Lyle Lovett under the Majestic's painted stars

The Texas songwriter plays San Antonio's 1929 atmospheric movie palace on Friday, November 20, at 7 p.m.

Look up before the lights go down. The ceiling above the Majestic's seats is painted as a night sky, with stuffed birds perched on the railings, and on Friday, November 20, Lyle Lovett plays under it. The show at the Majestic Theatre starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are through the Majestic Empire box office.

The Majestic holds 2,264. Lovett has been out West this month, with stops in Orange County, San Diego, Tempe, Tucson, Flagstaff and Santa Fe, so San Antonio gets him late in a long fall run and well warmed up.

His most recent studio album is *12th of June*, released in May 2022 on Verve. Glide Magazine called it his first new album in 10 years. It moves between big-band swing and spare country. The record opens with Horace Silver's "Cookin' at the Continental," includes "Pants Is Overrated" and a version of "Straighten Up and Fly Right," and was co-produced by Lovett and Chuck Ainlay, according to Holler. NPR's review, via Hawaiʻi Public Radio, heard fatherhood all through it. A Lovett show usually pulls from every part of his catalog, and that mix of swing, gospel, country and wit is why a theater crowd will sit still for two hours.

He has stayed on the road since. This year's North American tour has him with his Small Large Band, a smaller version of the famous Large Band, per the Tribute Communities Centre listing for his fall date in Oshawa.

A Texas songwriter in a Texas movie palace, under a ceiling full of painted stars.

The room is half the reason to go. The Majestic opened on June 14, 1929, designed by John Eberson for Karl Hoblitzelle's Interstate Theatres, and it was the first fully air-conditioned theater in Texas, according to Wikipedia). Eberson was known for "atmospheric" theaters built to make you feel like you're sitting outdoors at night. San Antonio's is the city's oldest and largest. The birds are real too, and KSAT has looked into their history. The city bought the building in 1988, and it reopened after restoration in September 1989.

That's a good fit for Lovett. His shows are built for listening, with long stories between songs, and few rooms in Texas are as nice to sit in for that as this one.

A few notes: 7 p.m. is an early start for a Friday downtown, so plan parking and dinner around it. Bring someone who's never been inside the Majestic. Even if they don't know all the songs yet, they'll remember the ceiling.

Sources: Lyle Lovett Announces First New Album in 10 Years, '12th of June' (Glide Magazine) (glidemagazine.com); Album Review: Lyle Lovett – 12th of June (Holler) (holler.country); Lyle Lovett feels all of fatherhood on first album in a decade, '12th of June' (Hawaiʻi Public Radio / NPR) (hawaiipublicradio.org); Lyle Lovett and his Small Large Band (Tribute Communities Centre) (tributecommunitiescentre.com); Majestic Theatre (San Antonio) (Wikipedia) (en.wikipedia.org); Throwback Thursday: Majestic history, birds that call historic theatre home (KSAT) (ksat.com); The Majestic Theatre (Majestic Empire Foundation) (themajesticempirefdn.org); Majestic Empire tickets (majesticempire.com)