Members of R.E.M., Wilco, Yo La Tengo Come Together to Pay Tribute to Big Star on ‘Thank You Friends’ Live Release

An array of famous Big Star fans — including members of R.E.M., Wilco, and Yo La Tengo — unite to pay tribute to the group's music in the new live film and album Thank You, Friends: Big Star's Third Live...and More.

The 90-minute concert movie, which is scheduled to make its theatrical debut at this year's SXSW Film Festival on March 16, is just one part of a package that's being made available April 21 in multiple configurations. In addition to the deluxe two-CD/Blu-ray package, which bundles the songs and film together with liner notes by esteemed critic Anthony DeCurtis and dB's member Chris Stamey, fans can pick up an audio-only CD version.

An outgrowth of a tribute gig that quickly came together in the wake of Big Star co-founder Alex Chilton's untimely passing in 2010 -- and repeated several times since -- the Thank You, Friends performance honors Chilton's legacy in general as well as Big Star's classic Third LP in particular. Filmed in April 2016 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, Calif., the show featured a lineup including a number of Big Star acolytes.

Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and Pat Sansone joined the ensemble alongside Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo, Robyn Hitchcock, Semisonic frontman Dan Wilson, and longtime Tom Petty sideman Benmont Tench — all supported by a full chamber orchestra led by the Kronos Quartet and conducted by Carl Marsh, the arranger responsible for putting together the album's original orchestrations.

Thank You, Friends: Big Star's Third Live...and More is available to pre-order now. Check out the film's trailer above and watch the night's rendition of "In the Street" below.

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