-"Austin City Limits" presents
a bold new voice on alternative music,
Role Model...
-♪ Yeah, Sally ♪
♪ I'll buy a couple of rounds ♪
♪ Don't let me think I'm enough ♪
♪ Then disappear when the wine runs out ♪
Ooh-whee!
-...and indie rocker MJ Lenderman.
-♪ She's leaving you ♪
♪♪
♪ She's leaving you ♪
♪♪
-Thank you, Austin City Limits!
♪♪
-It's Austin City Limits!
♪♪
-Thank you so much, everybody.
♪♪
[ Crowd chanting ]
-Austin City Limits!
Alright, Austin, Texas!
♪♪
-One, two, three, rock!
-Alright, alright, alright.
-Thank you very much.
-50 years of Austin City Limits! Austin, Texas!
-Recorded live from Austin, Texas,
it's "Austin City Limits."
-Now a singer-songwriter
who blurs the lines between genres.
Role Model.
-♪ Dad's on the phone, and he's lecturing me ♪
♪ About a girl that he met back when he was nineteen ♪
♪ It's never gonna work 'cause the puzzle won't piece ♪
♪ Hey, head out the window ♪
♪ Sweat on the pillow ♪
♪ It's been keeping me up at night ♪
♪ Guess this is what love feels like, alright ♪
♪ Seems like your shoulder ♪
♪ Keeps getting colder ♪
♪ But, babe, I was raised in the cold ♪
♪ Just wish I could do what I'm told ♪
♪ Ah, now ♪
♪ Dad's on the phone, and he's lecturing me ♪
♪ About a girl that he met back when he was nineteen ♪
♪ It's never gonna work 'cause the puzzle won't piece ♪
♪ Hey ♪
♪ Son of a gun, but I know that he's right ♪
♪ 'Cause the girl that I love never treated me nice ♪
♪ Writing's on the wall, I pretend I can't read ♪
♪ You're forgetting me ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
Ah, yeah!
♪ Losing my patience ♪
♪ Confusing the waitress ♪
♪ And asking her way too much ♪
♪ Like, "Why am I still in love ♪
♪ With somebody who leaves me, hey ♪
♪ Way too easy?" ♪
♪ She said, "Honey, you'll be alright" ♪
♪ But she gets paid to be nice ♪
♪ Ah, hell ♪
♪ Dad's on the phone, and he's lecturing me ♪
♪ About a girl that he met back when he was nineteen ♪
♪ It's never gonna work 'cause the puzzle won't piece ♪
♪ Ohh ♪
♪ Son of a gun, but I know that he's right ♪
♪ 'Cause the girl that I love never treated me nice ♪
♪ Writing's on the wall, I pretend I can't read ♪
♪ Ooh, you're forgetting me ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
♪ Ooh, you're forgetting me ♪
♪♪
♪ Ooh, you're forgetting me ♪
♪ Dad's on the phone, and he's lecturing me ♪
♪ About a girl that he met back when he was nineteen ♪
♪ It's never gonna work 'cause the puzzle won't piece ♪
♪ Hey, nah, nah, nah ♪
♪ Son of a gun, but I know that he's right ♪
♪ 'Cause the girl that I love never treated me nice ♪
♪ Writing's on the wall, I pretend I can't read ♪
♪ You're forgetting me ♪
♪♪
Yoo!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Oh, hello, Austin, you beautiful people.
[ Cheers and applause ]
I'm very grateful to be on this stage.
This is a very legendary stage,
and, um, I am lucky to be here in a beautiful city.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪ Well, he was bragging 'bout investments ♪
♪ She was talking 'bout Ozempic ♪
♪ And the dinner had a guest list ♪
♪ Guess it's hell on Earth ♪
♪ He told her she seemed unstable ♪
♪ She got up and left the table ♪
♪ Guess it's hard to find an angel ♪
♪ When it's hell on Earth, Hell on Earth ♪
Yeah!
-♪ Whoa, oh, oh ♪ -♪ Hey ♪
♪ Sometimes it gets so hard to listen ♪
♪ They send food back to the kitchen ♪
♪ Said they wanted something different ♪
♪ Could you get much worse? ♪
♪ Came to dinner as a favor ♪
♪ But it's feeling more like labor ♪
♪ So I told 'em, "See ya later," gave 'em hell on Earth ♪
♪ Well, I tried my best tonight ♪
♪ Don't know what for ♪
♪ I click my heels three times ♪
♪ We're not in Kansas anymore, come on ♪
♪ Take me ♪ -♪ Home ♪
-♪ Hey, take me ♪
-♪ Home ♪
-♪ Take me home ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪ Well, it's the way they never struggled ♪
♪ Bills have always gotten paid ♪
♪ Pockets never been in trouble ♪
♪ Unemployed and unashamed ♪
♪ I'm the child of my mother ♪
♪ New England born and raised ♪
♪ Where the common sense is common as a nose job in LA ♪
♪ Well, I tried my best tonight ♪
♪ Don't know what for ♪
♪ I passed the "welcome" sign ♪
♪ As I'm walking out the door ♪
♪ Take me ♪
-♪ Home ♪
-♪ Hey, take me ♪
-♪ Home ♪
-♪ Ah, take me home ♪
♪ I know it's time to go when there's cocaine on the nose ♪
♪ And they start asking who you know at the table ♪
♪ Grab my coat, skip the goodbyes, hit the road ♪
♪ Swear they wouldn't even noticed if I never even showed ♪
♪ So take me ♪
-♪ Home ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
-♪ Take me ♪
-♪ Home ♪
-Yoo!
-♪ Home ♪ -♪ Take me home ♪
♪ Take me home, take me home ♪
♪ Take me home ♪ -♪ Home ♪
-♪ Take me home, take me home ♪
♪ Take me home ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
I have a song of mine that I literally cannot
remember the words. There's too many.
And so I simply don't perform it.
But it's one of my favorite songs ever.
Um, and so I have to write down, you know --
I don't want -- I'd rather read it from a book.
I feel like that's more aesthetically cool
than me, like, on my phone or something.
I don't know. This feels cooler than a teleprompter.
Um, so I wrote it.
Or maybe I'll just tell you guys a little story or something.
I'll read you a little bedtime story.
[ Cheers and applause ]
This one is called "Something, Somehow, Someday."
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
♪ Well, he's a loose cannon, foolish man ♪
♪ Who needs some medication ♪
♪ She's a shoe-tied, blue-sky honeymoon vacation ♪
♪ He's a fixer-upper, skipping supper, hates an obligation ♪
♪ She's a Friday night ♪
♪ He's a bad-dream, nicotine druggie complication ♪
♪ She's a peace sign, tea-time drinker on occasion ♪
♪ He's an East Coast, jeans rolled, no communication ♪
♪ She's a "welcome" sign ♪
♪ But I believe ♪
♪ They're meant to be ♪
♪ Something ♪
♪ Somehow ♪
♪ Someday ♪
♪ Yeah, I believe ♪
♪ They're meant to be ♪
♪ Something ♪
♪ Somehow ♪
♪ Someday ♪
♪♪
♪ Yes ♪
♪♪
♪ He's a Ford truck, door-shut, runs from conversation ♪
♪ She's an open ear, souvenir, reads the situation ♪
♪ He's a no thought, record shop, slutty on occasion ♪
♪ She's a night in Rome ♪
♪ He's a piece of work, dirty shirt, needs evaluation ♪
♪ She's a pinkies up, pixie cut with plenty motivation ♪
♪ He's a whiskey-drinking, barely thinking ♪
♪ Got no destination ♪
♪ She's a plane ride home ♪
♪ And I believe ♪
♪ They're meant to be ♪
♪ Something ♪
♪ Somehow ♪
♪ Someday ♪
♪ Yes, I believe ♪
♪ They're meant to be ♪
♪ Something ♪
♪ Somehow ♪
♪ Someday ♪
♪♪
♪ Yes, ma'am ♪
♪♪
♪ Something ♪
♪♪
♪ Well, I believe ♪
♪ They're meant to be ♪
♪ Something ♪
♪ Somehow ♪
♪ Someday ♪
♪♪
♪ Yes, it's clear to me ♪
♪ They're meant to be ♪
♪ Something ♪
♪ Somehow ♪
♪ Someday ♪
♪ Something ♪
♪ Somehow ♪
♪ Someday ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
Ooh, I just want to dance a little bit.
♪♪
Whoo-ooh!
♪♪
♪ I remember when the days were long ♪
♪ Old recliners in the yard ♪
♪ Kicking heels up to our favorite song ♪
♪ All the boys were playing cards ♪
♪ Always felt like something's missing ♪
♪ Ever since she hung the lights ♪
♪ Now it's one-night stands and overthinking ♪
♪ Just spending my nights ♪
♪ Thinking 'bout you ♪
-♪ You ♪
♪ In the moment ♪
♪ Thinking 'bout you ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ In the moment ♪
♪ I remember when the nights were long ♪
♪ Diving headfirst off the dock ♪
♪ Now I wonder where the days have gone ♪
♪ While I lay in bed and rot, ah ♪
♪ The sun was falling on the water ♪
♪ She was staring out to sea ♪
♪ I said, "I'm sure you'll find somebody stronger" ♪
♪ And I'm sure I'll always be ♪
♪ Thinking 'bout you ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ In the moment ♪
♪ Thinking 'bout you ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ In the moment, oh, oh ♪
♪ Thinking 'bout you ♪
-♪ You ♪
-♪ In the moment ♪
♪ Thinking 'bout you ♪
♪ You ♪
-♪ In the moment ♪
♪ You get by nine-to-five in the city ♪
♪ Making rent with no money to spare ♪
♪ Do you think 'bout the nights sharing Whitney ♪
♪ With the end of July in the air? ♪
♪ Now you cry all night 'til the morning ♪
♪ In the arms of someone you settled for ♪
♪ Couldn't let it go if I forced it ♪
♪ What do I do, oh, what do I do? ♪
♪ It's always been you ♪
♪♪
♪ Oh, it's always been you ♪
♪ Hey ♪ -♪ You ♪
-♪ In the moment ♪
♪ I'm thinking 'bout you ♪
-♪ You ♪
-♪ In the moment ♪
♪ Ohh, thinking 'bout you ♪
-♪ Yeah, I'm always thinking about ♪
♪ Yeah, I'm still thinking about you ♪
-♪ In the moment ♪
♪ Thinking 'bout you ♪
-♪ Yeah, I'm still thinking about ♪
♪ I'm still thinking about ♪
-♪ In the moment ♪
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
Whoo!
♪♪
♪ It's closing time and I'm leaving ♪
♪ You're holding on to someone new ♪
♪ Are you still picking up the pieces? ♪
♪ Am I still worried about you? ♪
♪ Why, yes, I am ♪
♪ And I always will ♪
♪ Yes, I am and I always will ♪
♪ Uh-huh ♪
♪ Yes, I am and I always will ♪
♪ Be some protector ♪
♪ Holdin' on from a distance ♪
♪ I'd never wanna intrude ♪
♪ No, no ♪
♪ Does he love you any different? ♪
♪ Am I still sounding like a fool? ♪
♪ Ah, why, yes, I am ♪
♪ And I always will ♪
♪ Yes, I am and I always will ♪
♪ Oh-oh ♪
♪ Yes, I am and I always will ♪
♪ Be some protector ♪
♪ To you ♪
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
♪ To you ♪
♪♪
♪ To you ♪
♪♪
♪ Yeah-eah, ahh ♪
♪♪
♪ Ah, ahh ♪
♪ Am I guilty, am I sorry? ♪
♪ Do I miss you at the party? ♪
♪ Am I dragging this forever? ♪
♪ Am I thinking about September? ♪
♪ Am I wrecking reputation ♪
♪ While you're making reservations? ♪
♪ Am I lying to my mother ♪
♪ That someday I'll find another? ♪
♪ Yes, I am ♪
♪ And I always will ♪
♪ Yes, I am and I always will ♪
♪ Ah-ah-oh ♪
♪ Yes, I am and I always will ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪ Be some protector ♪
♪♪
♪ Ooh ♪
♪♪
♪ Be some protector ♪
♪ Ohh ♪
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Yoo-whee!
♪♪
♪ Oh, yeah ♪
♪♪
♪ Well ♪
♪ I met Sally at a late-night dive bar ♪
♪ She don't dance, but she downs her drinks ♪
♪ Heard through a friend she's a born-again wild card ♪
♪ She was telling me wild things ♪
♪ Lives down the street past the 7-Eleven ♪
♪ Just close enough that I spent the night ♪
♪ She grabbed my hand at the intersection ♪
♪ I spilled my guts at the red light ♪
♪ Hey, Sally ♪
♪ That feeling's coming around ♪
♪ Please don't go falling in love ♪
♪ Then disappear when the wine runs out ♪
♪ Yeah, Sally ♪
♪ I'll buy a couple of rounds ♪
♪ Don't let me think I'm enough ♪
♪ Then disappear when the wine runs out ♪
Ohh-whee!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Sally!
♪♪
♪ Well, I open up while she's flipping through pages ♪
♪ Getting lonely as the days get dark ♪
♪ If you're bored and your mind starts changing ♪
♪ Maybe just give me a head start ♪
♪ And I ♪
♪ I see the glass in your eyes ♪
♪ Just trying to keep it alive ♪
♪ For crying out loud ♪
♪ Ah, Sally ♪
♪ That feeling's coming around ♪
♪ Please don't go falling in love ♪
♪ Then disappear when the wine runs out ♪
♪ Whoo-ooh, Sally ♪
♪ I'll buy a couple of rounds ♪
♪ Don't let me think I'm enough ♪
♪ Then disappear when the wine runs out ♪
♪ Aw, here we go again ♪
♪ I'm falling headfirst ♪
♪ Ankles hit the two-step ♪
♪ Sally makes my head hurt ♪
♪ Heard through the grapevine ♪
♪ She can be a diva ♪
♪ Cold like Minnesota ♪
-♪ Hotter than a fever! ♪
♪ Aw, here we go again ♪
♪ I'm falling headfirst ♪
♪ Ankles hit the two-step ♪
-♪ Sally makes my head hurt ♪
♪ Heard through the grapevine ♪
♪ She can be a diva ♪
♪ Cold like Minnesota ♪
♪ Hotter than a fever ♪
♪ Sally ♪
♪ That feeling's coming around ♪
♪ Please don't go falling in love ♪
♪ Then disappear when the wine runs out ♪
♪ Yeah, Sally ♪
♪ I'll buy a couple of rounds ♪
♪ Don't let me think I'm enough ♪
♪ Then disappear when the wine runs out ♪
♪ Whoo-hoo ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
-You said, "My journal probably looks like
the same way as me writing a song.
It's just a product of how I think and process things
and how I try to look back in a loving way."
That's a pretty profound statement.
I find it fascinating because it's such a --
It's such a positive, optimistic spin
on what I feel like...
...most of humanity wouldn't necessarily
put a positive spin on.
It would be more, "Let's just wallow in the feelings."
-I feel like I am always on the edge
of just slipping down that rabbit hole of just, like...
One negative thought
could just send me into this, like, spiral.
I feel like -- I'm like --
I ride this fence and I put in so much effort every day
to, like, not do that and to have a positive outlook.
Um, because it's easy for me
to just spin like that out of control
and just think everything is going wrong or whatever.
Um, and so I do --
I do, like, put in effort and, like, I do journal.
And when I journal, I'm like --
I hit the positive things usually to -- I just --
I don't -- I think wallowing in something
or, like, looking back in anger in any way is just --
It just shoots me down a spiral
that I don't need to go down any -- at all.
-Understood. I get that.
For sure. -Yeah.
-Next, a newcomer with an old soul
and ragged rock sensibility.
MJ Lenderman.
-♪ Birds against a heavy wind ♪
♪ That wins in the end ♪
♪ One of these days ♪
♪ With shorts full of sand ♪
♪ One of these days ♪
♪ You'll kill a man ♪
♪ For asking a question ♪
♪ You don't understand ♪
♪ Some have passion ♪
♪ While some have purpose ♪
♪ You have sneakin' backstage ♪
♪ To hound the girls in the circus ♪
♪♪
♪ You've opened the Bible ♪
♪ In a public place ♪
♪ You've opened the Bible ♪
♪ To the very first page ♪
♪ And one of these days ♪
♪ It will all end ♪
♪ Your tired approach to original sin ♪
♪♪
♪ You've been betting on horses ♪
♪ Named Johnny Come Lately ♪
♪ You've been high on the hog ♪
♪ And your dog seems to hate you ♪
♪ You once was a baby ♪
♪ And now a jerk ♪
♪ Standing close to the pyre ♪
♪ Manning fireworks ♪
♪ Once a perfect little baby ♪
♪ Who's now a jerk ♪
♪ Standing close to the pyre ♪
♪ Manning fireworks ♪
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
♪ You can put your clothes back on, she's leaving you ♪
♪ No time to apologize for the things you do ♪
♪ Go rent a Ferrari and sing the blues ♪
♪ Believe that Clapton was the second coming ♪
♪ It falls apart ♪
♪ We all got work to do ♪
♪ It gets dark ♪
♪ We all got work to do ♪
♪ She's leaving you ♪
♪♪
♪ You said ♪
♪ "Vegas looks beautiful at night" ♪
♪ And it's not about the money ♪
♪ You just like the lights ♪
♪ And though you know what is implied ♪
♪ When your room is free ♪
♪ You're feeling lucky ♪
♪ It falls apart ♪
♪ We all got work to do ♪
♪ It gets dark ♪
♪ We all got work to do ♪
♪ She's leaving you ♪
♪♪
♪ It falls apart ♪
♪ We all got work to do ♪
♪ It gets dark ♪
♪ We all got work to do ♪
♪ It falls apart ♪
♪ We all got work to do ♪
♪ It gets dark ♪
♪ We all got work to do ♪
♪♪
♪ She's leaving you ♪
-♪ And she's leaving you ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪ She's leaving you ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
-♪ So you say I've got a funny face ♪
♪ Well, it makes me money ♪
♪ So you say I've wasted my life away ♪
♪♪
♪ Well, I got a beach home up in Buffalo ♪
♪ And a wristwatch ♪
♪ That's a compass and a cellphone ♪
♪ And a wristwatch ♪
♪ That tells me you're all alone ♪
♪♪
♪ I'd still take your amazing grace ♪
♪♪
♪ I'd give all my money ♪
♪♪
♪ And I'd still take your pretty face ♪
♪♪
♪ 'Cause I've got a houseboat ♪
♪ Docked at the Himbo Dome ♪
♪ And a wristwatch ♪
♪ That's a pocket knife and a megaphone ♪
♪♪
♪ And a wristwatch ♪
♪ That tells me I'm on my own ♪
♪♪
♪ And a wristwatch ♪
♪ That tells me I'm on my own ♪
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
♪ Some say ♪
♪ Distance grows the heart ♪
♪ But I know ♪
♪ Sometimes we just drift apart ♪
♪ Everybody's walking in twos ♪
♪ Leaving Noah's Ark ♪
♪ It's Sunday at the water park ♪
♪♪
♪ We sat ♪
♪ Under a half-mast McDonald's flag ♪
♪ Broken birds ♪
♪ Tumble fast past my window ♪
♪♪
♪ And you don't know ♪
♪♪
♪ The shape I'm in ♪
♪♪
♪ Punching holes ♪
♪♪
♪ In a hotel room ♪
♪♪
♪ Singing all you had to do ♪
♪ Was be nice ♪
♪♪
♪ Whoa, whoa, whoa, be nice ♪
♪♪
♪ To me ♪
♪♪
♪ Clarinet ♪
♪♪
♪ Singing its lonesome duck walk ♪
♪♪
♪ Clarinet ♪
♪♪
♪ Singing its lonesome duck walk ♪
♪ What else can you say ♪
♪ To help a friend with a broken heart? ♪
♪♪
♪ You don't know ♪
♪ The shape I'm in ♪
♪ You don't know ♪
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
Thank you, guys.
♪♪
♪ Jordan wanted to sign ♪
♪ With Adidas for shoes ♪
♪ But Nike gave him an offer ♪
♪ That he could not refuse ♪
♪ It wasn't a pizza ♪
♪ That poisoned him in Utah ♪
♪ With a hotel bill to prove ♪
♪ Three thousand dollars on just five dudes ♪
♪♪
♪ I bought fake Jordans ♪
♪ They weren't even shoes ♪
♪ Oh, he looked so sick ♪
♪ It was all over the news ♪
♪ But it wasn't the pizza ♪
♪ And it wasn't the flu ♪
♪ Yeah, I love drinking, too ♪
♪ I love drinking, too ♪
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
-♪ We saw John Daly ♪
♪ Sing "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" ♪
♪ Bird calls comin' from the rafters ♪
♪ At the hardware store ♪
♪ They took my driver's license ♪
♪ But you still have yours ♪
♪ You're all I need, babe ♪
♪ Yeah, you've heard that one before ♪
♪ You're all I need, babe ♪
♪♪
♪ Loneliness is simple ♪
♪ Not much else is ♪
♪ Her love for me is real ♪
♪ She gives what she has to give ♪
♪ She gave me wings ♪
♪ But I caught flight ♪
♪ And I think I might be ♪
♪ Knock, knock, knock ♪
♪ Knock, knock, knock, knockin' on ♪
♪ Heaven's door tonight ♪
♪♪
♪ Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock ♪
♪ Knockin' ♪
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
Thank you.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Appreciate you guys.
Thank you!
[ Cheers and applause ]
I actually think I'm pretty optimistic.
I mean, I think I'm cynical in some ways,
but, um...
But, you know, on a day-to-day basis...
...I feel like I'm the more optimistic person in the group.
Like, maybe even in a stupid way.
[ Laughs ]
But, um -- But, yeah, I don't know.
I think it's hard not to be cynical in...
like, as far as, like, worldview goes
and living in America and, um...
Yeah, the way that society has progressed over the years
and the world that I've grown up in is --
It's easy -- Uh, I mean, it's hard to be optimistic
about, you know, where the world is headed, I guess.
I think the guitar entered my life
when I was like 7,
and, uh, it's been something I've, you know --
It's just kind of a part of me ever since then.
Well, the lessons started when I think I was 7 or 8,
and I took them with, you know, my best friend growing up.
We took them together,
so I always had somebody to play with.
And we were on this kind of journey together.
And -- And we had a drum set, too.
So one of us would play drums and the other would play guitar,
and we'd switch back and forth, and so we learned, you know,
how to make music together at a super-young age.
We were really lucky for that.
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪