NEED TO KNOW
- William Beckmann recalled filming his “Lonely Over You” music video in a non-air conditioned warehouse in Austin, Texas
- The ’70s-themed wardrobe featuring endless long sleeves was less than forgiving for the heat wave Beckmann and his band were experiencing during the filming
- The bilingual country music artist released his latest album Friday and is kicking off his U.S. tour in Texas
William Beckmann is recalling his steamy afternoon filming the music video for “Lonely Over You.”
The bilingual country artist, 29, spoke about the filming of the clip for his latest single, premiering exclusively on PEOPLE Friday, June 20. Beckmann said he received inspiration for the video from King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and older rock and roll country albums.
“It’s got a lot of the old stuff, but packaged in a new kind of way,” the rising country star said about his latest single from his Whiskey Lies and Alibis album.
The video was shot inside of a warehouse in Austin, Texas. The day of the dress rehearsal, Beckmann said their team was told that the air conditioning was broken, but that it would be fixed by the time they started filming the following day.
The costume selection for the Elvis-inspired video focused heavily on long-sleeved buttondowns, suit jackets and turtlenecks that weren’t exactly conducive to the Texas heat, Beckmann jokingly told PEOPLE. “It was so hot in there. Everybody was sweating!”
The day of the filming, the promised working air conditioning was nowhere to be found.
The music video inspired by Presley’s comeback special featuring early ’70s-themed attire made for a muggy afternoon in the sweltering warehouse.
“My drummer had a turtleneck sweater on, and he was profusely sweating,” Beckmann recalled. “We were having to make sure that we weren’t sweating through our clothes so that we wouldn’t ruin the takes.”
The a/c eventually came on, providing the group with some much-anticipated relief and allowing them to be a “bit more comfortable” and have some fun while filming.
“I’m glad it got figured out, because that would have been miserable,” Beckmann told PEOPLE.
Staying true to the music video’s Presley and Orbison inspiration, “Lonely Over You” was shot on film — which was a difficult task, Beckmann admitted. The behind-the-scenes crew was able to watch everything in real-time, but they weren’t able to play it back for the musicians on set.
“They had to take iPhone videos of the monitor as we were doing it,” Beckmann said, explaining it was so that he and the band could see anything they needed to fix while filming.
Nonetheless, “we had a really good time shooting it, and I think it’s going to be really, really cool for the fans to see it,” Beckmann said.
Beckmann wrote the song with the help of songwriters Jessie Jo Dillon and music producer Jesse Frasure.
“Lonely Over You” also encompassed a new opportunity for growth and musical exploration. “This song is almost a new sound that I’ve been able to discover about myself,” Beckmann explained.
Beckmann’s album Whiskey Lies and Alibis is available now. He’s playing many dates around his home state the rest of this month before heading to Tennessee – tickets are available here.
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