Fans may recognize Tommy Howell from his iconic roles in “The Outsiders,” “Red Dawn,” and “E.T.” But Howell is also an acclaimed singer-songwriter who now calls Nashville home.
To celebrate his love of performing and his adopted hometown he’s launch- ing a 24-week, 48-show residency at City Winery called Backstage with Tommy Howell and Friends.
Beginning May 13 and running through November 18 the show will see Howell welcoming 24 guests, each of which will be featured on both an early evening and late night showing on their respective dates. Described as “Jimmy Kimmel Live” meets “The Johnny Cash Show,” the all-new series will bring fans “backstage” for a night of intimate storytelling, conversations, musical performances, scene reenactments from classic film and TV shows with those who starred in them, audience interactions, and so much more.
The first round of guests has been announced and fans can expect some truly iconic appearances, kicking off with Martin Kove and William Zab- ka from “Cobra Kai” and “The Karate Kid” films. Additional guests are set to include Charlie Sheen, Kevin Dillon, Adam Carolla, and an “E.T.” cast reunion.
We chatted with Howell prior to the show’s opening to talk all things stage, screen, and Music City. (tommyhowellmusic.com; citywinery.com/nashville)
Nashville Lifestyles: How did you come up with the idea for this residency?
Tommy Howell: I grew up watching those old variety shows like “The Johnny Cash Show.”They brought out their friends and were always doing skits or reenactments or singing songs together. It was an hour that flew by that I could sit there with my family and really enjoy. I wanted to rec- reate that, and I thought, “Well, let’s do it live.” And what a better place than the City Winery where you can have a meal and have a drink and watch a great show? I love that I can create a platform for people who I’ve worked with and people I’ve always wanted to work with and extend an invitation to come and sit down and share a moment with a couple hundred people. This will be a great place to come and listen to stories and watch clips and ask questions to the people who we all grew up watching.
NL: What are you most looking forward to?
TH: It’s a great opportunity for me to do a large amount of work musically in a short period of time. When we get on the other side of that, I feel like my band and I will be totally trans- formed. I’m looking forward to that.
NL: How did you select the guests?
TH: All the guests are my friends and co-work- ers I’ve met throughout my forty-some years in Hollywood. These are people I love, who I know the fans will love to get to see in such an intimate, unique circumstance. All the guests are bringing their personal stories and music and games to the residency.
NL: What do you love about living and working in Nashville?
TH: I’m so happy to be in Nashville! It’s been such a gift for me and people here are very generous and they want you to succeed. I feel a little bit different in Hollywood. Everybody’s so ambitious that I think people want you to do well, but they don’t want you to do better than they’re doing. In Nashville, I think people genuinely want you to do great. So I’ve really opened up and loved this experience.
NL: Can we expect any surprises?
TH: Expect the unexpected. We’ve announced the first five guests, but there are still 19 more special guests we haven’t teased at all yet. You never know who might show up in the middle of the show!