COUNTRY to encore on WILL-TV
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A few weeks ago, I suggested that you should keep one eye on the program schedule for WILL Channel 12, the PBS-affiliated broadcast service of Illinois Public Media and the University of Illinois, to find the particular shows that may be worthwhile to you. They include documentaries created by independent filmmakers and PBS outlets across the nation, typically presented under brands like INDEPENDENT LENS and POV, but don’t often speak directly to the Illinois experience unless the material addresses Chicago-area stories or occasional excursions beyond the suburbs as did ALL THE QUEEN’S HORSES from last year. On Monday, March 2, the station premiered a brand-new piece at 7 p.m. called ILLINOIS COUNTRY, directed by Sarah Edwards and produced by DJ Roach, which dives deep into the development of American country music and how it is historically tied to artists and milestones associated with the Land of Lincoln. Certainly, it was made to serve as a geographical companion to Ken Burns‘ massive COUNTRY MUSIC event series and missed the synergy by a few months, yet I’m glad to see WILL stretching its resources again to deliver more substantial material they can claim as their won. The film is available through WILL’s “Passport” streaming service and will encore tonight, Friday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m. on WILL-TV. Additional dates and times for a repeat of ILLINOIS COUNTRY include Saturday, March 7, 1 a.m., Sunday, March 8, 11 p.m., Tuesday, March 10, 7 p.m., and Sunday, March 15, 8 p.m., with several other airings to take place within the state and in the St. Louis area.
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As detailed on the dedicated sub-page at WILL’s website, the producers of ILLINOIS COUNTRY have gone the extra mile to whet viewers’ appetites over their discoveries by creating related programs. ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVE! is a concert and discussion taped at WILL’s “Studio X” facility in the Campbell Hall for Public Telecommunications on Goodwin Avenue in Urbana that features Edwards as host and performances by veteran country star Suzy Bogguss, talented fiddler and singer Andrea Zonn, and guitarist Tom Hampton. VOICES OF ILLNOIS COUNTRY is a series of short interview excerpts and performances that do not appear in the documentary proper and include musicians Dennis Stroughmatt, Tasji Bachman, and Paul Tyler, country group The Deep Hollow, historian Chris Vallillo, and Nashville-based audio instructor and former good neighbor in downtown Champaign, Mark Rubel. This material can be watched for free along with plenty of other recent WILL ventures on their YouTube channel such as “digital studio” short-form series like ART BTS, CLASSICAL: BTS, and BACKYARD INDUSTRY, talking-head discussions like the half-hour digest ILLINOIS PIONEERS, and previous documentaries like COURSE WORK: DINNER SEASON AT PRAIRIE FRUITS FARM and MEDICARE MAN: REMEMBERING DAN PERRINO AND MEDICARE 7, 8 OR 9. Our world is waiting for viewers like you!
~ Jason Pankoke
p.s. You know from the preview embedded above that the great Alison Krauss appears in ILLINOIS COUNTRY, but did you also know the honorary “Alison Krauss Way” in Champaign’s sesquicentennial neighborhood borders the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters? Uh oh! You’re getting closer…
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