Abramorama and Eagle Rock Entertainment are releasing a Banger Films documentary feature film that tells the story of how three oddball teenage bluesmen – Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard – became ZZ Top, one of the biggest, most beloved bands on the planet, all while maintaining a surrealist mystique that continues to intrigue fans and entice onlookers a half century after the band’s inception. All three band members will be in attendance at the premiere, as they prepare to embark on their 50thAnniversary Tour.
On August 13, ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas will make its worldwide premiere at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, CA, followed by event screenings nationwide timed to the band’s 50thAnniversary Tour. On August 23, the film will be premiering at Cineplex Cinemas across Canada, and on September 1, throughout Australia’s Event Cinemas national circuit.
“I think even our most steadfast fans will find themselves surprised by what they learn about those men behind the beards and cheap sunglasses,” said Billy F Gibbons. “There we are, up there on the silver screen and it’s something we’re delighted to share with fans of all stripes.”
Buoyed by candid band interviews, never-before-seen archive footage, animation, celebrity fan testimonials from Billy Bob Thornton and Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme and an intimate performance at the oldest dance hall in Texas, historic Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, that was shot exclusively for the film, That Little Ol’ Band From Texas runs the gamut, from the absurd to the poignant, from squalid bars to MTV heroics, all in celebration of this notoriously private but larger-than-life power trio. In the end, the film unravels the extraordinary tale of a band whose image we know, but whose story we don’t.
Abramorama’s CEO Richard Abramowitz and head of West Coast acquisitions and business development Evan Saxon added, “ZZ Top always seemed larger than life and are one of the most iconic bands to hit the stage. They belong on the big screen! We are proud to be collaborating with our colleagues at Eagle Rock Entertainment, Banger Films and Suretone Management to bring the story of these sharp dressed men to fans around the world.”
The film’s director, Sam Dunn, is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and the co-founder of Banger Films. Producer and Banger Films co-founder Scot McFadyen has been with Dunn every step of the way, growing their company into one of the world’s best-known music documentary operations.
On August 16, three days after the film’s premiere, ZZ Top embarks on its 50th Anniversary Tour at Sunlight Supply Amphitheatre in Ridgefield, Washington.