Bonnie Raitt and Brandi Carlile Reunite on ‘Angel From Montgomery’ for Austin City Limits Hall of Fame

For its 2026 Hall of Fame class, Austin City Limits selected Brandi Carlile as the only inductee. The ceremony was taped July 1 in Austin at The Moody Theater, the home of ACL Live. Bonnie Raitt handled Carlile’s formal induction, then accompanied her on John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery.”

With each musician holding a guitar, Raitt and Carlile divided the verses, and Carlile supplied harmony. They had performed the composition together before, so the ceremony extended both their shared history with the song and Raitt’s association with it across several decades.

Prine first released “Angel From Montgomery” on his self-titled 1971 debut. Although he was then in his twenties, he narrated the song through an older woman facing an unvarying domestic existence, private dissatisfaction and a wish to get away. Its direct storytelling soon drew interest from performers in country and folk music.

Streetlights, Raitt’s 1974 album, included her recording of the song. She subsequently kept it among the central pieces of her live repertoire for more than 50 years and performed it with multiple collaborators. Carlile was among those previous partners before they revisited it for the Hall of Fame event.

Watch the full performance on page two