“Country Music: Live At The Ryman, A Concert Celebrating The Film By Ken Burns,” features many of the artists who appear in the upcoming Ken Burns documentary COUNTRY MUSIC.
The concert, which took place at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday, March 27, 2019, was hosted by Ken Burns and featured performances by Dierks Bentley, Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, Rhiannon Giddens, Vince Gill, Kathy Mattea, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Asleep at the Wheel, Holly Williams and Dwight Yoakam.
In addition to live performances of iconic country songs, select clips from the film were highlighted throughout the evening.
The concert, which was shot live, explores country’s roots while also highlighting the diversity of musical styles and artists that fall under the country music label.
Paying tribute to the genre’s eclectic, layered history, “Country Music: Live At The Ryman” provides viewers with a taste of everything from western swing and bluegrass to honkytonk and cowboy music.
“In country music, we found a love for storytelling that translates everyday experiences into universal truths that we can all identify with,” said Ken Burns. “We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to bring film excerpts of COUNTRY MUSIC to those areas that gave birth to this most American of art forms. Ryman Auditorium, the Mother Church of Country Music, is a character itself in our film, and hosting this concert there was a dream come true for us. We are thrilled to now share this special evening with PBS viewers across the country.”
"All of the talented artists who performed at the Ryman also appear in our film, as commentators or as characters or as both," Dayton Duncan said. "But on this night, they sang and played the music they love, brought the crowd to tears and to their feet, and in one concert took us all on an unforgettable journey across time, one song at a time."
Audience members dubbed the evening “epic,” and Rolling Stone found it full of “remarkable performances.”
Highlights include Vince Gill’s “breathtaking” and “sublime” cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor and Rhiannon Giddens’ “scorching” performance of “Ruby (Are You Mad at Your Man),” and Billboard noted that Holly Williams “breathed life into” her grandfather Hank Williams Sr.’s “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”
Viewers can also look forward to “a rousing rendition” of country’s unofficial national anthem, The Carter Family’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”
Set List:
- “Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man” – Rhiannon Giddens and Ketch Secor
- “In the Jailhouse Now” – Ketch Secor
- “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” – Riders in the Sky
- “New San Antonio Rose” – Asleep at the Wheel
- “Uncle Pen” – Marty Stuart and Ricky Skaggs
- “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – Holly Williams
- “Orange Blossom Special” – Marty Stuart
- “Crazy” – Rhiannon Giddens
- “Hungry Eyes” – Dwight Yoakam
- “Streets of Bakersfield” – Dwight Yoakam and Dierks Bentley
- “Coal Miner’s Daughter” – Kathy Mattea
- “Sunday Morning Coming Down” – Larry Gatlin
- “Pancho and Lefty” – Rodney Crowell
- “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” – Dierks Bentley
- “I Will Always Love You” – Vince Gill
- “Don’t Get Above Your Raisin'” – Ricky Skaggs
- “I Still Miss Someone” – Rosanne Cash
- “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” – Full Cast
Watch On Your Schedule:
This full episode is available to stream on demand with KPBS Passport, video streaming for members supporting KPBS at $60 or more yearly, using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.
Join The Conversation:
Ken Burns is on Facebook, and you can follow @KenBurns on Twitter.
Credits:
The event was produced by Opry Entertainment and Florentine Films, and made possible thanks to the support from Bank of America, Burns’s corporate underwriter.
