The Austin Symphony Orchestra will perform on the shores of Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin beginning at 8 pm on Monday, July 4.
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One of Austin’s favorite summertime celebrations is returning next week. Celebrating its 45th season of the H-E-B-sponsored Austin Symphony July 4th Concert & Fireworks, the Austin Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will perform at Vic Mathias Shores by the Long Center for the Performing Arts beginning at 8 pm on Monday, July 4.
One of the city’s premier Independence Day celebrations, the memorable event pairs iconic annual fireworks display over the city skyline, backed by symphonic patriotic classics.
This celebration is planned, produced, and performed entirely by the ASO, with the help of its sponsors and in-kind support from the City of Austin. The event is free and open to the public, but patrons can also support the event and gain access to lawn tickets or table seating on the terrace. Benefits include parking passes, front row seats, indoor restrooms, easy access to food and drinks, and more.
This year’s event will feature guest speakers including a veteran tribute at 8 pm, followed by a musical performance and “mile-high” fireworks. Returning this summer are a variety of vendors, from food and drinks to crafts and memorabilia.
Founded in 1911, the Austin Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is Austin’s oldest performing arts group. While the 4th of July fireworks concert is always a highlight, ASO offers a complete season of musical and educational programming, many of which take place in the state-of-the-art Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts.
For more details on ASO or the upcoming concert (including what is and is not allowed, plus parking details), visit austinsymphony.org.
Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers in Reminders of HIm.
Texas author Colleen Hoover has gone from being a popular writer to a full-on celebrity in the 2020s, with the new film Reminders of Him marking the third adaptation of her books in just 19 months (a fourth, Verity, is scheduled for release in October 2026). All of her books that have been adapted so far — most notably It Ends With Us — are female-led stories that feature elements of romance and trauma, catnip for studios looking to appeal to the underserved demographic of women.
Leading the way in this film is Kenna Rowan (Maika Monroe), who returns to her hometown of Laramie, Wyoming after spending years in prison for killing her boyfriend, Scotty (Rudy Pankow), in a car accident. That relationship resulted in a daughter, Diem (Zoe Kosovic), whom Kenna gave birth to while imprisoned and is now being raised by her grandparents, Patrick (Bradley Whitford) and Grace (Lauren Graham).
Yearning to be a part of Diem’s life, Kenna tries to reconnect with Patrick and Grace, only to be rebuffed by Scotty’s best friend, Ledger (Tyriq Withers), a former NFL player who now owns a local bar. In running interference, Ledger starts to become closer to Kenna, discovering that her tragic mistake shouldn’t be the only thing that defines her.
Directed by Vanessa Caswill and written by Lauren Levine, the film features mostly surface level examinations of its themes and average performances, yet it winds up being effective thanks to a willingness not to rush through its storytelling beats. The filmmakers take the slow and steady approach toward the coupling of Kenna and Ledger, setting up their bond through a series of heart-to-heart conversations that makes any romance feel earned.
The majority of the focus is on Kenna reclaiming her place in the world, and on Ledger coming to terms with the fact that the person who killed his best friend is not inherently a bad person. The film definitely could have gone deeper in its explorations of grief and anger, but the sheer amount of time it takes in addressing the characters’ doubts and fears turns out to be sufficient for a film that’s not aiming to be considered a dramatic masterpiece.
It also helps that Caswill and Levine do a solid job of establishing the variety of characters that inhabit the film. Kenna and Ledger don’t always feel like fully-formed people, but they become so through their interactions with each other and the other townspeople. Lady Diana (Monika Myers), a girl with Down syndrome who lives in Kenna’s apartment complex, and Roman (Nicholas Duvernay), Ledger’s co-worker at his bar, help to broaden the appeal of the two leads.
Monroe has, to this point, been best known for starring roles in horror films like It Follows and Longlegs. While she does somewhat well in this role, her delivery is often more flat than you’d expect for a character going through what she does. Withers thankfully doesn’t remind viewers of his recent bomb Him, demonstrating a crossover appeal that should serve him well in the future. Whitford and Graham don’t get to do much, but their combined experience gives their roles exactly what is needed.
It may sound like damning with faint praise, but Reminders of Him is a competently made film that knows how to serve its core audience without insulting anyone who may not automatically be all-in for such a story. The filmmakers don’t try to force any of the key moments down the audience’s throat, and that stands out in a genre that’s not always known for its subtlety.
