If you’re looking for the next George Clooney, you may find him picking a five-string banjo on stage this summer at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival — and on film soon in the newest T Bone Burnett project, an epic look at the state of the art of bluegrass music from the perspective of one of the oldest independent music festivals in the country.
Of course, we’re talking vintage, Soggy-Bottom-Boys Clooney, from his work in the Cohen Brothers film, “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” Burnett won four of his 15 Grammy awards for his work producing the music for that film and the subsequent concert movie, “Down from the Mountain.” Vying to fill Clooney’s shoes will be the likes of Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and Sierra Hull, among others.
In an exclusive to the Daily Planet, festival director Craig Ferguson and the documentary’s producer, Cindy Wilson, confirmed what they’ve been aching to share — that Planet Bluegrass will partner with T Bone Burnett to create a television/streaming documentary series focused on the Telluride Bluegrass Festival’s pivot from its first half century to the next one. Burnett will direct the project, using footage from last year’s 50th festival, and will come to town this summer to shoot additional footage, including interviews, rehearsals, and performances.
“It is pretty cool we’re bringing T Bone to town to look at bluegrass through the prism of our little festival,” Ferguson told the Daily Planet.
Wilson has been affiliated with the “little” festival for over 40 years and has watched it evolve into ground zero for progressive bluegrass music, nurturing the fusion of traditional Americana music with a rock-world-jazz-jam sensibility that has brought the genre to new heights while shattering conventions.
Currently a board member of Planet Bluegrass, Wilson pre-dates Ferguson’s stewardship, having started as an intern with founding festival director Fred Shellman in 1983. When it came to telling the story of a half century of Telluride Bluegrass, she loved the idea of putting the film in the hands of legendary producer T Bone Burnett.
“We started talking to different potential directors, and a friend of the festival introduced us to T Bone,” Wilson said of the tip from Audible founder and part-time Telluride resident Don Katz. “With T Bone’s history in Americana music and bluegrass, it was like, ‘Wow, if T Bone could be interested, this would be really huge.’”
Burnett has won Grammy awards and an Oscar for his work on projects like “Cold Mountain,” “Walk the Line,” “Crazy Heart,” and “Raising Sand” with Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, and he’s worked with rock and Americana music legends ranging from Elvis Costello, Greg Allman, Elton John and Leon Russell to John Hartford, Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris, and Gillian Welch.
Wilson spent a couple weeks with Burnett in Nashville earlier this year, watching footage from the 50th edition of Telluride Bluegrass with him and getting him familiar with the festival.
“He said, ‘I want to direct this – I think there's a real story here,’” Wilson recalled. “He's very excited about what's happening in bluegrass music right now, with the renaissance (driven by musicians like) Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle — all these younger players, Sierra Hull, Sierra Ferrell — and a lot of female, younger players.
“He's also really inspired by the guys in the House Band and Sam and Jerry and Bela and all those guys and the role that they played in the evolution of the music,” Wilson continued. “He's really excited about giving them a little bit more of a forum and just telling the story of bluegrass music, where it's at, where it came from, where it's going, through the prism of the festival.”
The project is still in its early stages, but Wilson and Burnett agree it’s best suited for a multi-part docuseries for television, or for a streaming service.
“The intention is to make the series very much about the music and have a lot of performance footage in it, and that's why we're going to be shooting again this year,” Wilson said, noting that to emphasize the live performances as Burnett intends, they need to push beyond the limitations of a single feature film. “Just to focus on the great quality of the performances. Like the Punch Brothers set last year was mind blowing, and fortunately we captured that on film. Our intention this year is to capture a lot of great performances.”
In addition to live performances, Wilson is excited by what they’ve captured on film from rehearsals and “backstage stuff.” Though they’re typically all together only in Telluride, this year, the all-star House Band got together with Burnett a couple times, including to film a rehearsal at the end of May in Nashville, with Burnett documenting the process of them working a set up for solstice weekend.
“T Bone’s worked with Stewart, Jerry, and Edgar, multiple times,” Wilson said. “He's buds with all these guys. And he's also working with Billy Strings on a couple projects, and he's worked with Molly Tuttle. He's very familiar with all these guys.”
The House Band, T Bone, and Wilson all caught Billy Strings’ shows in Nashville earlier this year, with Bela sitting in one night and Bryan and Sam sitting in the next while Burnett soaked it all in from backstage.
Wilson attributes that jam-sensibility in part to Telluride’s legacy — and with Sam Bush celebrating his 50th appearance at Bluegrass this summer and Strings pairing with Chris Thile to open the festival Thursday morning, the set-crashing and cross pollination should be at a peak.
“It's kind of cool, that intergenerational (perspective),” Wilson said. “Sam is a huge influence on Billy, so he gets him up on stage, and it's just really kind of cool. It’s like Telluride — people sit in with people.”
It’s something everyone who’s experienced Bluegrass understands in their bones, and with Burnett at the helm of this new project, the story of this “little” festival should reach an audience well beyond the box canyon’s confines, delivering the “only in Telluride” effect to homes everywhere.
