[1] Directed and co-written by Bernard MacMahon, the story is told through twelve ethnically and musically diverse musicians who auditioned for and participated in these pioneering recording sessions: The Carter Family, the Memphis Jug Band, Elder J.E.

Burch, The Williamson Brothers, Dick Justice, Charley Patton, The Hopi Indian Chanters, Joseph Kekuku, Lydia Mendoza, the Breaux Family, Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Willie Johnson.

The first film examines two wildly contrasting acts that were discovered in Tennessee during the first wave of electrical field recording sessions in 1927 by Ralph Peer – one who launched country music and the other inspired rhythm and blues.

Burch A mesmerizing gospel choir performance recorded by Ralph Peer in 1927 led by an unknown preacher sends director Bernard MacMahon on a search through the Sony Archives for any clue as to whom the mysterious clergyman was and what became of him.

He travels to Cheraw, SC, and uncovers the story of an extraordinary African-American trailblazer, Elder John E. Burch, an early founder of the NAACP, whose Sanctified Triumph Church united the black and white residents of that sleepy South Carolina town.

The Williamson Brothers, Dick Justice and Frank Hutchison When West Virginia mine bosses open fire on striking Irish and African-American workers, one of them vows to escape his indentured servitude by auditioning for a recording talent contest.

Moving to the present day, a bronze statue of Kekuku is being unveiled in his hometown of La'ie, Oahu and a luau is held in his honor with prominent musicians from the island and family members.

After the war Lydia resumes touring and records over 200 songs and starts to receive national recognition for her contribution to Mexican American culture resulting in an invitation to perform at the Inauguration of Jimmy Carter in 1977.

Columbia Records talent scout Frank Walker reveals how in 1928, he decided to expand the label's repertoire and explore the area around Lafayette, Louisiana where he is "astounded at the interest that there was in their little Saturday night dances.

The record becomes a huge success and Michot relates how his grandfather and great aunt recalled hearing it constantly playing out of all the houses on the bayou and the pride it engendered in the Cajuns to have their music distributed across the US.

The song is a huge hit and its title is bowdlerized into "Jole Blon" and is covered by Harry Choates, Buddy Holly and Waylon Jennings, and Bruce Springsteen, ultimately becoming the Cajun national anthem.

To celebrate their memory, Amédeé Breaux's grandsons, with Louis Michot, perform a cover of "Ma Blonde Est Partie" on the original instruments their grandparents recorded the song with way back in 1929.

They charted his journey from Oahu to the mainland and uncovered his touring itineraries which demonstrated how he had popularized that instrument throughout North America and Europe, resulting in it being incorporated into Delta blues, country, African Jùjú and even Pink Floyd.

[35][44] MacMahon summarized the research, stating the "process wasn't all sunshine and smiles—we traveled to beautiful places and met some of the most wonderful people we have ever known, but we also heard stories of poverty and discrimination, of hard times and troubled lives.

[49] MacMahon remarked that the original ¼ inch tape of the Peer interview was "virtually unintelligible before Nick [Nicholas Bergh, sound engineer] got his hands on it, but it was vital for the audience to get a sense of this man's personality by any means possible.

[5][20][52] Producer Allison McGourty explained that "it was really to do justice to the people themselves and the families, because for example when we found photos of Mississippi John Hurt or [the Tejano musician] Lydia Mendoza you want the public now to see them as they were then, which was beautiful.

Traditionally the 4:3 footage had been either panned and scanned to fill the 16:9 screen, losing the top and bottom of the image, or reproduced intact with pillarboxing, resulting in black bars on either side of the frame.

"[19] Iain Shedden in The Australian reported that "one of the highlights (and audience prize winner) of last year's Sydney Film Festival was the American Epic series of documentaries by British filmmaker Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson.

An immersive and panoramic overview of American song in the 20th century, the film tramps an itinerant path throughout the roadhouses and juke joints of the rural South, the border towns of Texas and the Southwest, and eventually reaches as far as Hawaii.

Abetted by the extraordinary vintage footage, much of it recently unearthed, American Epic offers fresh revelations regarding artists ranging from the iconic to the obscure, all the while stitching together the diverse quilt of regional and cultural influences into a coherent and stunning whole.

"[7] Alain Constant reviewing the French broadcast in Le Monde wrote, "this documentary retraces with archive and testimonials the wonderful epic poem of country music, gospel, rhythm, and blues.

The final result of this work co-produced with Arte, BBC Arena, and the ZDF, is impressive, with exceptional film and sound archives, as well as unpublished testimonies spread over three and a half hours.

They discovered artifacts and previously unknown photographs of such originators as Son House, the Memphis Jug Band, and West Virginia mine workers the Williamson Brothers and Dick Justice.

"[75] Phil Harrison in The Guardian wrote that "from the jug-bands of Memphis to the woebegone country blues of the Appalachian Mountains, early 20th-century America was full of unique musical forms developing in isolation.

"[82] Brian McCollum in the Detroit Free Press noted that the films were "stocked with rare images and scrupulously restored audio,"[5] explaining how "American Epic solves mysteries, brings a lost musical era back to life.

Along the way love is lost, younger generations step up to the mic and reputations fade, but, as this glorious film makes clear, the music is always there, still vibrant and vital despite the passing of the years.

"[83] Joe Boyd in The Guardian praised the series as "remarkable ... American Epic, tells the story of how this existential moment for the music industry coincided with the arrival of electrical recording.

"[21] Ben Sandmel in Know Louisiana pointed out that "instead of presenting a host of music experts as talking heads, American Epic takes a novel and commendably populist approach by interviewing descendants of the featured musicians, or people who actually knew them.

"[45] Daniel Johnson in The Courier-Mail concurred, noting that "one of the most touching moments in the series occurs when MacMahon and his team meet with an elderly man named Ted Bradley in the small town of Cheraw, South Carolina.

"[48] He concluded, "Appearing at a time when the nation's lack of unity is starkly visible, American Epic makes for a beautifully presented, richly enjoyable fairy tale"[48] Matt Baylis in the Daily Express wrote, "In this sweeping, electrifying, Old Testament-style account of America's musical journey, it was fitting that the first chapter ended in Memphis, with a young man called Elvis Presley, whose sound merged the two kinds of lightning Peer had captured in his bottles.