SIU Carbondale to host film, discussion on country music’s origins Sept. 6

August 30, 2024

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. - A documentary about country music's origins that is the "authentic voice of working-class Americans" and far different from today's polished musical performances will be screened at Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Browne Auditorium on Sept. 6.

Filmmakers Jesse Drew and Glenda Drew will discuss and present their film "Open Country" at 7 p.m. in Parkinson, Room 124. Local singer-songwriter Hugh DeNeal shares the bill with a live set. The event is free and open to the public.

The filmmakers use archival clips, interviews with country music artists, historians and writers, performances and animation to "reposition country music into its rightful place as a people's music."

Jesse Drew, a professor of cinema and digital media at the University of California at Davis, said he and his co-producer, Glenda Drew, will share their personal stories "involving our long-term interest in country music." Glenda Drew is a professor of design at UC Davis.

Interest in making a documentary on country music was largely "young people saying how they listened to country music and our reaction being, 'Uh, that's not country music; that's just "Nashville Pop" that doesn't have much connection to real country music,'" Jesse Drew said.

Myriad of interviews

Among the many interview subjects are Billy Bragg, Keith Cary, Hazel Dickens, Hilary Dirlam, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Toshio Hirano, Roger Knox, Jon Langford, Utah Phillips and Pete Seeger.

"Every interview was very different, with many perspectives revealed," Jesse Drew said.

Drew added that he hopes the audience will have a "new appreciation of country music and an understanding of how it is the authentic voice of working-class Americans."

While on campus, the Drews will meet with media arts students "to discuss approaches to doing work that has social impact," said Sarah Lewison, a professor in the SIU Carbondale School of Media Arts.

Film ties into local music

Lewison said she believes the film's general message is that corporate media control is consolidated, "stories and songs about the struggles of the working classes are overshadowed by noncontroversial music that does not challenge the harshness of capitalism."

"The film will reveal the source of country music as people who did not have much, who were disconsidered and discriminated against, not unlike people in Southern Illinois," Lewison said. "The Southern Illinois area is a hub for all kinds of noncommercial country music, and I feel this film will elevate the importance of the music people are making here."

DeNeal's performance will serve as an example of that music, Lewison said.

The program is sponsored by the SIU Carbondale Fine Arts Activity Fee, the School of Media Arts and the School of Music. For more information on the event, contact Lewison at [email protected].

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