Montesino Ranch
More Than An Organic Farm
Liz Lambert’s Hotel Artistry
A Place to Get Your Hands Dirty and Play
By Ashley M. Halligan | Photography by Allison Smith
With an ever-expanding portfolio of art-project-hotels, Texas-bred (yet internationally admired) hotelier Liz Lambert has encompassed the soul of Austin-and sprinkled it all over the state. A West Texas native, Lambert has lived quite a colorful life. A New York City prosecutor- turned world renowned, made-from-scratch-hotel artist, she has managed to create four of Texas’ most talked about hideouts to rest your feet and your mind.
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
A Colorful, Cobblestone-Scored City in the Heart of Mexico
By Ashley M. Halligan
A cobblestone scored city, traversed by people the world over, San Miguel de Allende is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the very interior core of Mexico — the heart of Mexico, as many deem it. San Miguel is a colorful escape, south of Mexico City in the state of Guanajuato, which reached its peak in the mid-18th century, following the discovery of silver in the nearby state of Zacatecas. Because of its prosperous beginning, the city is rich with Baroque and Neoclassical architecture as well as well-preserved buildings and mansions from the 17th and 18th centuries.
MusiCares
Offering Aid to Struggling Musicians, Launches Artist-Designed T-Shirts
By Ashley M. Halligan
Made For Good calls itself a “recurring model of giving and a catalyst of collaboration in its efforts of identifying like-minded consumer product goods created to augment their endowment efforts and assist them with fundraising in their mission of giving.” Essentially, Made For Good (MFG) partners with non-profit organizations with lateral ideals in an effort to provide revenue for product development and, in turn, donating a percentage of its sales to each organization’s efforts.
Lionel Richie on Life, Music and Austin
(THE “BEST TIME OF HIS LIFE”)
By Ashley M. Halligan | Photography By Alan Silfen
It was an ordinary Thursday afternoon in April. Well, ordinary, aside from the fact that I’d planned on spending the afternoon chatting with Lionel Richie. I spent the morning filled to the brim with butterflies, anticipating the coming conversation that I would be having with one of Motown’s forefathers: the original lead man for the iconic Commodores, the lyricist behind albums I distinctly remember listening to on grandad’s vinyls as a terry cloth-clad, feather-haired child of the ‘80s, and a face and voice recognized the world over—from North America to Syria—and back.
Musicians On The Rise
By Ashley M. Halligan
It’s no secret that one of the (many) magical things about living in Austin, Texas is its ever-evolving music scene. With venues scattered along most of its downtown grid and in neighborhood hideaways throughout the city, Austin’s a city where music is sleepless, with Austinites thriving on the daily discovery of new artists and bands, innovative melodies, interesting collaborations and thoughtful creativity. With local radio support from stations like KGSR & 101X, up—and—coming bands have a fostering opportunity to make it on air in the early stages of their career, casting them into the sound waves of our daily lives, finding locals familiar with musical innovation long before other U.S. cities have had the opportunity to catch up.
Throwin’ High Fives to Austin’s Wheeler Brothers & Suzanna Choffel
By Ashley M. Halligan
In the 2011 September/October issue of ALM, I wrote a feature titled “Musicians on the Rise,” where I took a gander and predicted who I thought would be makin’ great big musical strides in the very near future.Of the three folks and bands I had my eyes (err, ears) on, two received superlatives at this year’s Austin Music Awards. And we’d like to give ‘em both a HUGE congratulations.
Walter “Yukon” Yates
Austin’s Very Own Jack London with a Master’s Degree in Life
By Ashley M. Halligan | Photography Courtesy of Yukon Yates
An adventurer, pilot, gold prospector, trapper and avid fisher, inventor, documentarist, World War II veteran and a handful of things I’ve not yet mentioned, Walter “Yukon” Yates almost seems a fictional character imagined by the likes of Hemingway himself. An incredible man, with nearly nine decades of life under his worn, rugged, leather belt, Yates is brimming with stories that adventure writers dream of. Although, Yates happens to be an adventure author, too.
