Posts Tagged ‘Lyle Lovett’

Willie Nelson inducted into Austin City Limits Hall of Fame (4/26/14)

Sunday, April 27th, 2014

scottnewtonacl
photo: Scott Newton

http://austin.culturemap.com
by:  Meredith Rainey

The first Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Induction ceremony brought the show back to its original venue for one night: KLRU’s Studio 6A on the University of Texas campus. Before Austin City Limits moved to its current home at The Moody Theater, the walls of Studio 6A absorbed nearly four decades of Austin music history.

scottnewtonacl4
photo: Scott Newton

Held on Saturday, April 26, the invitation-only event was filled with special performances and standing ovations for performers and honorees. The Hall of Fame’s first class of inductees included Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, famed UT football coach Darrell Royal and show creator Bill Arhos. During the induction, the show’s long-time Executive Producer Terry Lickona called Nelson the heart of Austin City Limits and Arhos the spirit, both helping make the show a musical institution.

With an introduction by Texas native Matthew McConaughey, Nelson kicked off the night with a rousing rendition of “Whiskey River” and was soon joined on stage by Lyle Lovett and Emmylou Harris. In the 11-song set, the three shared the stage for “Pancho and Lefty,” “On the Road Again” and “I Saw the Light.”

aclaward
p
hoto:  Scott Newton

Before a short break, Nelson, Royal and Arhos were honored with awards depicting the Austin skyline. Nelson was inducted by McConaughey, Aros by Lickona and Royal by Mack Brown. Brown called Royal a great friend to the show and noted there would be no Austin City Limits without the hard work of the inductees. Surrounded by family, Edith Royal accepted on the coach’s behalf, stressing how much the music meant to Royal, who rarely missed a taping.

scottnewtonacl3
photo: Scott Newton

After an auction of artwork by Tim Wakefield capturing sound waves of Nelson’s “Whiskey River” and Vaughan’s “Pride and Joy” (each went for $25,000 with proceeds benefiting KLRU) and the induction of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, the stage heated up with a series of impressive guitar solos from artists honoring Vaughan & Double Trouble. Double Trouble’s Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon and Reese Wynans shared the stage with Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mike Farris, Doyle Bramhall II, Robert Randolph, Eric Zapata and Buddy Guy. Stevie Ray’s brother Jimmie, who is on tour in Australia, appeared in a video honoring his younger brother. You could feel the spirit of Stevie as Randolph and Bramhall tore up “Pride and Joy.” Rounding out a night of incredible music, Nelson, Lovett and Nelson’s son, Lukas, joined everyone on stage for the grand finale, “Texas Flood.”

On this special Hall of Fame night, KLRU once again captured the magic that has made Austin City Limits America’s longest running live music television show. It was a magical Saturday night that led one audience member to comment, “That was so amazing, I almost forgot to breathe.”

The 40th anniversary season of Austin City Limits continues to feature the best in music, with tapings including Beck, Valerie June, Ed Sheeran, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, White Denim, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down and Eric Church. For more information, please please visit the website.

“When Angels Sing” Movie to premiere at SWSW 2013

Monday, February 11th, 2013

whenangelssing
www.filmarcade.net

EYA Productions and Fred Miller Productions are excited to announce the world premiere of their new holiday movie, When Angels Sing, at the 26th annual South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. The film, directed by Tim McCanlies (Secondhand Lions, Alabama Moon), is a comedic, heartfelt story about the importance of family ties, the power of forgiveness and the undeniable magic of Christmas.

When Angels Sing stars Harry Connick, Jr. (Dolphin Tale) as Michael Walker, a modern day Scrooge who has only wanted one thing for Christmas – to forget about it. After unknowingly buying a house on a street famous for its Christmas celebrations, Michael must learn how to confront his past and save his son from repeating the same mistakes he did.

The star-studded cast includes Emmy Award nominee Connie Britton (Nashville, Friday Night Lights), Chandler Canterbury (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Host), Fionnula Flanagan (The Guard), Lyle Lovett (Castle) with Academy Award nominees & Grammy winners Willie Nelson (The Dukes of Hazzard) and Kris Kristofferson (Dolphin Tale).

“This movie is about family ties, fathers and sons and obligations – the things you need to do to be a good father. These are important things,” said When Angels Sing cast member Willie Nelson.

Set in Austin, Texas, When Angels Sing celebrates the rich and varied musical genres for which the city is famous. The film features performances of new and classic holiday songs by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Lyle Lovett, Dale Watson, Sara Hickman, Marcia Ball, Carolyn Wonderland, Guy Forsyth, Kat Edmonson, The Trishas, Joel Guzman, Sarah Fox, and Miss Lavelle White, with appearances by Ray Benson of “Asleep at The Wheel” and Bob Schneider.

When Angels Sing was produced by Elizabeth Avellán (The Spy Kids franchise, Sin City), Fred Miller (For All Mankind), and Shannon McIntosh (Inglorious Bastards, Django Unchained). The production team also includes executive producers Scott Rankin, Sharon Rankin and Randall Dark, with Dominic Cancilla and Turk Pipkin serving as co-producers. The screenplay by Lou Berney is based on the book of the same name by Turk Pipkin (The Tao of Willie).

“I’m really excited for our film to have its world premiere at SXSW,” said EYA Productions President Elizabeth Avellán. “Austin is my home and this film was done with the many talented filmmakers from Austin. It feels wonderful to share this lovely film with the local community and the world.”

Turk Pipkin originally wrote the book When Angels Sing as a Christmas gift to give to his friends and family. Immediately, producer Fred Miller knew that it was a movie waiting to be made, but missed out on buying the book’s motion picture rights the first time around. After four years of waiting and periodically asking about its status, Miller was finally able to buy the rights and begin the two year process of assembling the best possible team for the film. After spending two years working on putting the project together, Miller and the rest of the team are excited for SXSW to World Premiere When Angels Sing.

About When Angels Sing

Grammy & Emmy Award winning, Tony Award nominee Harry Connick, Jr. (Dolphin Tale), stars in When Angels Sing, with Emmy Award nominee Connie Britton (Nashville, Friday Night Lights), Chandler Canterbury (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Host), Fionnula Flanagan (The Guard), Lyle Lovett (Castle) with Academy Award nominees & Grammy winners Willie Nelson (The Dukes of Hazzard) and Kris Kristofferson (Dolphin Tale). When Angels Sing is directed by Tim McCanlies (Secondhand Lions, Alabama Moon).

For thirty years, Michael Walker (Harry Connick, Jr.) has only wanted one thing for Christmas and that’s to forget about it. That is until a mysterious stranger named Nick (Willie Nelson), sells him the home of his family’s dreams with the vague condition that he keeps up with the neighborhood standards. Michael quickly realizes his new street is his worst nightmare. . . Live Oak Lane is world famous for Christmas, complete with eye popping light displays, mounds of fake snow, thousands of visitors and his home as its glorious centerpiece. Suddenly, Christmas is inescapable – attacking him with massive inflatable Santas, nonstop carolers dropping off decorations and live nativity scenes running rampant through his yard. His contempt for Christmas explodes when pressure mounts from his family (Connie Britton, Chandler Canterbury, Fionnula Flanagan, Kris Kristofferson) and quirky neighbors (Lyle Lovett, Eloise DeJoria) to get into the spirit of the holiday. When Nick returns to question why Michael isn’t fulfilling his part of their bargain, he takes him on a journey to confront his past and save his son from repeating the same mistakes he did.

When Angels Sing is a comedic, heartfelt fable about the importance of family ties, the power of forgiveness and the undeniable magic of Christmas. Rounding out the cast are Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Eloise DeJoria, Bruce Robison, Sara Hickman and Turk Pipkin.