''Down from the Mountain'' is a 2000 documentary and

concert film A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...

featuring a live performance by

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

artists who participated in the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-winning soundtrack recording for the

Joel and Ethan Coen Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...

film, ''

O Brother, Where Art Thou? ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' is a 2000 comedy drama film written, produced, co-edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson, with Chris Thomas King, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and C ...

'' The concert, held at the

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (also known as Grand Ole Opry House and Union Gospel Tabernacle) is a 2,362-seat live-performance venue located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in Nashville, Tennessee. It is best known as the home of the ''Grand Ole Opry'' fr ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

on May 24, 2000, was a benefit for the

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

. The documentary was directed by Nick Doob, Chris Hegedus and

D. A. Pennebaker Donn Alan Pennebaker (; July 15, 1925 – August 1, 2019) was an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of direct cinema. Performing arts and politics were his primary subjects. In 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci ...

. The artists in the concert also participated in a ''Down from the Mountain'' concert tour.

Summary

The concert portion of the film is preceded by a 30-minute section in which the various artists are seen rehearsing for the show, doing

soundcheck A sound check is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small port ...

s, and talking backstage at the

. Time is spent with bluegrass star

Ralph Stanley Ralph Edmund Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016) was an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing. Stanley began playing music in 1946, originally with his older brother Carter Stanley as part of ...

, who rides in a

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a prof ...

, and is interviewed on radio station WSM, whose DJ introduces him as "the newest member of WSM's

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

", despite his having performed professionally as a

musician since the 1960s.

John Hartford John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001) was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive kno ...

, who acts as master of ceremonies for the concert, is interviewed while piloting a paddlewheeler

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

, and he talks about his time as a

towboat A pusher, pusher craft, pusher boat, pusher tug, or towboat, is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. In the United States, the industries that use these vessels refer to them as towboats. These vessels are characterized by a squar ...

pilot on the Upper

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

rivers. He mentions that he had to stop when his cancer got too bad, and, indeed, this film marks Hartford's last filmed appearance before his death on June 4, 2001, of

non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tiredness. ...

T-Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in film ...

is seen working with the girl trio, the Peasall Sisters, instructing guitarist Chris Sharp to increase the tempo on their number, "In the Highways", and "do it like a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

song". When Sharp has trouble understanding him, Burnett asks the musician, "You can't relate to rock and roll?"

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

reveals her obsession with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, showing that she carries a

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...

"Sports Trax" pager that tracks the action in all the games being played that day.

Gillian Welch Gillian Howard Welch (; born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, countr ...

explains that Harris and

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

take delight in making her sing the highest part in their trio, "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby", even though both Harris and Krauss have higher-register voices. Harris sang the bass part on the song, which is unusual for the singer, who is well known for her role as the "angel" vocalist in her duets and backing vocals with other artists.

Tim Blake Nelson Timothy Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American actor and playwright. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000), Gideon in ''Minority Report'' (2002), Dr. Pendan ...

, a member of the ''

'' cast who can be seen on stage during the finale of the concert (" Angel Band"), is seen backstage talking to Emmylou Harris. He recalls a performance of hers that he attended, which was on her birthday, and Harris remembers that she had remarked she was " 38 with a bullet". The concert is introduced by

Holly Hunter Holly Patricia Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film ''The Piano'', Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for ...

, another cast member of the film. She explains the presence of cameramen on the stage by making a joke about it being "dress-down Wednesday" at the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

and saying that several agents have joined the performance that night. The

Coen brothers Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...

can be seen in the crowd during the show, as can

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

Performances in the film

# "Po' Lazarus" (arrangement by

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...

) – performed by Fairfield Four (Isaac Freeman, Wilson Waters, Robert Hamlett, Joseph Rice and Nathan Best) (vocals) # "

Big Rock Candy Mountain "The Big Rock Candy Mountains", first recorded by Harry McClintock in 1928, is a country folk song about a hobo's idea of paradise, a modern version of the medieval concept of Cockaigne. It is a place where "hens lay soft-boiled eggs" and there ...

" (traditional) – performed by

(vocals and

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

), Mike Compton (

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

), Chris Sharp (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

), and

Larry Perkins Larry Clifton Perkins (born 18 March 1950) is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia. Biography Early years Growing up on a farm in Cowangie in the Mallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Eddi ...

( bass) # "Wild Bill Jones" (traditional) – performed by

and Union Station (Alison Krauss (vocals and fiddle),

Dan Tyminski Daniel John Tyminski (born June 20, 1967) is an American bluegrass composer, vocalist, and instrumentalist. He is a member of Alison Krauss's band Union Station, and has released three solo albums, ''Carry Me Across the Mountain'' (2000), on ...

(vocals and guitar),

Barry Bales Barry Turner Bales (born August 23, 1969 in Kingsport, Tennessee, United States) is an American musician best known as the long time bass player and harmony vocalist for Alison Krauss and Union Station. He has been in the band for around 25 years. ...

(bass),

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. Career In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he has ...

(

dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

Ron Block Ronald Franklin Block (born July 30, 1964) is an American banjo player, guitarist, and singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the bluegrass band Alison Krauss & Union Station. He has won 14 Grammy Awards, 6 International Bluegrass Music A ...

(

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

)) with Mike Compton (

) # " Blue and Lonesome" (written by Bill Monroe and Hank Williams) – performed by Alison Krauss and Union Station # "Green Pastures" (traditional) – performed by

(vocals and guitar) with

(vocals),

David Rawlings David Todd Rawlings (born December 31, 1969) is an American guitarist, singer, and record producer. He is known for his partnership with singer and songwriter Gillian Welch. He and Welch were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Son ...

(vocals and guitar), Jerry Douglas (dobro), and Barry Bales (bass) # "Indian War Whoop" (written by Hoyt Ming and Pep Steppers) – performed by John Hartford (fiddle), Gillian Welch (vocals), Mike Compton (mandolin), Chris Sharp (guitar), and Larry Perkins (bass) # "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby" (arrangement by

, T-Bone Burnett and Gillian Welch) – performed by Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, and Gillian Welch (vocals) # "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'" (written by

Chris Thomas King Chris Thomas King (born Durwood Christopher Thomas, October 14, 1962) is an American blues musician and actor based in New Orleans, Louisiana. History King was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. He is the son of blues musician Tabb ...

) – performed by Chris Thomas King and

Colin Linden Colin Kendall Linden (born 16 April 1960) is a Canadian guitarist, songwriter and record producer. Linden plays acoustic and electric guitar, specializing in slide guitar, country blues, and ragtime fingerpicking. He frequently collaborates with ...

(

slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...

resonator guitar A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar's sounding board (top). Resonator gui ...

s and vocals), Mike Compton (mandolin), and Barry Bales (bass) # "I Am Weary (Let Me Rest)" (written by

Pete Kuykendall Peter Van Kuykendall (January 15, 1938 – August 24, 2017) also known as Pete Roberts, was an American bluegrass musician, songwriter, discographer and a magazine and music publisher. He was a co-founder of ''Bluegrass Unlimited'' magazine a ...

(Pete Roberts)) – performed by

The Cox Family The Cox Family is an American country/ bluegrass music group from Cotton Valley in Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, United States. The Cox Family can be heard on the ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' soundtrack. Their 1994 collaboration ...

(Suzanne Cox (vocals and mandolin), Evelyn Cox (guitar), Sidney Cox (vocals and banjo), Willard Cox (vocals and fiddle)) with Mike Compton (mandolin) and Barry Bales (bass) # "Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown" (traditional) – performed by The Cox Family (Suzanne Cox (vocals and mandolin), Evelyn Cox (vocals and guitar), Sidney Cox (banjo), Willard Cox (vocals and fiddle)) with Mike Compton (mandolin) and Barry Bales (bass) # "In the Highways" (written by

Maybelle Carter "Mother" Maybelle Carter (born Maybelle Addington; May 10, 1909 – October 23, 1978) was an American country musician and "among the first" to use the Carter scratch, with which she "helped to turn the guitar into a lead instrument". It ...

) – performed by Leah, Sarah, and Hannah Peasall (vocals) with Chris Sharp (guitar) After "In the Highways", there is an intermission announcement followed by footage of Emmylou Harris playing guitar and singing the beginning of "Red Dirt Girl" (from the album of the same name) backstage before the concert resumes. # "

Down in the River to Pray "Down in the River to Pray" (also known as "Down to the River to Pray," "Down in the Valley to Pray," "The Good Old Way," and "Come, Let Us All Go Down") is a traditional American song variously described as a Christian folk hymn, an African-Amer ...

" (traditional) – performed by Alison Krauss with the First Baptist Church Choir of

White House, Tennessee White House is a city in Robertson and Sumner counties in the United States state of Tennessee. The population was 12,982 at the 2020 census. It is approximately twenty-two miles north of downtown Nashville. History Settlers The area that is no ...

(vocals) # "

Man of Constant Sorrow "Man of Constant Sorrow" (also known as "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow") is a traditional American folk song first published by Dick Burnett, a partially blind fiddler from Kentucky. The song was originally titled "Farewell Song" in a songbook ...

" (arrangement by

Ed Haley James Edward "Ed" Haley (August 16, 1885February 3, 1951) was a blind professional American musician and composer best known for his fiddle playing. Biography Ed Haley was born on August 16, 1885, on the Trace Fork of Harts Creek in Logan Count ...

) – John Hartford (fiddle) # "Dear Someone" (written by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) – performed by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (vocals and guitar) with John Hartford (fiddle) and Mike Compton (mandolin) # "I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll" (written by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) – performed by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (vocals and guitar) # " Keep on the Sunny Side" (written by Ada Blenkhorn and J. Howard Entwisle) – performed by

The Whites The Whites is an American country music vocal group from Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It consists of sisters Sharon White and Cheryl White, and their father, Buck White. Sharon on guitar, Cheryl on bass and Buck on Mandolin. Formed in 1972, ...

(Sharon White (vocals and guitar), Cheryl White (vocals and bass), Buck White (vocals and mandolin)) with Jerry Douglas (dobro) # "Shove That Hog's Foot Further in the Bed" (written by Ed Haley) – performed by John Hartford (vocals and fiddle), Mike Compton (mandolin), Chris Sharp (guitar), and Larry Perkins (bass) # " O Death" (traditional) – performed by

(vocals) # " Angel Band" (traditional) – performed by Ralph Stanley with the all of the other musicians (vocals and various instruments) "

I'll Fly Away "I'll Fly Away" is a hymn written in 1929 by Albert E. Brumley and published in 1932 by the Hartford Music company in a collection titled ''Wonderful Message''.Richard Matteson, Jr.''The Bluegrass Picker's Tune Book'' Mel Bay Publications, 2006 ...

" (written by

Albert E. Brumley Albert Edward Brumley (October 29, 1905 – November 15, 1977) was an American shape note music composer and publisher, prolific in the genre of southern gospel. Biography Brumley was born near Spiro, Oklahoma on October 29, 1905, into a famil ...

) plays during the end credits of the film, and the end of the performance of the song during the concert (by Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss (vocals) with Mike Compton (mandolin) and Chris Sharp (guitar)) can be seen after the credits finish.

Soundtrack album

The soundtrack album, ''Down from the Mountain: Live Concert Performances by the Artists & Musicians of O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' was released to complement the documentary concert film. It has the complete versions of songs that are interrupted in the film by backstage chatter, including "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'" by

and

and "Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown?" by

. One track on the album, "Sandy Land" (written by Ramona Jones) performed by

, does not appear in the film.

Track listing

# "Introduction" (

) / "Po' Lazarus" ( Fairfield Four) – 4:38 # "

" (

) – 4:39 # "Wild Bill Jones" (

and Union Station, featuring

) – 4:13 # " Blue and Lonesome" (Alison Krauss and Union Station) – 4:00 # "I Am Weary (Let Me Rest)" (

) – 3:34 # "Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown" (The Cox Family) – 3:06 # "Dear Someone" (

and

) – 3:11 # "I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll" (Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) – 2:55 #* This recording also appears on Welch's album ''

Time (The Revelator) ''Time (The Revelator)'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Gillian Welch. All songs were written by Welch together with David Rawlings and were recorded at RCA Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee,Production notes within the bookle ...

'' (2001). # "Sandy Land" (The Whites) – 2:34 # "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'" (

with

) – 4:26 # "Green Pastures" (

) – 3:26 # "

" (Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss) – 4:05

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Down From The Mountain 2000 films Concert films Documentary films about country music and musicians Artisan Entertainment films Albums produced by T Bone Burnett Films directed by D. A. Pennebaker 2001 soundtrack albums Lost Highway Records soundtracks Live bluegrass albums Country music soundtracks Live gospel albums Blues soundtracks American documentary films 2000 documentary films Documentary film soundtracks 2000s English-language films 2000s American films