Country music, as Richard Nixon said in his (in)famous address at the Grand Ole Opry in 1974, is a uniquely American genre, formed here and nowhere else. So why doesn’t the face of country reflect the diversity of the nation? That question is both asked and answered in this timely and urgent film. Rebel Country exposes the diverse roots of country music, reclaiming the contributions of Black and Mexican-American musicians and uncovering the history of segregation and censorship that has made so-called “bro country” the norm in Nashville. 

But all of that is changing as LGBTQ+ performers, as well as women artists and artists of color, are claiming their place in country music. Rebel Country has the electric atmosphere of a documentary that’s being made in the right place at the right time, an excitement that’s supercharged by musical performances from iconoclasts like Jelly Roll Morton, Blanco Brown, Frank Ray, Sam Williams, and Lindsay Ell.––Jarod Neece

Rebel Country will be preceded by the short Dynasty and Destiny.

After the Premiere Screening: A special performance by platinum selling country music artist BRELAND.

Francis Whately