Lyle Lovett Announced As Hagler Fellow; Will Work With Students, Faculty On Music, Interdisciplinary Projects
The four-time Grammy Award winner will be among 11 Hagler Fellows and two Distinguished Lecturers inducted by the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study during its annual gala in February.
Texas A&M graduate and acclaimed musician Lyle Lovett has been announced as being part of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study’s new class of Hagler Fellows.
Hagler Fellows are honored for outstanding achievements in their field, and work with faculty and students during their yearlong appointments. Lovett, a four-time Grammy Award winner and a member of the Texas A&M Class of ’79, will collaborate with students and faculty in the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts.
The institute will induct its 11 Hagler Fellows and two Distinguished Lecturers during its annual gala in February.
Tim McLaughlin, dean of the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, said that students will benefit from Lovett’s knowledge and experience in music and the entertainment industry.
“What I’m most excited about is that Lyle is a world-class arts entrepreneur,” he said. “The business of the arts, specifically music as a performing art, is complex and challenging to navigate for young artists in particular. Lyle is an incredible pathfinder within this environment and can explore with students and faculty not only what his experience has been, but where he sees changes in the field going and what’s on the horizon. This will certainly influence the career trajectory for our students and how we develop and pursue the field of music as a college.”
Lovett’s collaborations will branch out across the college, McLaughlin said, including how virtual production technology can change live performances. By utilizing the state-of-the-art Virtual Production Institute facilities, McLaughlin aims to explore performing for a present audience, while other audiences in remote immersive environments experience the same performance.
“Our faculty are interested in developing the technologies, looking at the experience as a performer and for the audience, and answering questions about how and why this can work,” he said. “I think we’ll be seeing more of this emerging form of live performance in the next five to 10 years, and Lyle will provide Texas A&M with a chance to spearhead investigation of it.”
Lovett, who was honored with a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2015, has ties to the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, including a two-day visit in February 2024. He met with the college’s leadership and faculty, toured its facilities including the recording studio and practice rooms, and spoke with students in two courses.
In each class, Lovett shared stories of his musical upbringing and his time on campus, and answered questions from students. And he noted his excitement about the creation of the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts in the fall of 2022.
“To be able to drop in and hear about a program for performance, it’s really encouraging from my point of view,” he said. “Because it was right here at Texas A&M — and my involvement in the MSC committees, in the Student Programs Office, the Basement Committee — it was right there that I started getting my education in music. So to be able to come back and see the growth, and how the program has been started and progresses — I just find it all very exciting and encouraging.”
These engaging conversations with students included such varied topics as Lovett’s memories of scoring a weekly gig and getting paid in hamburgers, the meaning of his classic song “If I Had a Boat” and his advice to students to “be your authentic self.”
“I learned that there are lots of bright young minds who are already very accomplished and very interested in the subject matter and interested in learning how to do things the right way,” Lovett said during his visit. “When you see that among young people, that’s really encouraging.”
