‘David Byrne’s American Utopia’ special, Bee Gees doc win awards at 2021 Creative Arts Emmys

David Lee/HBO

David Byrne’s American Utopia, the Spike Lee-directed TV special presenting former Talking Heads singer David Byrne‘s critically acclaimed Broadway show of the same name, won two awards Sunday at the 2021 Creative Arts Emmys ceremony.

The program was a winner in two technical categories — Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special.

The program, which premiered on HBO and HBO Max in October 2020, also will vie a trophy in the Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) category at the 2021 primetime Emmy Awards, airing live this Sunday, September 19, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

The American Utopia show features Byrne accompanied by 11 musicians, dancers and singers who move freely about an almost-empty stage. The production includes monologues by David connecting performances of songs from his 2018 American Utopia album, as well as Talking Heads songs and several other Byrne solo tunes.

Another music-themed winner at the Creative Arts Emmys was the documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, which won the honor for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera).  The doc premiered on on HBO and HBO Max in December 2020.

For more details about the Creative Arts Emmys, visit Emmys.com.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.