The Civic Lubbock, Inc. Board is pleased to announce two upcoming inductions into the West Texas Walk of Fame.  The honorees are: Jo Harvey Allen and Natalie Maines. The induction ceremony will take place at 6:00pm on Thursday, September 17 in the Lubbock High School Auditorium located at 2004 19th Street.

Jo Harvey Allen, actress, playwright, poet, and pioneer of women in radio, was born and raised in Lubbock, TX and is a Monterey High School graduate.   Her critically acclaimed plays have toured throughout the United States and Europe.  She has written and starred in off-Broadway productions of A Moment’s Hesitation (Dance Theater Workshop & The New School, NYC), Counter Angel (The New School, NYC), and As it is in Texas (St. Ann’s Church, NYC). Her other one-woman plays include Hally Lou (Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), Duckblind (Cornet Theater, Los Angeles), and Homerun (Remembrance through the Performing Arts, Austin).  Other plays, in which Allen co-wrote and starred in, include: Chippy: Diaries of a West Texas Hooker (1993, American Music Theatre Festival and Lincoln Center); Covenant (2011, Oliver Ranch Foundation); and Do You Know What Your Children Are Tonight? (1985-1987, Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC and Theatre Artaud, San Francisco). Allen co-wrote the radio play Every Three Minutes (NPR), as well as the opera Pioneer (1990, Spoleto Festival), in which she also co-starred.

Jo Harvey Allen is married to artist, singer, songwriter and Walk of Fame inductee Terry Allen and has starred in his radio and musical theater pieces, including Juarez (1990), The Embrace…Advanced to Fury (2001), Anti-Rabbit Bleeder: A Biography (1983), Reunion (1992), Warboy (2002-2007), and Ghost Ship Rodez (2011).  Allen hosted the radio show Rawhide and Roses (KPPC AM/FM-Pasadena, 1965-1969).  She is also the author of Cheek to Cheek (1983), a collection of poems and Homerun (2012).  Her art has been exhibited internationally, most recently at the Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco (2015).

Allen has appeared in numerous films including co-starring roles in David Byrne’s cult classic True Stories (1986), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991, directed by John Avnet), The Client (1994, directed by Joel Schumacher).  Her most recent films include an appearance in The Homesman (Cannes 2014, directed by Tommy Lee Jones) and her starring role as “Mama” in Rosalyn Rosen’s award-winning independent film The Other Kind (2015, Los Angeles Film Review Honorable Mention for Best Feature Film). She has been the recipient of Art Matters and NEA fellowships. Jo Harvey and her husband Terry have two sons, three grandsons, and live and work in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Natalie Maines, singer-songwriter and musician, was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas.  She is the daughter of musician, country music producer and past Walk of Fame inductee Lloyd Maines and his wife, Tina.  Natalie attended school at Iles Elementary, O.L. Slaton Junior High School, and graduated in 1992 from Lubbock High School where she had participated in the school choir. Following high school, Natalie attended West Texas State, South Plains College, Texas Tech and went to Berklee School of Music on a vocal scholarship.

Natalie’s first professional recording was at eleven years old for Dave Hickey.  Dave paid her $20.00 to sing like a baby Vampire. In late 1995, at age 21, Natalie was recruited to join the all-female band, The Dixie Chicks, as the lead vocalist.

The band became a multi-platinum selling act in North America, Europe and Australia, selling more than $100 million in ticket sales.  They are one of a mere handful of acts with multiple albums achieving “diamond” status (sales over 10 million copies) – both Wide Open Spaces and FLY hit that stratospheric landmark. The Dixie Chicks have sold over 40 million CD’s and are the biggest selling female band of all time in the United States.

Maines co-wrote four tracks for the Dixie Chicks’ first three albums, including the Billboard Hot Country Singles number one hit “Without You” on Fly.  She was the primary songwriter on all 14 tracks of the band’s 2006 album, Taking the Long Way, which peaked on the Billboard Top 200 Chart at No. 1.
Over the years, the Dixie Chicks earned numerous awards for their music, including ten (10) Country Music Association awards and thirteen (13) Grammy awards.

Natalie has collaborated with other musical artists, both as a member of the Dixie Chicks and an individual singer. Those artists include Sheryl Crowe, Pat Green, Charlie Robinson, Yellowcard, Stevie Nicks, Patty Griffin, Neil Diamond, Eddie Vedder, Pete Yorn, Robert Earl Keen, and Ben Harper.

In May of 2013, Natalie released her solo album, Mother. In 2016, the Dixie Chicks will be doing some touring in Europe and the United States to celebrate their 20th Anniversary together.
West Texas Walk of Fame

In the late 70s, Larry Corbin, Jerry Coleman, and Waylon Jennings initiated the idea of an award for famous artists and musicians from the West Texas region.  In 1983, Civic Lubbock, Inc. began their tenure as the custodians of the “Walk of Fame” with the induction of Mac Davis.  “The West Texas Walk of Fame was established to honor those individuals who have devoted a significant part of their lives to the development and/or gained recognition for their body of work in the promotion or production of arts, music and/or entertainment, and who have an affiliation to Lubbock and the West Texas Area.”

(Press release from the City of Lubbock)