“This is America’s greatest untold story.” – Executive producer and narrator Robert Redford
As a fan of music documentaries this is one that I’ve been waiting for after I first heard about it. If you haven’t heard… tonight on PBS an epic music documentary finally will premier. It’s called ‘American Epic’ and from what I can tell it’s basically a love letter to American music. It’s a sweeping multi-media project that rediscovers a forgotten era in American history and brings it forward to the modern day.
In THE AMERICAN EPIC SESSIONS, the team has reassembled the very first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s, and invited Jack White and T Bone Burnett to produce an album of recordings by twenty of today’s greatest artists. In this beautifully filmed musical feature, these artists are given the chance to pass through the portal that brought the world into the modern era.
Engineer Nicholas Bergh has reassembled this recording system from original parts and it is now the only one left in the world. The system consists of a single microphone, a towering six-foot amplifier rack, and a live record-cutting lathe, powered by a weight-driven pulley system of clockwork gears. The musicians have roughly three minutes to record their song direct to disc before the weight hits the floor. In the 1920s, they called this “catching lightning in a bottle.” All the musical performances in this film are live. The audio you hear is taken directly from the discs they were recorded to, with no editing or enhancements.
The documentary is jam packed with some of today’s finest musicians. It features: Alabama Shakes, The Americans, Ana Gabriel, Ashley Monroe, The Avett Brothers, Beck, Bettye LaVette, Bobby Ingano, Elton John, Frank Fairfield, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, Los Lobos, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Nas, Pokey LaFarge, Raphael Saadiq, Rhiannon Giddens, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Taj Mahal, Jack White, and Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.
Look below for more info about the project and to watch a preview…
I do hope you enjoy it as much as I know I will!
-Matt@1063RL
Premieres May 16 on PBS in the US and May on BBC in the UK
Tune in to PBS tonight at 9|8c to watch the first episode of American Epic! Learn more: to.pbs.org/2pGG4TL
Directed by Bernard MacMahon
Created by Allison McGourty, Duke Erikson and Bernard MacMahon
Supervising Editor Dan Gitlin
Executive Produced by T Bone Burnett, Robert Redford and Jack White
Produced by Adam Block, Bill Holderman, Allison McGourty, Duke Erikson and Bernard MacMahon
Broadcast includes a three-part historical documentary and The American Epic Sessions, a feature-length film starring Jack White, Taj Mahal, Elton John, Nas, Beck, Rhiannon Giddens, Ana Gabriel, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Steve Martin, Alabama Shakes and more
Companion Soundtrack, 100-Song Box Set, and other music products to be released by Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings and Columbia Records, and Third Man Records on May 12th
Companion book to be released by Touchstone on May 2nd
https://www.americanepic.com/
https://thirdmanrecords.com/
http://www.legacyrecordings.com/
http://www.columbiarecords.com/