historical perspective; Andy Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, will update viewers with the latest polling information.

Some highlights planned for each night’s coverage include (subject to change):

Monday, August 25:
Coverage begins from the Pepsi Center in Denver
Speeches by Michelle Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (MO)
Convention’s daily theme is: the importance of the West in the political landscape.

Tuesday, August 26:
Speeches by Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY) and former Gov. Mark Warner (VA)
Daily theme: economy and energy.

Wednesday, August 27:
Speeches by the presumptive Vice Presidential nominee and by former President Bill Clinton
Daily theme: national security and foreign policy.

Thursday, August 28:
Events move from the Pepsi Center to Invesco Field at Mile High
A tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. begins the evening, followed by musical performances and speakers. Presumptive Presidential nominee Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver his acceptance speech at the close of the evening.

August 20th, 2008

On September 1st, KLRU will be adjusting the Kids programming blocks on all our channels to add new shows and to reflect other changes by PBS. With the new KLRU lineup, Mr. Rogers will only air once a week at 7 a.m. on Fridays and The Teletubbies will no longer be offered by PBS so will not be part of the KLRU Kids lineup. KLRU is providing several new kids shows for Central Texas kids including including Martha Speaks, Sid the Science Kid and Wunderkind Little Amadeus.

KLRU’S NEW KIDS SCHEDULE
5 — From the Top (Tue)

5:30 — It’s A Big Big World (Sat)

6 — Caillou (Sun) Curious George (Sat)

6:30 — Berenstain Bears (Sun) Reading Rainbow (Mon to Fri) Bob the Builder (Sat)

7 — Sesame Street (Sun) Mama Mirabel’s (Mon)Zoboomafoo (Tue) Plaza Sesamo (Wed) Franny’s Feet (Thur) Mr. Rogers (starts Sept. 12) (Fri) Thomas & Friends (Sat)

7:30 — Wunderkind Little Amadeus (Mon) Signing Time (Tue & Thur) Biscuit Brothers (Wed) Biscuit Brothers (Fri) Sid the Science Kid (Sat)

8 — Curious George (Mon to Fri) Biscuit Brothers (Sat)

8:30 — Sid the Science Kid (Mon to Fri) Martha Speaks (Sat)

9 — Super Why (Mon to Fri) Design Squad (Sat)

9:30 — Clifford (Mon to Fri)

10 — Dragon Tales (Mon to Fri)

10:30 — Word World (Mon to Fri)

11 — Sesame Street (Mon to Fri)

noon — It’s A Big Big World (Mon to Fri)

12:30 — Barney & Friends (Mon to Fri)

1 — A Place of Our Own (Mon to Fri)

1:30 — Los Niños En Su Casa (Mon to Fri)

2 — Between the Lions (Mon to Fri)

2:30 — Martha Speaks (Mon to Fri)

3 — Arthur (Mon to Fri)

3:30 — From the Top (Mon) Animalia (Tue) DragonFly TV (Wed) Wishbone (Thur) Saddle Club (Fri)
4 — Maya & Miguel (Mon to Thur) Word Girl (Fri)

4:30 — Cyberchase (Mon to Thur) Design Squad (Fri)

5 — Fetch (Mon to Thur) Biz Kid$ (Fri)

August 19th, 2008

Program: A Place To Dance
Date: Tuesday, August 20
Time: 8 p.m.

The Jefferson Orleans is buzzing as Pat Barberot’s big band kicks into a sizzling rendition of “Sing, Sing, Sing.” Follow along as longtime fans, decked to the nines, hit the dance floor, all of them relishing this sacred New Orleans space for friendship, romance and good times. Not even Katrina can hamper their spirits; they remain determined to use the best of the past to enjoy the present.