FLAMING LIPS WILL HEADLINE SECOND ANNUAL “HI, HOW ARE YOU” DAY
posted by derek brown - Nov 16, 2018
READ MORE: Austin360
By Peter Blackstock
Posted Nov 16, 2018 at 3:50 PM
Updated Nov 16, 2018 at 4:27 PM
Flaming Lips, Yo La Tengo, Built to Spill, the Moth & the Flame and more will play the second annual Hi, How Are You Day, a celebration of heralded Texas songwriter Daniel Johnston’s birthday, at ACL Live on Jan. 22, 2019.
It’s a big step up for the mental health awareness event and fundraiser, which made its debut in January 2018 at the Mohawk. That night was a grand success, with local acts including Kathy McCarty & Brian Beattie, Moving Panoramas, Jane Ellen Bryant and Will Courtney performing Johnston’s songs and Johnston himself making a brief but memorable appearance.
Tickets, $49-$79, go on sale at noon Monday, Nov. 19, via the venue’s website. Other participating artists will be announced in the coming weeks.
Hi, How Are You Project co-founders Tom Gimbel and Courtney Blanton created the event “to educate people worldwide about the importance of mental health and well-being while promoting a culture of inclusion,” according to a press statement announcing the show.
Flaming Lips leader Wayne Coyne said in the statement that his band is taking part “because we love Daniel’s music, and being part of a thing that celebrates his music with a bunch of other artists is always fun...and we love Austin...any excuse to play there is cool with us.”
Dick Johnston, Daniel’s brother and a co-founder of the project, added: “The mission of Hi, How Are You Day is to get the word out about Daniel’s art and music AND to make it routine that we recognize the worth of people struggling with depression, anxiety, learning disabilities or mental illness.”
