Wanted to point out an unusual show that’s happening tonight at the Southern. Ian Lawler releases his disc Future Nostalgia, before moving to Dallas on Tuesday. The record is great, and chock full o’ locals: it features Lawler on guitars, and contributions form Darrell Muller, Brian Caputo and Anita Byers, among others, all in a package designed by Browning Porter. Tonight may literally be your one chance to get the disc straight from Lawler. Read more here.
Dave Matthews’ ATO Pictures (Art Takes Over, that is) announced earlier this year that it would, in a partnership with Samuel Goldwyn Films, begin domestically distributing independent films—good news for a withering industry. The first film in that partnership, Mao’s Last Dancer, will be released this weekend in major cities this weekend. ATO CEO Temple Fennell writes in an e-mail, “Films like Mao are rare in the market these days and any support you can give to help it survive the studio blockbuster summer assault is very much appreciated.” And it sounds good: Directed by Bruce Beresford (Tender Mercies and Driving Miss Daisy) and starring Kyle MacLachlan, Mao is about a Chinese dancer who defects to Texas to pursue an American love interest.
For all of you Parachute fans, there’s been some seriously entertaining pictures on the band’s Tumblr in recent days—not that I’ve been checking, like, every hour, or anything. Click here for pictures of the UVA grads arranging strings, playing mandolins and, er, golfing.
Front man Will Anderson directs a gospel choir.
