From tomorrow through May 5, you can bid on a chance to meet the Dixie Chicks, Toby Keith, Lee Ann Womack, and other celebrities through the "Deep in the Hearts of Texans" online auction, benefitting the Children's Advocacy Centers of Texas.

Three dozen personalities from music, government, journalism, sports, and other fields are auctioning meet-and-greets, concerts, luncheons, and memorabilia to help fund support programs for victims of child abuse.

Thanks to Robyn Ludwick, who is auctioning a dinner and concert package, for passing along the information.

This year's Austin City Limits Music Festival is still months away, but with the official artist lineup announcement less than 3 weeks out the rumor mill is heating up.

This week the festival's site has run a series of scavenger hunts, yielding confirmed artists Son Volt, Los Lonely Boys, Matisyahu, the Shins, the New Pornographers, KT Tunstall, and presumably Taj Mahal Ben Harper today (clue: "This artist performed 'Queen Bee' on an episode of Austin City Limits on PBS.").

Increased speculation and wishful thinking can only enhance ticket sales, which are already proceeding at record pace. Tiers 1 ($90) and 2 ($100) sold out quickly, with Tier 3 currently on sale at $115 plus service charges.

Brandon Rhyder is hosting acoustic songswaps at Antone's every Monday throughout April. Guests have included Wade Bowen, Micky Braun, Walt Wilkins, and Django Walker, among others.

This coming Monday is the last of the month, and Rhyder is set to close the series in grand fashion with two special guests (one is rumored to be Cory Morrow).

I'll be there, and I'm looking forward to my first chance to see Rhyder in concert. His 2005 release Conviction is an amazing debut I've enjoyed listening to over and over again. Look for a review soon.

The Randy Rogers Band is hosting its first annual "For the Sake of the Song" weekend in Luckenbach April 21-22.

Festivities begin in Luckenbach Dance Hall on Friday evening with a screening of Margaret Brown's documentary Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt, and then continue with acoustic performances by Randy Rogers, Radney Foster, Kent Finlay, Gary Nicholson, and more.

Saturday starts with washers, dominos, and one-hole golf tournaments, and then wraps up with full-band performances by the Sidehill Gougers, Full Throttle, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and the Randy Rogers Band.

See the weekend schedule for additional details.

Tickets are $10 for Friday and $20 for Saturday, with discounted two-day passes available for $25. There may be additional fees to participate in Saturday's tournaments.

Songwriters and performers can sign up for a bonus songwriting workshop that runs from 1:30 to 6:45 on Friday, and wraps up before the public festivities.

I can't make it this year, but hopefully can join in the fun at the 2nd annual event.

I attended my first Austin City Limits taping back in December, and I wrote then that the Coldplay show would be hard to top. While not really a fan of the band, I enjoyed their enthusiasm and simply the experience of seeing a major band in such an intimate setting.

Today I attended my second taping — Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Maybe they don't carry the same name recognition as Coldplay, but Ladysmith Black Mambazo has won 2 Grammy® awards among a total of 9 nominations over its four-plus decades. They are perhaps best known for their 1986 collaboration with Paul Simon, Graceland.

Led by founder Joseph Shabalala, Ladysmith Black Mambazo brought an undeniably infectious energy to the mid-afternoon peformance. Their traditional isicathamiya choral style combines tightly-knit group vocals with body movements that vary from rhythmic hand gestures to entertaining dances. The audience mostly just sat and watched, mesmerized by the performances and initially unsure how to respond to the Zulu traditions. But by the set's end, Shabalala and company had the studio crowd involved in call-and-response singing and clapping along with the beat.

Longtime ACL producer Terry Lickona noted this is the program's first ever a cappella performance. Look for Ladysmith Black Mambazo in the show's 32nd season, which begins airing this August.

Not that we necessarliy condone such things, but Austin attorney Charlie Roadman is offering the free seminar "Marijuana Law for Musicians — Know Your Rights!" on April 20.

Roadman will cover personal rights and responsibilities at the 90-minute seminar, plus take questions from the audience. Space is limited, with room for 40 at the Dandelion Cafe. Sign up at roadmanlaw.com.

When not practicing criminal defense law, Roadman manages San Antonio art rock band Buttercup.

A stupid problem with SBC Yahoo! Small Business forced the site down from midday Monday until now, but thanks to Verio we're now back up and running. When debating web hosting providers, consider this word of warning: steer clear of SBC Yahoo! and its clusterf*ck of customer service.