Austin to Boston

  • James Marcus Haney
  • United States, England, Australia
  • 2014
  • 72 min
  • European Premiere
  • Music Documentary
Singer-songwriter Gill Landry tellingly sums it up in the voice-over: “What drew me into this trip was the ridiculousness of it.” He’s talking about the road trip he took together with four popular bands: Ben Howard, The Staves, Nathaniel Rateliff and Bear’s Den. The plan was to go from Austin to Boston in two weeks, with each band traveling in a dilapidated Volkswagen camper, and almost each evening along the way they would play a gig. The pleasure shared by the more than 20-strong group absolutely bursts from the screen. The fast-edit, music video-style shots show the young performers having fun on the guitar behind the steering wheel, playing basketball with local kids and having a high-spirited snowball fight. And, of course, there’s plenty of practicing together – on a wooden veranda or hanging out in Central Park. These scenes are peppered with grainy shots of the caravan of buses, taking us back to the music-filled atmosphere of the 1960s. Each night brings an intimate concert performed by the musicians, and Nathaniel Rateliff’s voice sounds even deeper after discussing his not-so-carefree childhood. As the trip progresses, the musicians grow closer. But fatigue strikes, too, and the inevitable question arises: Why are they actually doing this?

Credits

  • 72 min
  • color
  • DCP
  • Spoken languages: English
Director
James Marcus Haney
Production
Ty Johnson for Sideshow Alley
Executive producer
Ben Lovett for Communion Music
Cinematography
Ty Johnson, James Marcus Haney, Cid Salcido, Kelly Teacher
Editing
Kitty Green, Ty Johnson

IDFA history

Share this film

Print this page

IDFA history

This website uses cookies.

By using cookies we can measure how our site is used, how it can be further improved and to personalize the content of online advertisements.

Read
 here everything about our cookie policy. If you choose to decline, we only place functional and analytical cookies