If there’s one thing you can count on about the people of Nashville, no matter how much things change and how many new experiences get added to our country music base layer, we can’t pass up a good story.
Sing it, say it, show it – just let us in and make us feel it.
And if that story happens to features a bit of insight into a true Nashville original? Yep, we’re sold. Which means the opening night showing of The Return of Tanya Tucker at the 53rd Nashville Film Festival might be a bit of a full house.
The documentary by Kathlyn Horan chronicles the 2019 creative collaboration between Brandi Carlile, Shooter Jennings, and Tucker as the county icon recorded her first album of original material in more than 17 years, bringing her back to longtime fans and introducing her to a whole new audience.
The movie spotlights the talented and creatively captivating artist as she struggles with the same fears most of us face when we really put ourselves out there. It isn’t always pretty, but we see Carlile encouraging Tucker to push through those fears. The process is bumpy and real – the kind of story that resonates in Nashville.
“Brandi and Kathlyn captured the scars and all,” Tucker says. “Those cameras were rolling nonstop; from the moment I woke up until we sang the last note in the studio!”
Horan skillfully blends that new footage with archival video and photos, some from her earliest days growing up in a trailer in Texas.
“I love how the crew roped in so many memorable moments, [from] when I first got in this business to the Grammys,” Tucker said. “I hope the fans and everyone enjoy this, because it took a hell of a lot of work!“
