Big Star To Honor Alex Chilton

Durectly lifted from the press release:
BIG STAR RISES TO HONOR ALEX CHILTON

Surviving Members To Be Joined On Stage May 15 in Memphis
by Mike Mills of R.E.M., Brendan Benson of The Raconteurs and More

LOS ANGELES – What was originally planned as a triumphant homecoming concert for Big Star has become a tribute to Alex Chilton, a founding member of the band who died unexpectedly in March. Surviving members of the influential power-pop group will perform May 15 at the Levitt Shell in Overton Park in Memphis, Tennessee. Bassist Andy Hummel, drummer Jody Stephens and guitarists John Auer and Ken Stringfellow will be joined on stage by a number of special guests, including Mike Mills of R.E.M. and Brendan Benson of The Raconteurs.



Tickets for this special event – $20 in advance and $25 at the door – are available online at www.levittshell.org or by calling 1-888-71-TICKETS. VIP packages are also available for $65, each includes one admission to the concert and a soundcheck party prior to the show.

Big Star’s transformation from obscure Memphis band to standard bearers for an entire genre of music is one of rock and roll’s most thrilling, if unlikely, success stories. Despite little radio airplay, low record sales and only a handful of concerts, the band inspired a legion of followers with a unique sound that foreshadowed the rise of college and alternative rock.

After breaking up in 1974, Chilton and Stephens reconvened Big Star in 1993 with John Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies. In the years that followed, the quartet toured and recorded periodically, completing the studio album In Space in 2005.

A pair of acclaimed releases from Rhino Records last year cast a long overdue spotlight on Big Star’s influential musical legacy. The first was an expanded version of I Am The Cosmos, the posthumous debut from Big Star founder Chris Bell, who died in 1978. The second was, Keep An Eye On The Sky, a definitive look at the group’s history that mixed album tracks with unreleased recordings and live performances. To celebrate the boxed set’s release, Big Star played a rare concert last November in Brooklyn, New York, earning raves for the performance.