Bluegrass doesn’t have to die after festival season. As an unofficial Ambassador of Bluegrass, I’ve been searching for ways to introduce bluegrass music to people that may have dismissed it as music for “old fogeys and moonshiners.” Many of these folks may never even have heard a bluegrass tune. It seems to me to be a shame to ignore an entire musical genre simply because of preconceived notions. It’s like not uncorking a fine bottle of wine because you don’t like its’ label!
So how do we get these folks to “drink in” the wonderful complexities of bluegrass music? How do we expose them to all the benefits associated with this life-affirming music of ours? Well, it may be a bit sneaky, but I think I’ve found a way: films. A bluegrass film is sort of like finding a fine wine at some small family winery. It has some quirky elements to it that I think appeals to people when they actually take the time to savor it.
Earlier this month, we had the 1st Annual Arizona Bluegrass Festival right here in Phoenix. I’d seen the success of the NCBS Bluegrass on Broadway film festival first hand and used that as an example and an inspiration. I wanted to offer another venue for filmmakers and documentarians to show their films to the general public as well as bluegrass lovers.
I have to say that I was thrilled by the response we received. The event was well attended and received nice coverage in the Arizona Republic newspaper. Several of those present were brand new to bluegrass…and that was music to my ears! It just doesn’t get any better than to share my passion for this music with someone who’s just had their first sip of vintage bluegrass. As they learned about how this music came into being; listened to clips from the likes of The Seldom Scene, David Grisman, Doyle Lawson, The Travelers and Del McCoury; and experienced the love and family atmosphere that surrounds this genre…they were changed, converted by their exposure to the genuine article.
Plans are already underway for a bigger and even better film festival in 2015. The wide appeal of a film festival helped us educate the palates of a whole new group of people that might not have been willing to attend a bluegrass music festival as their initial foray into this music. Plus films offer opportunities to do screenings: at local schools as living history events, at music/summer camps, library events, as well as association meetings during the “off” season.
And I was excited to learn that the IBMA World of Bluegrass conference will debut a Bluegrass Film Festival this year. Eight films will be offered and should provide a great opportunity for folks at the conference to see the potential impact that films have for promoting bluegrass. “The Porchlight Sessions” was one of the documentaries chosen as a feature film and I’m drooling with anticipation to see the re-edited producer’s cut!
Reprising existing documentary films like “High Lonesome – The Story of Bluegrass” or “The Legend Lives On: A Tribute to Bill Monroe” offer an inexpensive way to fill out a “flight of films” at a film festival. And there are a whole lot of films out there that have gone unnoticed for too long as well as many that are struggling to find funding to complete production.
Remember the buzz about “Blue Moon of Kentucky” back in 2012? This film is based on Richard Smith’s best-selling biography of Bill Monroe, “Can’t You Hear Me Calling.” An Academy Award winning screenplay writer and all-star cast were involved. The soundtrack has even been completed and a teaser for the film was released. Then…it just dropped off the radar. I can’t find anything about it on the Internet or through any other sources. What happened?
Another film that I had hoped would be released soon is “Last of the Breed: the Dave Evans Story” a film by Matthew Pellowski about the life and music of Dave Evans (no, not the former lead singer of AC/DC). A Kickstarter fund raising effort was held to raise money for post production, but word didn’t get out about it and, sadly, it failed to raise the required funding. I didn’t even know about the Kickstarter campaign until just a few days before the deadline. Would this film have received the support it needed if we had gotten the word out in time to the bluegrass world? I’d like to think so. I sure hate to see these movies about bluegrass gathering dust rather than praise.
Thankfully, the International Bluegrass Music Museum (IBMM) finally released their gem, “Powerful: Bill Monroe Remembered” this past June. This film had been in the works since 2003 and was originally slated for release to coincide with the celebration of Bill Monroe’s 100th birthday in 2011. But these documentaries take time…lots of it and lots of love too. (I should know, it took 11 years for me to complete “Making Music with Pioneers of Bluegrass.”) And that equates to a long wait for a return on investment for producers and other film backers.
It’s almost a “catch-22” situation. As more bluegrass films are made there will be more festivals; if there were more film festivals, then more interest would be aroused and more films would be made. But if we stretch ourselves and embrace films from Americana and Roots music and maybe even a Country music film or two, we should be able to draw larger crowds to our Bluegrass Film Festivals and maybe reach a whole nother level of music lovers.
That’s what the event promoters for the Point Music Film Festival have done. This festival is scheduled for Saturday, November 8th in San Diego and will feature 7 films about music (two bluegrass and one country) and include live performances from 4 bands. This is the first music only film festival in San Diego. Supporting events like this as well as purchasing the films themselves can ensure a fully stocked cellar for years to come. It’s sort of the equivalent to the “Field of Dreams” catchphrase, “If you film it, they will come.”
So, what’s your favorite bluegrass documentary and/or film? I’d like to know. Maybe we’ll include your suggestion at an upcoming film festival. Send me an email james@jamesreams.com and support your favorite bluegrass movie!