Fifteen years after the last episode of Friday Night Lights, Jesse Plemons, who starred as metal-loving football player Landry Clarke, resurrected his old Christian metal band Crucifictorious (again) for another gig.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show’s debut, Plemons and co-star Stephanie Hunt (who played Devin Corrigan) appeared onstage at the ATX TV Festival in Austin over the weekend. “I think this is a song that Crucifictorious would cover and one of the best songs ever,” Hunt said. But rather than Cookie Monster vocalizing their way through breakneck metal, the duo take on Daniel Johnston’s plaintive “Devil Town.” With Plemons on guitar, harmonica, and vocals and Hunt on vocals, they led the crowd through a singalong version of the track, which featured notably in the series.
Johnston’s song was famously covered by Bright Eyes, but when he denied producers usage of the song, Austin singer-songwriter Tony Lucca stepped in to deliver one of the most emotional musical moments. “The song worked so well — it was so poignant, and ridiculously lyrically perfect,” Liza Richardson, the show’s musical director, told GQ.
The performance was part of a bigger celebration of the beloved show, with stars Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Adrianne Palicki, Scott Porter, and Gaius Charles appearing to discuss its influence and legacy.
Original showrunner Jason Katim also gave a sorta-kinda-not-really update on the upcoming reboot, which was announced in 2024 with little concrete info since. “The idea of doing another incarnation of the show is something that is much … slower,” he said (via Chron). “It’s just a conversation.”
Blair Brown*
