Lubbock Lights

West Texas ,a lonely stark place is made beautiful in this film. Through insightful interviews director Amy Maner takes you on a journey that explores the music legends from Lubbock and asks the question ' why does so much talent come out of Lubbock?' The documentary skillfully creates a mood and feel that draws you in. It's a story about the people and the town as much as it's about the music. The documentary is not meant to be a chronological history of all the celebrities from Lubbock, it's not the Buddy Holly story. Instead it tells the story of Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Terry Allen and the Legendary Stardust Cowboy. Woven together with wonderful stories and beautiful images, I would recommend Lubbock lights to everyone whether they are music fans or not.

The Flatlanders were a group of young Lubbock musicians who came formed a band in the early 1970s. They made one record (not released until much later) and went their separate ways, but later become semi-famous, making their inadvertent supergroup a retrospective legend. 'Lubbock Lights' tells their story, and also that of a few other Lubbock musicians, although rather oddly makes almost no mention of their most famous forebear, Buddy Holly. There's also little old footage (I guess because the Flatlanders really were so obscure that no-one had filmed them) nor any serious attempt to put them into their musical context: it's not even mentioned that Butch Hancock, for example, was the principal songwriter of the group, nor is there any discussion of the musical saw played by Steve Wesson (though at least we get to see him play it). Still, for those who love the music, it's a welcome opportunity to see it on film. Those who don't might still be left wondering.