Music Documentaries Announced for 2017/2018

It was announced on Monday that a new documentary about the Velvet Underground is in the works. The film will be directed by Todd Haynes, the same director behind the critically acclaimed Bob Dylan film, ‘I’m Not There,’ and tell the band’s story through interviews with surviving band members, contemporaries and footage gleaned from Andy Warhol’s archives and “experimental film.” The band has most recently been celebrating the 50^th anniversary of their debut album, ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico.’

This isn’t the only music documentary making waves right now. Green Day’s new film, ‘Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk,’ was just released this week and is touring theaters across the country. Now through Thursday, you can see the film at the IFC Center in Manhattan.

With all this news of new documentaries, we here at Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, started thinking about other music documentaries that are in the works. Here are seven rock docs coming out in 2017 / 2018.

1.       ‘Don’t Break Down: A Film About Jawbreaker’: Jawbreaker was one of the most influential bands coming out of the early east coast emo/hardcore scene. Along with Fuguzi, Minor Threat and Rites of Spring, the band was a legend of the underground. ‘Don’t Break Down’ was filmed in 2007, when all three original members met up to discuss their time together and listen back to their old music. It also features interviews with the band, as well as producer Steve Albini, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Foo Fighters’ Chris Shifflet and more. The film will be premiering at the Alamo Drafthouse Theater in San Francisco, CA on August 11 with no word on if it will have a wider release. Jawbreaker are also officially reuniting for a one off show at this year’s Riot Fest in Chicago, the first time they will be performing on stage together in more than 21 years.

2.        ‘Sidemen: Long Road To Glory’: ‘Sidemen’ follows Pinetop Perkins, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and Hubert Sumlin, three bluesmen who have played with some of the greats in the genre, including Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, on their 2009 tour as The Perfect Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll Blues Band. The premise for writer and director Scott Rosenbaum was to capture these musicians “performing live versions of classic blues songs with the musicians they had so heavily influenced.” This film comes out on August 18, with its first screenings at the Landmark Sunshine Theater in New York.

3.        ‘May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers’: ‘May It Last’ chronicles the making of the Avett Brothers’ latest album, ‘True Sadness,’ released in 2016. It’s directed by Michael Bonfiglio and Judd Apatow, who is usually known for his work in comedy rather than documentary. The film is having a one-night-only screening on September 12 at theaters across the country.

4.       ‘Other Music: The Story Of An Iconic Independent Record Store’: Other Music was a record shop in the East Village of Manhattan specializing in indie rock and avant-garde releases. In June 2016, the shop closed after 21 years in business. The film, which was successfully funded through Kickstarter, features interviews with former employees and artists who played in-store there over the years, including Vampire Weekend, Interpol and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, as well as footage shot during the shop’s final month.

5.       Untitled Sublime Documentary: Last week, it was announced that a new documentary about California ska-punks Sublime is being produced. Spearheaded by the band, who is celebrating the 25^th anniversary of their debut album, ‘40oz to Freedom,’ this year, they have chosen Bill Guttentag to direct. The film is set to feature footage and rare, unreleased tracks from the band’s archives, and tell the story of the band, the loss of lead singer Bradley Nowell, and how they are moving forward. It is set to come out sometime in 2018.

6.        ‘The Quiet One’: ‘The Quiet One’ takes a look at the life and career of Bill Wyman, the original bassist for the Rolling Stones. The film will take advantage of Wyman’s extensive archive that includes hours of film footage, photographs and memorabilia, as well as a diary that he kept updated daily. Bill Wyman told Deadline (as quoted by Rolling Stone) about the film that “The time feels right to delve into the archive and tell my story before I croak.” The film is currently filming and will most likely be released in 2018.

7.       Untitled Tupac Documentary: Another Tupac documentary is being made this year, and this time it’s official. The project does not have a title yet, but is being produced by Amaru Entertainment and Tupac’s estate, and has tapped Steve McQueen to direct. Gloria Cox, Tupac’s aunt and sister to Tupac’s mother, told Rolling Stone about the film that “Our goal has always been to tell the true story, which has never been done before in such a complete way,” going on to say that “My sister always said to me, ‘We are not in the business of defending Tupac. Our job is to allow him to be seen in the most complete way, so his actions, his choices and his words will allow him to speak for himself.” There is no release date for the film as of yet.

Although the Velvet Underground documentary does not have a title or release date, there are still a lot of other exciting new music documentaries coming out in the next year. From ones being released in the next few weeks to those still in production, there is a lot to look forward to if you are a music fan.

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