THE FILM
Rebirth of the Blues is an independent feature documentary exploring a striking paradox in American music: while the blues has largely receded from mainstream American culture, its musical language became a foundation for generations of rock, soul and popular music heard around the world.
Traveling through Mississippi, Tennessee, Chicago and beyond, the film brings together the artists, descendants, historians, musicians and places that carry this remarkable musical legacy.
If the blues never really disappeared from our music, what happened to the blues itself?
And more importantly—where does it go next?
THE STORY
Rebirth of the Blues begins close to the source—in the juke joints, porches, communities and musical families where distinctive American blues traditions were born and where much of that music still lives.
From North Mississippi Hill Country blues and the Bentonia tradition to the electric blues of Chicago, we are documenting the people, places and musical bloodlines that created the music and the generations carrying it forward.
But the story doesn't end there.
The blues traveled far beyond its origins. Its sound crossed geographic, racial and cultural boundaries and profoundly influenced musicians throughout America, Britain and the rest of the world. Musical ideas born in small Southern communities eventually filled arenas and stadiums and became embedded in the vocabulary of modern popular music.
Rebirth of the Blues follows that journey—from the people who inherited these traditions directly to the generations of artists who introduced their musical language to audiences around the world.
THE ROOTS
Born from the African American experience, the blues became both a cultural voice and a musical language that would profoundly influence American music and ultimately music around the world.
THE DECLINE
As America changed, so did its communities, audiences and music. Traditional blues gradually receded from mainstream American culture even as the music it inspired became more popular than ever.
Why?
THE REBIRTH
Today, descendants, torchbearers and a new generation of musicians continue to carry the blues forward.
The question isn't simply whether the blues needs preserving.
It's what the blues becomes next.
ALREADY FILMED
Duwayne Burnside
Son of R.L. Burnside and a contemporary carrier of the North Mississippi Hill Country blues tradition.Robert Kimbrough
Son of Junior Kimbrough and creator of the Cotton Patch Soul Blues style.Jimmy “Duck” Holmes
Acclaimed Bentonia blues musician and owner of the historic Blue Front Café in Bentonia, Mississippi.Danny Blew
Blues musician and performer contributing a contemporary perspective on the music and its continuing evolution.
CONFIRMED UPCOMING INTERVIEWS
Dr. Adam Gussow
Blues scholar, musician, author and professor at the University of Mississippi.Dr. David Evans
Internationally recognized blues scholar, ethnomusicologist and professor emeritus at the University of Memphis.Mary Lane
Veteran Chicago blues singer whose career connects the Mississippi blues tradition with Chicago's electric blues legacy.Mississippi Rose
Chicago blues artist carrying the tradition forward for contemporary audiences.
Additional artists, musicians, historians and cultural figures are being interviewed as production continues.
FROM THE ROOTS TO THE WORLD
The documentary follows three interconnected generations:
The Originators
The artists and communities that created distinctive American blues traditions.
The Torchbearers
Their children, protégés and contemporary musicians keeping those traditions alive.
The Next Generation
Artists absorbing, reinventing and carrying the musical language of the blues into the future.
Alongside them are the musicians who helped carry the blues far beyond its geographic origins.
That journey is essential to understanding the paradox at the heart of Rebirth of the Blues: a musical form can fade from mainstream attention while its DNA remains almost everywhere.
WE ARE SEEKING INTERVIEWS & COLLABORATION WITH
Legendary Artists
Contemporary Musicians
Historians & Scholars
Blues Families & Legacy Keepers
Record Labels & Music Industry
Festivals & Cultural Institutions
Archives & Music Collections
WHY NOW?
The blues doesn't need a museum.
It needs an audience.
As the generation closest to many of the great blues originators grows older, there is an increasingly important opportunity to document their stories, preserve their firsthand connections and introduce this music to audiences who may already love its descendants without realizing where that sound came from.
Rebirth of the Blues isn't intended simply to commemorate what the music was.
We are interested in what it still is—and what it can become.
CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION
Rebirth of the Blues is an independent feature documentary currently in production, with principal filming underway across Mississippi, Tennessee and Chicago.
The production continues to document artists, descendants, scholars and cultural institutions while expanding the story from the blues' American roots to its worldwide influence.
“The blues is the roots, the trunk, and the branches of almost everything.”
— B.B. King
CROSSROADS BLUES MEDIA
Where Legends & New Voices Meet.
Richard DiMassimo
Founder and CEO
Crossroads Blues Media
rick@crossroadsbluesmedia.com
+1 (571) 455.4102
crossroadsbluesmedia.com
