One of Austin’s longest standing musical supergroups, Beto & the Fairlanes recently celebrated their 35th anniversary as a band and simultaneously rolled out their 7th full-length recording, “BEST O BETO.” To celebrate their accomplishment and ramp up for the album release, we facilitated a promotion called “35 DAZE of BETO,” a 35 consecutive day marathon of performances in and around Austin.
Some highlighted appearances include opening for Bela Fleck and Robert Marcus at One World Theater, an educational workshop at McCallum Highschool for the Grammy® Texas Chapter, a live on-air interview and performance with NPR’s Larry Monroe on his 70th birthday, and Austin’s Mayor, Lee Leffingwell declaring September 28th “Beto Day” during their performance at City Hall Plaza.
I took a particular interest in this project after hearing the band’s manager, label owner and trombonist, Mike Mordecai describe some of the rich stories and novel tales that only a group with such longevity could experience. The 40+ members of Beto & the Fairlanes, spanning up to three generations of musicians, collectively tell a first-hand account of the history of the Live Music Capitol since it’s prime in the late 70′s.
To demonstrate the significance of their impact, we hosted a private party at the Gibson Guitar showroom for media and key supporters of the band throughout their career. Our emcee, Terry Lickona, screened a nostalgic viewing of the band’s 1980 national television debut on Austin City Limits. We were amazed to hear personal Beto stories from some of the most influential people in the industry.
 35 Years of Beto & the Fairlanes Memorabilia |
 Emcee Terry Lickona and Robert “Beto” Skiles |
 Screening of the 1980 Austin City Limits episode featuring Beto & the Fairlanes |
 Drummer Steve Summer, with John Mills, Greg Williams, and Rich Haering in the horn line. |
“35 DAZE of BETO” concluded with a grand Full Moon Finale performance at Threadgill’s World Headquarters followed by a half-mile conga line through downtown Austin to the Willie Nelson statue. It was an epic ending to an epic celebration. BEST O BETO is now available in stores and online through Fable Records.
