TANYA TAKES SXSW

Will Tanya Tucker ever stop amazing us? Probably not.

In the 50 years since her debut of Delta Dawn, she has ridden the rollercoaster of fame with remarkable resilience. A few years ago, she made an epic comeback releasing While I’m Livin’ (her first original album in over a decade), she headlined the Ryman Auditorium with a star-studded one-of-a-kind performance, and she won her first – long overdue – Grammy Award for the beautiful ballad “Bring My Flowers Now”. All in a matter of months.

And people took notice. People like filmmaker Kathlyn Horan.

An in-depth and up-close-and-personal documentary titled The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile chronicles the challenges and triumphs of the legendary musician’s reentry into the studio and the spotlight. The film made its worldwide premiere a few weeks ago at Texas’ own South By Southwest festival – and we were there.

“Kristen [Schley] and I got to attend the actual world premiere, the first showing of it,” Mitchell said. “It was really enjoyable. There are some really cool parts about the film. Beautifully done, powerful storytelling; we were really impressed. The sisters and Nana got to see it a couple days later. And we all got to catch up with Tanya and the crew, which is always fun.”

In fact, we all partook in a time-honored Tanya Tucker tradition.

“Tanya was having pre-show jitters, she was nervous about the showing,” recalled Cheryl. “So, naturally, the next thing we know, we’re climbing on the bus for a couple shots of Cosa Salvaje tequila!”

In the end, she had nothing to be worried about. The film, which has been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics, exceeded our expectations in every way.

“I was struck by the raw vulnerability Tanya let them capture and put on display in the film,” Cheryl said. “You get to see Tanya from her rise, to her personal removal from the industry, to an incredible comeback. It was 50 years of story told well. Audrey and I even have a brief cameo from our time dressing her for the 2020 Grammy Awards. Surreal.”

If you’re even remotely familiar with SXSW, you know that securing a spot to debut a documentary film is no small feat. Just further proof that our girl is still doing big things, with no signs of slowing down!