Steve Earle

Peter Case has lived a life of constant change, soaring highs, and soul-crushing lows. This film walks a million miles in the shoes of one of America’s last great troubadours.

A documentary telling the story of Joe Cocker's historic "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" tour through the lens of the Tedeschi Trucks Band's reunion of the Mad Dogs.

Follow Guy Clark, Susanna Clark, and Townes Van Zandt as they rise from obscurity to reverence: Guy, the Pancho to Van Zandt’s Lefty, struggling to establish himself as the Dylan Thomas of American music, while Susanna pens hit songs and paints album covers for top artists, and Townes spirals in self-destruction after writing some of Americana music’s most enduring and influential ballads.

Judy Collins burst onto the music scene in the 1960s and has not stopped since. Along with Shawn Colvin, Steve Earle, and Jimmy Webb, Collins leads a candid conversation about the larger community of singer-songwriters who continue to shape the musical landscape decades into their respective careers. Rounding out the afternoon, Tony Award winner Alan Cumming joins Collins to discuss musical theater icon Stephen Sondheim, who penned “Send In the Clowns”—arguably the biggest hit of Collins’ career.

Joined by his long-running five-piece band The Dukes, Earle hit the stage kicking off his Guy Clark tribute with the classic “Dublin Blues,” receiving exuberant cheers at the opening line “Wish I was in Austin.” Earle immediately went into “Texas 1947,” featuring the expert pedal steel work of Ricky Ray Jackson. After sharing a short story about how he met Guy Clark while hitchhiking around Texas, the band performed the ode to the Hill Country honky-tonkin’ queen “Rita Ballou,” featuring Eleanor Whitmore on violin. Following a tale about Clark’s loyalty to Texas BBQ over Tennessee style BBQ, Joe Ely joined Earle on stage to perform “Desperadoes Waiting For a Train” – two Texas music legends trading verses on one of the state’s most influential songs.

Discover the origin stories of megastars like Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift while following emerging singer-songwriters as they chase their dreams inside The Bluebird Cafe, Nashville’s accidental landmark that has altered the course of music history.

Steve Earle is an American rock, country and folk singer-songwriter, record producer, author and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. His breakthrough album was the 1986 album Guitar Town. Since then Earle has released 15 other studio albums and received three Grammy awards. In this episode, we reveal the unique man behind the music.

The birth of Country music in the true birthplace before it went to Nashville. The "hillbilly" recordings that opened the doors to birth country and rock and roll with Southern Appalachian roots with European and African marginalized and impoverished groups. These music sessions helped people survive the depression and developed rock for future American struggles, rocking the baby to the modern era.

A once-in-a-lifetime concert celebrating 15 million record-selling 13 time Grammy Award-winning, three-time CMA Award recipient, and two-time Americana Awards winner, Emmylou Harris. Recorded at the famous DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. January 10, 2015.

When a young man, down on his luck, learns about his father's killer's parole, it sets off a cat and mouse chase through the hostile desert, searching for a hidden family inheritance.

A young, recently-released and unpredictable ex-con with bad luck, and a sexy, listless girl-next-door with a troubled family, become trapped in a downward spiral of crime and obsessive love, as they try to ditch their dead-end town for a better life.

The story behind Johnny Cash's lost Native American-themed concept album and his unique collaboration with folk artist Peter Lafarge. The film also chronicles the reimagining of Cash's highly controversial 1964 record on its 50th anniversary, as recorded at Nashville's historic Sound Emporium Studios. Based on Antonino D'Ambrosio's book "A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears."

In a rural Appalachian community haunted by the legacy of a Civil War massacre, a rebellious young man struggles to escape the violence that would bind him to the past.

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.

Musicwood is an adventure-filled journey, a political thriller with music at its heart. An unusual band of the most famous guitar-makers in the world (Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars, Chris Martin of Martin Guitars and Dave Berryman of Gibson Guitars) travel together into the heart of one of the most primeval rainforests on the planet. Their mission: to negotiate with Native American loggers and change the way this forest is logged before it’s too late for acoustic guitars.

When the bespectacled alt-country legend took to the stage at The Factory Theatre in Sydney, Australia armed with just his bouzouki and larger-than-life attitude, every ear in the place was in the palm of his hand right from the get-go. Planting himself by the microphone in front of a hushed crowd, Earle kicked off proceedings with the sprightly ‘Waitin’ For The Sky to Fall’.

"Steve Earle & the Dukes and Duchesses" is what he calls his band by name. One Duchess is wife Allison Moorer. Her wonderfully roughened voice gave Earle's mix of country, folk, Americana and rock an additional, soulful touch. This 75-minute performance ranged from the latest album "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" to his beginnings 25 years ago with "Guitar Town" - including a few political stings in the direction of George W. Bush or oil spill cause BP, but also a declaration of love to his adopted home of New York.

An atmospheric quest film, Love Shines follows Canadian songwriter Ron Sexsmith as he embarks on a last ditch effort to achieve a 'hit'. The curtain pulls back for a rare glimpse inside the process as Sexsmith works with legendary producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Motley Crue). But will this be enough? Sexsmith must emerge with a song that achieves commercial radio play, but the journey with Rock also turns introspective.

Following folk musician Joan Baez on her extensive 2008-2009 tour, this film commemorates her career, which has spanned five decades. It includes concert and archival footage as well as interviews with such disparate colleagues, friends and admirers as Bob Dylan, Jesse Jackson and David Crosby. In addition to the music, it also touchs upon Baez's long history of global social activism.

An Ivy League professor returns home, where his pot-growing twin brother has concocted a plan to take down a local drug lord.

When Steve Earle stepped onto the Austin City Limits stage on November 12, 2000, it had been 14 years since his first appearance in 1986. In between it must've seemed like he had lived several lifetimes. In fact, in the years since, he released five albums, including his latest at the time of this recording, Transcendental Blues. Of the record, Rolling Stone wrote, "These songs weave threads that bind Ireland and the American South, rockabilly and the Beatles, folk music and muscular rock and roll."

Steve Earle's solo performance at the 2005 Montreux Festival is a charismatic triumph. Armed with just an acoustic guitar and a harmonica, he performs tracks from across his career, with an emphasis on his later output.

William Francome is a fairly typical, white middle-class guy. Typical except for the fact that he is about to embark on a journey into the dark heart of the American judicial system; the tangled world of renowned Death Row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.

During the 2004 presidential election, Michael Moore set off on a 60 city tour (mostly colleges), making stops in the 20 battleground states, to help raise voting awareness.

Michael Moore visits colleges in swing states during the 2004 election with a goal to encourage 18–29 year olds to vote.

The Old, Weird America tracks the history of the Anthology of American Folk Music from its initial compilation of 78 records from rural Americana to its 1952 release on Folkways Records, the urban folk revival of the 1960s, and its continuing influence on contemporary music.

Hal Willner's Harry Smith Project concerts in London, New York and Los Angeles celebrated the eccentric collector genius and his influential Anthology of American Folk Music. Instrumental in inspiring the urban folk revival of the 1960s, the Anthology's continuing impact on modern music is incalculable. Drawing on this legacy, these landmark shows brought together a remarkable roster of artists performing their own unique interpretations of these classic songs.

This installment in the 20th Century Masters series contains a selection of music videos from the fiercely independent country singer and songwriter Steve Earle. Fusing country with rock paid rich dividends for Steve Earle as he built a solid career on the back of an amalgamation of his two favorite genres. In the 1980s country was deeply unfashionable, so it took some guts for Earle to dust it down and provide listeners with a modern update of a sound that was considered to be way past its sell-by date. Here, five of his music videos are collected together. Among them are "Someday," "Guitar Town," "Copperhead Road," and two others.

With a vision that took him far beyond the genre of country rock, singer-songwriter Gram Parsons left his mark in gut-wrenching sentiments of country music, burning melodies typical of soul music, sweet, uplifting harmonies of gospel choirs and the hand-clapping boogie of rock and roll. Gram's daughter Polly organized this amazing gathering of his close friends and biggest fans for a Sin City tribute honoring this prince of longhair country boys. A sampling of the live performances include Six Days on the Road Sin City All Stars; Big Mouth Blues Jim Lauderdale; Devil in Disguise Jay Farrar; Sleepless Nights Lucinda Williams; Love Hurts Keith Richards & Norah Jones; Sin City Dwight Yoakam, and more, including commentaries by Polly Parsons and Shilah Morrow.

Chronicles the fascinating and often turbulent life of Townes Van Zandt.

t's the award-winning "Austin City Limits" television show -- remixed, remastered and reedited from the full original concerts that were adapted for the half-hour TV show. Steve Earle is the featured performer on this video that contains never-before-seen concert footage. Tracks include "Sweet Little '66," "Good-Bye Is All We Got Left," "Guitar Town," "Hillbilly Highway," "Good 'Ol Boy (Getting Tough)," "My Old Friend the Blues" and more.

A musical documentary film about the politically minded singer/songwriter Steve Earle.

A musical documentary film about the politically minded singer/songwriter Steve Earle.

Transcendental Blues is an album released in 2000 by Steve Earle. It features Sharon Shannon on the track "The Galway Girl". The album was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category.

A tribute to Gram Parsons, a pioneering artist in alternative country music, features performances by host John Hiatt, Sheryl Crow, the Mavericks, Emmylou Harris, Whiskeytown, Gillian Welch, Steve Earle, Chris Hillman and Margot Timmons.

In 1995, Emmylou Harris released "Wrecking Ball", which is considered to be her most experimental album. It featured songs by Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young. Harris and producer Daniel Lanois offer an inside look at the making of Emmylou's Grammy-winning album on this promotional VHS tape of the TV special, "Building the Wrecking Ball", which originally aired on PBS in December 1996.

In 1995, Emmylou Harris released "Wrecking Ball", which is considered to be her most experimental album. It featured songs by Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young. Harris and producer Daniel Lanois offer an inside look at the making of Emmylou's Grammy-winning album on this promotional VHS tape of the TV special, "Building the Wrecking Ball", which originally aired on PBS in December 1996.

The music speaks for itself in this performance documentary that highlights some of the biggest names within the country-folk scene in Texas and Tennessee during the last weeks of 1975 and the first weeks of 1976, eschewing narration and staged interviews.

The intersecting stories of twenty-four characters—from country star to wannabe to reporter to waitress—connect to the music business in Nashville, Tennessee.