Fallon Tonight Stuns at UT Austin

by Daniel Ramirez on November 7, 2019 in Entertainment, Art, Film, Music, Theatre, Lifestyle, Fashion, Sports, Living Texas, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth,
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Earlier this week, Jimmy Fallon, host of the Tonight Show, fell back into the fountain waters on the University of Texas at Austin campus. If you’re from Austin or went to UT, you know the fountain. It’s the one you’re not allowed to enter. But enter Fallon did, and, if his Thursday afternoon taping of his nightly show is any indication, it might as well be a baptism.

Fallon’s Austin-based taping, a first for his

Fallon's set design is on full impressive display
The set design surpassed any stage production, including Broadway, for Fallon at UT.

show and a potential precursor of future tours, judging by the reception, featured Austin’s favorite son, Matthew McConaughey, Texas’ sweetheart couple, Chip and Joanna Gaines, and a musical performance from Gucci Mane. But, the unnamed final guest was perhaps the most incredible, and certainly was the most surprising. The city of Austin and the students of UT were as big a feature of Fallon’s show as any of the guests or regulars.

Before a jam-packed Bass Hall, filled by a lottery to UT students, Fallon showed that, after a mere few days in the city, he has been assimilated by the city, the state, and the school. The introduction is nothing short of a Super Bowl level production, complete with the most impressive pyrotechnics display Bass Hall has ever seen (and we’ve witnessed Disney productions in the spacious auditorium. Complete with marching band, spirits squads, fireworks and confetti, as well as a few fun surprises, the Lone Star State is well represented, and the burnt orange nation that calls the 40 acres home, even more so.

An Ocean of Burnt Orange Welcomes Jimmy Fallon to Texas.
An Ocean of Burnt Orange Welcomes Jimmy Fallon to Texas. Photo Credit: Andrew Lipovsky/NBC
THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON — Episode 1152 — Pictured: (l-r) Actor Matthew McConaughey during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on November 7, 2019 — (Photo by: Andrew Lipovsky/NBC)
THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON — Episode 1152 — Pictured: (l-r) Television personalities Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on November 7, 2019 — (Photo by: Andrew Lipovsky/NBC)
THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON — Episode 1152 — Pictured: Musical guest Gucci Mane performs on November 7, 2019 — (Photo by: Andrew Lipovsky/NBC)

We can’t tell you everything that happens, but from the crowd reaction and the fact that no one in attendance, including Fallon himself, wanted the event to end, it will be well worth your time, as Fallon conducts himself with humor, humility, kindness, and largesse – all in keeping with the traits of a good Texan. For his efforts and this show, Fallon is undoubtedly an honorary one.