Banjoes, Fiddles & Riverboats: John Hartford and the General Jackson

Examine the history of bluegrass music, from its origins to its eventual worldwide popularity, and hear from dozens of musicians who explain the ways bluegrass music transcends generational, cultural and geographic boundaries.

Despite her mother's objections, the naive young daughter of a show boat captain is thrust into the limelight as the company's new leading lady.

Humorist Roy Blount Jr. takes viewers on a journey down the Mississippi River, showcasing everything from areas with spectacularly beautiful scenery to ugly and dangerously polluted stretches bordered by industrial development.

In a small Southern town, a plantation owner is duped into thinking a thief is a kind stranger. To repay the stranger for stopping a robbery, the plantation owner invites him to his home to meet his daughter.

Chronicles the Mississippi voter registration drive from 1961-1964.

A young pacifist after refusing on principle to defend her sweetheart's honor and being banished in disgrace, joins a riverboat troupe as a singer, acquires a reputation as a crackshot after a saloon brawl in which the villain of the piece accidentally kills himself with his own gun, falls in love with his former fianceé's sister and finally bullies an apprehensive family into accepting him.

Over 2000 Union soldiers, passengers and crew were crammed aboard the steamboat Sultana, licensed to carry 376. Graft, greed, overcrowding, a poorly maintained boat, and the Mississippi River was swollen with spring snowmelt conspired together to create a disaster. On April 27, 1865, the boat’s boilers exploded, causing the worst maritime disaster in US history.

Indie folk heroes Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Tennessee’s Old Crow Medicine Show, and Britain’s acclaimed Mumford & Sons, climbed aboard a beautiful vintage train in California, setting out for New Orleans, Louisiana on a “tour of dreams”. The resulting film from this journey is nothing short of magical. Part road movie and part concert film, BIG EASY EXPRESS bears witness to the birth of a new musical era. With poignancy and beauty, Malloy documents these incredible musicians as they ride the rails and wow the crowds, from Oakland… to New Orleans.

This short Depression-era documentary describes the importance of the Mississippi River to the United States and laments the environmental destruction committed in the name of progress, particularly farming and timber practices and their impact on impoverished farmers.

The story of Bobby and Sonny Osborne, better known as The Osborne Brothers, one of the most successful bluegrass groups of all time. Born in Hyden, Kentucky, they achieved world wide recognition with their 1967 single, “Rocky Top.”

Join the Grammy Award winner and his band for a one-of-a-kind concert honoring the birthplace of Bluegrass. One of music’s top artists across all genres, Strings reveres acoustic music while pushing it forward into new spaces through his incredible live shows. Recorded on February 26, 2023 at the historic Ryman, Strings celebrates the traditional bluegrass songs that shaped him as a musician.

An intimate portrait of the acclaimed North Carolina band The Avett Brothers, charting their decade-and-a- half rise, while chronicling their present-day collaboration with famed producer Rick Rubin on the multi-Grammy-nominated album “True Sadness.”

The life and times of The Carter Family, one of the earliest and most-influential group in American country and roots music.

Fifty years later, and he's still rattlin' the Devil's cage. Charlie Louvin can walk through a crowded mall and not attract attention. But it shouldn't be that way; the humble 83-year-old musician in the cowboy hat and jeans is a true American hero. To start, 50 years ago he and his brother recorded "Satan is Real," an album that shook up the music business. And the life he lived thereafter was pretty radical, too, from his military service to his country to his 61-year marriage to his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry. On Friday, December 3, 2010 at the fooBAR in Nashville, we caught Charlie Louvin on stage, making music for his fans, celebrating the anniversary of that famous album. And we filmed the night for history's sake. This is the tribute he so richly deserves.

Tar Steam Princess Armada travels along Lake Saimaa to St. Petersburg and back during the years of Russian rule over Finland. The ship's crew gets tired of their sophisticated coffee maker and replaces her with Roma girl Veera, who has escaped from an arranged marriage. On the way back, mysterious passengers appear on the ship.

The Rev. Jeff Mosier (Blueground Undergrass) was contracted by Phish in the Fall of 1994, to help them learn Bluegrass. They flew him to Michigan and Mike Gordon picked him up in a limo, and they had their first lesson on 11/14/1994, same night as Grand Rapids.

Fronted by one of the most accomplished banjo players of his time, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones are captured live in concert on Live at the Quick. The versatile band performs just over a dozen songs including such radically different compositions as "Amazing Grace," "Big Country," "Hoedown," and the prelude from a Bach violin concerto.

A powerful documentary starring Morgan Freeman about the genesis of The Blues in the South and the music spreading around the world. Morgan Freeman shares his story of his experience of growing up in Clarksdale, Mississippi and his love for the Blues.

The best team never to win the College World Series? It might have been the 1985 Mississippi State Bulldogs, who produced four Major League Baseball All-Stars. Two of them, Bobby Thigpen and Jeff Brantley, became Relievers of the Year, while the other two, Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro, formed the imposing one-two hitting punch known as "Thunder and Lightning." The brash and bold Clark was born in New Orleans, the son of a pool hustler, while the soft-spoken and shy Palmeiro was a son of Cuban immigrants who did his talking at the plate. As teammates at Mississippi State, they nearly propelled the Bulldogs to a College World Series title. Thirty years later, director Rory Karpf revisits those fabled Bulldogs, tracks the complicated relationship between Clark and Palmeiro, and brings closure to men who should be remembered for what they did, and not for what they didn't do.

There are only a few Bluegrass Boys still around that played with the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe. Peter Rowan was a bluegrass boy in the 1960's for only a short time, but Bill's influence and musical knowledge still resonates with Peter. Even as he branched out into his own music after leaving Bill's band, his bluegrass roots were never far away. This portrait of Peter expands beyond his music to his artistic and spiritual endeavors spanning four decades giving the viewer an in-depth look at a true legend within our Americana musical history. His lyrical quality and melodies are memorable; influencing the next generation of musicians, sharing what Bill taught him and what he has learned being a troubadour traveling the world.