Nashville-based Documentary Highlights Reality of Working Musicians

The Tennessean will premiere a documentary film focusing on the reality of Nashville’s working musicians on Jan. 27 at the Belcourt Theatre. The premiere will begin at 6 p.m.

The project features the folk-rock band New Dylans and a take on the reality of working musicians in Nashville today. The Tennessean launched a blog series titled Band on the Brink in December 2014 that chronicled the day-to-day working life of the band. The band New Dylans were lauded by various media outlets and radio in the 1980s and 1990s, only to wind up broke and broken up by 1996. After an 18-year hiatus, the band reunited to begin making music in Nashville.

The Belcourt Theatre premiere will be followed by a live performance from the New Dylans, as well as a panel discussion with industry experts Chris Keaton, owner of Keaton Music Ventures; Bart Herbison, executive director of Nashville Songwriters Association International; Mark Montgomery, music and tech entrepreneur; and Charles Alexander, songwriter and entrepreneur. The panel will be moderated by The Tennessean reporter Nate Rau.

“A lot of people come to Nashville expecting to become royalty and then they end up becoming working class musicians. It’s a very ugly business, yet we’re kind of stuck in it, but if you want to do it, you have to play the game. It’s Music City, but it’s Music ‘business’ City,” says Jim Reilley of New Dylans.

Tickets for the event are now on sale on the Belcourt’s website which you can access directly from the project’s official website at tennessean.com/newdylans. Tickets are $15 online and $18 at the door, plus the Belcourt’s preservation fee. Ticket include 2 drink tickets courtesy of Mayday Brewery.