Big Family: The Story of Bluegrass Music offers a comprehensive look at bluegrass – its origins, the pioneers who shaped its sound, and its worldwide appeal. The documentary was co-produced by Matt Grimm who has connections to this area. Matt is the son of Nelson and Julie Grimm of Byron and the late Penny Sittig Grimm; and grandson of the late Arthur and Jean Grimm of Hamlin, and the late William and Ruth Sittig of North Chili.
Grimm graduated from Asbury University in Kentucky and works for Kentucky Educational Television (KET). With a long history of sharing bluegrass music with its viewers, KET challenged their production team to create a comprehensive bluegrass music documentary. “Leaning on the bluegrass-related institutional knowledge and video archives KET had developed over the years, Nick Helton and I dove into the project together,” Grimm said.
Big Family traces the history of bluegrass – outlining how Scots-Irish and African-American influences led Bill Monroe to develop the distinct musical genre – and how generations of musicians that followed have all had a role to play in shaping the music. The film chronicles how bluegrass music evolved as American culture and politics played out – revealing that the story of bluegrass music is the story of America.
The music itself is at the heart of the two-hour film, as recordings and performance footage showcase and celebrate its unique sound. More than 50 musicians appear in the film, including Alison Brown, Dale Ann Bradley, Sam Bush, JD Crowe, Bela Fleck, Laurie Lewis, Del McCoury, Bobby Osborne, Ricky Skaggs, Chris Thile, and many more.
“We began our first round of interviews in September 2016 during a visit to the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) World of Bluegrass event held annually in Raleigh, NC. There, with a ‘who’s who’ of bluegrass music attending the week-long event, we could interview dozens. After a nearly three-year effort that included conducting over 60 interviews, traveling to Tokyo, Japan to examine the international reach of the genre, sifting through thousands of archival images and hundreds of hours of archival video and film footage, Big Family is ready for broadcast,” Grimm said.
A recurring theme of family, which arose during the course of interviews and throughout the filmmaking process, led to the documentary’s title. “No one person or band defines what bluegrass music is today, instead the collective ‘family’ illustrated within the film shows what the music has become and the way those that love bluegrass are so interconnected. It has been my privilege to help create this new comprehensive look at bluegrass’ story,” Grimm said.
The documentary, narrated by actor and bluegrass enthusiast Ed Helms, will air nationally on PBS stations Friday, August 30, at 9 p.m. (check local listings). More information, including a photo gallery and a full list of those appearing in the film, is available at bigfamilyfilm.com or pbs.org.
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