Parker McCollum will be one of the performers during Billy Bob's Texas' virtual fundraising concert.
Parker McCollum/Facebook
Billy Bob's Texas and Cavender's are joining forces to present "You’re Still Farming & We’re Still Singing," a virtual concert benefiting the Texas FFA Foundation with the goal of supporting the future of Texas agriculture.
The concert, taking place on Saturday, April 25 at 7 pm and streaming at facebook.com/BillyBobsTexas, will feature a star-studded lineup of Texas musicians: Pat Green, Tracy Byrd, Neal McCoy, Aaron Watson, Parker McCollum, Randy Rogers, Casey Donahew, Cleto Cordero, Cody Johnson, Jack Ingram, Josh Abbott, Kevin Fowler, Koe Wetzel, Mike Ryan, Wade Bowen, and William Clark Green.
"This opportunity to continue to involve our yearlong Billy Bob's Partners in a virtual concert for an organization that is benefiting kids in this Western and agricultural industry is wonderful," says Katherine Kolstad Laramore, head of corporate partnerships at Billy Bob's Texas, in a statement. "It is such a creative way for this tight-knit group to all stay connected and supportive as a community during this time apart."
The concert is free to enjoy, but donations will be accepted to help provide scholarships and leadership development opportunities for students and agricultural science teachers. The nonprofit Texas FFA Foundation awards over $2.3 million in academic and award scholarships each year, and there are more than 137,000 FFA members in Texas.
The concert will be the second virtual fundraising event this month for the famous Fort Worth honky-tonk. A concert April 1 celebrated the venue's 39th birthday and raised money for musicians, visual artists, and filmmakers who have lost work due to COVID-19.
Ever since Spider-Man became part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the character’s stand-alone movies have been notable for maintaining their own vision despite having to service the larger MCU storyline. The emotionality of the series reached its high point in No Way Home by bringing back two former Spider-Mans - Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield - to assist Tom Holland in a multiversal storyline.
The heart displayed in that film is superseded by Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in which Peter Parker (Holland) is now alone in the world following the events of the previous film. For years, he has done his best to stay busy by stopping in-progress crimes and checking in with Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas), but the twin traumas of losing Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) and forcing girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batolon) to forget him still weigh heavily on him.
Almost simultaneously, Peter starts experiencing a change in his physiology and is challenged by a new threat who has a power he does not know how to defeat. As he struggles with both of those things, he asks for help from a variety of sources, including Professor Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), and - despite not knowing who he is - MJ and Ned, who are now roommates in New York following their college years at MIT.
Directed by Dustin Daniel Cretton and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers (who have written each of the Holland Spider-Man films), the movie has a near-perfect blend of comic book spectacle and small-scale intimacy. Spider-Man’s ability to swing through New York’s urban landscape with ease provides plenty of opportunities for great action sequences, but the character’s focus on keeping the streets safe and finding a way back to his friends makes the story still feel manageable.
This is aided by the decision to not go overboard with the MCU connections. Bruce Banner/Hulk and a member of the New Avengers show up, but in relatively small roles. The Punisher makes the leap from TV to the movies, and the interaction between him and Spider-Man feels organic. So too does the super-secret villain, whose impact is felt well before they ever show up on screen thanks to a power that is as mysterious as it is effective.
While the action is abundant in the film, the filmmakers lean on emotion much more than most other comic book movies. Peter’s journey back to a semblance of a normal life is well-earned, with his reconnection with MJ and Ned slow-walked in an admirably subtle way. And in the final act, when CGI battles typically take over, the interior lives of Peter and other characters play as much a role in what happens as anything they do physically.
Holland, who tends to take criticism for non-Spider-Man roles, remains the ideal actor for the role. His open-heartedness makes him relatable, his athleticism makes him believable, and he crushes the heavier moments. He and Zendaya, who are now married in real life, work tremendously well together, and Batalon is a fun third wheel. Other standouts include Bernthal, Colón-Zayas, Trammell Tillman, and Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink.
From beginning to end, Spider-Man: Brand New Day now owns the title as best movie in the current Spider-Man universe. By maintaining connections to past movies, solidly incorporating new characters, and pointing to the future without making it the whole story, it demonstrates a model for how comic book movies should be done.
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens in theaters on July 31.
