Regarded as a "lost masterpiece," and described as "the soundtrack to a nervous breakdown," the material from Third/Sister Lovers was first played live and fully orchestrated in December 2010, when two dozen musicians performed it at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, North Carolina.
Fry agreed to make some of the original multitracks available so that the written music could be accurately rewritten, and the unwritten parts deciphered, and, after speaking to Stephens—who then managed Ardent Studios—Stamey planned a trip to discuss the project with the reconfigured Big Star, who were rehearsing for a SXSW performance.
The inaugural performance of Big Star's Third took place on December 10 at the Cat's Cradle, with Stephens on drums, Mills on bass, and Easter and Stamey on guitar.
Guest vocalists and musicians have included Ken Stringfellow, The Bangles, Jon Auer, Peter Buck, Pat Sansone, Dean Wareham, Cat Power, Kurt Vile, Jason Falkner, Matthew Sweet, Norman Blake, Ira Kaplan, Michael Stipe, Aimee Mann, Robyn Hitchcock, Ray Davies, Van Dyke Parks, Django Haskins, Pete Yorn, Tommy Keene, Skylar Gudasz and Brett Harris.
"[7] Rolling Stone wrote that the album was performed to "loving effect, with a striking fidelity to the 1974 arrangements and weirdness,"[8] and MTV described a New York show as "inspired and imperfect, like the music on which it was based.