"Treat Me Like a Saturday Night"

The Joe Ely Photographs from the Cindy Light Collection

Cindy Light is an Austin-based photographer who, over her more than thirty year career, shot many performances of Austin musicians such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Ely, and Doug Sahm as well as international acts such as Sting, Michael Jackson, and Paul McCartney. Cindy's work has been featured in many national and international publications including the New Yorker, Chicago Tribune, Austin Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman, and Rolling Stone.

Born in Austin and raised in Chicago, Cindy returned to Austin in the early 1980s. Cindy began working as a receptionist at radio station KLBJ in 1983. It was there that she met many bands, band managers, and club owners and began to make the connections upon which she built her photography career. Cindy began shooting bands on a regular basis, building her portfolio. Cindy signed with LGI Photo Agency, an international firm, in 1985, which propelled her to a full time career in performance photography as she was sent on assignments to photograph major acts such as Sting, Michael Jackson, Ronnie Lane, and Ian McLagan.

It was also through LGI that Cindy was selected to document the Grand Opening of the Alamodome in San Antonio in 1993, a milestone in her career. Mary McCartney reviewed portfolios of local photographers and hand selected Cindy to shoot the event. Cindy worked with McCartney’s art direction team to photograph Paul McCartney and his band in an on-site studio set-up as well as documenting McCartney’s set that evening.

Throughout her years as a working photographer, Cindy maintained a close professional relationship with several local Austin bands, including the Joe Ely Band, photographing them regularly. Though he hails from Lubbock and remains part of a close group of Lubbock musicians, most notably Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore with whom he performs as The Flatlanders, Joe Ely has been a mainstay and icon of the Austin music scene since the late 1970s. His music spans genres, happily occupying a space somewhere between blues, Tejano, honky-tonk, and rock ‘n roll. With the Joe Ely Band, he has released 18 studio albums and 5 live albums, and he has performed with Lyle Lovett, Bruce Springsteen, and the Clash among many others. Joe Ely was appointed the Official Texas State Musician in 2016 in recognition of his commitment to the arts in Texas.

The photos in this exhibit span 1986-1990 and primarily feature guitarist David Grissom, bassist Jimmy Pettit, and drummer Davis McLarty who represent Ely’s late 1980s to early 1990s heyday. Also onstage in several photos are guitarist Jesse “Guitar” Taylor, saxophonist Bobby Keys, steel guitar player Lloyd Maines, and Texas BBQ legend Christopher B. “Stubb” Stubblefield of Stubb’s BBQ fame, all native Lubbockians. Playing at bygone landmarks such as the Austin Opera House and Liberty Lunch, the photographs represent an era in Austin’s music history that is emblematic of the city’s reputation as a live music mecca.

Cindy’s photography is known for capturing the true energy of a live music performance, a quality she captured particularly well when photographing the Joe Ely Band. Cindy notes that when she works with an artist for a long period of time, the composition and nuance captured in the photographs continually improves. In addition to being able to anticipate moments in their live performances and having increased access, Cindy also finds that the band comes to trust her. In the case of the Joe Ely band, that trust allowed the musicians to relax in her presence, and the rare behind-the-scenes shots in this exhibit reveal the rapport that had built between them.

More photographs of the Joe Ely Band taken by Cindy Light can be found in the full Cindy Light Photograph Collection available at the Austin History Center (AR.2019.016). Treat Me Like A Saturday Night: Photographs from the Cindy Light Collection is an exhibit curated by Madeline Moya, Steve Schwolert, and Halley Grogan. Special thanks to the photographer, Cindy Light.

**[KLBJ’s Ed Mayberry and Joe Ely], October 29, 1987.** AR-2019-016-005, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

**[Joe Ely Band at Waterloo Records], October 29, 1986.** AR-2019-016-041, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

The Joe Ely Band does a signing at Waterloo Records for their video release, Joe Ely: Live From Texas. This was the first photograph of the band taken by Cindy Light. L-R: Jimmy Pettit, Davis McLarty, David Grissom, Joe Ely.

**[New Year’s Eve Show 1989], December 31, 1989.** AR-2019-016-015, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

Bobby Keys plays with the Joe Ely Band on New Year's Eve 1989 at Austin's City Coliseum. L-R: David Grisson, Bobby Keys, Jimmy Pettit (background), Joe Ely.

**[Joe Ely Onstage at Freedom Fest], July 4, 1988.** AR-2019-016-010, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

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C.B. "Stubbs" Stubblefield, Jesse "Guitar" Taylor, Joe Ely, and Lloyd Maines onstage at Stubb's Bar-B-Q in 1988.

**[David Grissom Onstage at the Austin Opera House], 1987.** AR-2019-016-044, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

**[Davis McLarty Onstage at Gruene Hall], 1988.** AR-2019-016-045, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

**[Soundcheck,** ***Live at Liberty Lunch*] April 21, 1989.** AR-2019-016-035, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

**[Joe Ely,** ***Live at Liberty Lunch*] April 21, 1989.** AR-2019-016-040, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

Joe Ely’s onstage energy is captured in this photograph from the band’s Live at Liberty Lunch recording. Bassist Jimmy Pettit can be seen on left.

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Davis McLarty, Joe Ely, and David Grissom during the recording of Live at Liberty Lunch (top photo). Ely and Grissom exit the stage in high spirits after the iconic performance (bottom photo).

**[Butch Hancock and Jesse Taylor Play with the Sunspots], May 7, 1988.** AR-2019-016-001, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

**[Jimmy Pettit Onstage at Gruene Hall] 1988.** AR-2019-016-046, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

**[Freedom Fest 1988], July 4, 1988.** AR-2019-016-048, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

Jimmy Pettit, Joe Ely, and Daivd Grissom onstage during their set at Freedom Fest in 1988.

**[Butch Hancock and Joe Ely], December 31, 1988.** AR-2019-016-047, The Cindy Light Photograph Collection. © Cindy Light.

Butch Hancock and Joe Ely share the stage on New Year’s Eve 1988.

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Waiting for their showcase sets during SXSW, David Heath, Connie Hancock, Butch Hancock, Traci Lamar Hancock, Champ Hood, and Jimme Dale Gilmore (seated, top photo) take a “family photo” as Gilmore wonders why he is alone on the couch. With the situation remedied, they take two more portraits, with Walter Hyatt (standing, right, bottom photo) joining the group in the third photograph.