Members of R.E.M., Wilco & More Celebrate Big Star in 'Thank You Friends: Big Star's Third...And More,' out April 21 and at SXSW

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Concord Bicycle Music  is proud to announce the release of  Thank You, Friends: Big Star's  Third  Live ... And More. The 90-minute concert film, which celebrates the music of  Big Star   through an illustrious collective of musicians, will have its world premiere at the 2017  SXSW Film Festival    in Austin, Texas, on  March 16. The title will be available in stores  April 21, 2017 as a 2-CD/DVD or Blu-Ray combo pack, as well as a standalone, 2-CD album. Liner notes by GRAMMY®Award-winning writer Anthony DeCurtis and Chris Stamey  (from The dB’s, and a founding member of the Big Star Third   ensemble) will round out the package.  
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Big Star’s devastatingly beautiful third album has long been revered by artists and critics as one of the most influential records ever produced. Written and recorded when the legendary ’70s band was primarily a studio project consisting of guitarist  Alex Chilton  and drummer  Jody Stephens,  Third   (or Sister Lovers, as it was alternatively known) had never been performed in public with the original string and wind arrangements. That changed in 2010, following Chilton’s untimely death just two days ahead of a much-anticipated Big Star performance at the  South by Southwest Music Festival.   

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That December, famous friends and fans assembled from far and wide to play a fully orchestrated Chapel Hill, N.C. gig in Chilton’s honor. From there, the core players (including sole surviving Big Star member Jody Stephens, Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Mitch Easter (Let’s Active), Chris Stamey [the dB’s], plus the Posies’ Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer) took the show on the road internationally, enlisting guest stars and orchestras in each city, and performing not only songs from Third, but also material from Big Star’s first two albums, #1 Record and Radio City. That core ensemble, along with a star-studded cast of guest artists, assembled in April 2016 at Glendale, Calif.’s  Alex Theatre for the epic concert seen in Thank You, Friends. Directed by  Benno Nelson  of  Yes Equals Yes, the film includes performances by a who’s who of indie rock, including  Jeff Tweedy  and  Pat Sansone  of  Wilco, Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo), Robyn Hitchcock, Dan Wilson (Semisonic), Benmont Tench, Jessica Pratt, Brett Harris, Django Haskins, and  Skylar Gudasz as well as a full chamber orchestra helmed by San Francisco’s acclaimed  Kronos Quartet   and conducted by  Carl Marsh, who wrote the original orchestrations for Third/Sister Lovers.

Thank You, Friends: Big Star's Third  Live ... And More  will premiere at Austin, Texas'  Alamo Ritz 1  on T hursday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m., as part of the  SXSW Film Festival.  A Q&A with  Benno Nelson, Jody Stephens, Mike Mills, Chris Stamey, Ken Stringfellow, and  Skylar Gudasz   will follow the screening. An orchestrated live concert of this music by many of the core ensemble featured in  Thank You, Friends   will take place at the   Central Presbyterian Church   on Friday, March 17 at 10:30 p.m.


Pre-order Thank You, Friends: Big Star's  Third  Live... And More
2-CD/Blu-Ray
2-CD/DVD
2-CD

Watch the trailer for Thank You, Friends: Big Star's  Third  Live ... And More: