There was a time when the phrase “outlaw country” wasn’t just a slogan to sell blue jeans. Once, it referred to artists who stood outside the traditional lines of the music establishment. Sure, sometimes it meant drugs, violence, and even death, but it also represented giving country music back to the people of the country. They Called Us Outlaws, a documentary series nearly 15 years in the making, tells the story of “cosmic cowboys, honky tonk heroes and the rise of renegade troubadours.”
First announced in 2022 as a six-part, 12-hour series, They Called Us Outlaws will make its world debut next month at SXSW with the Waylon Jennings-centric, 90-minute pilot “The Prologue – Waylon, The Dillo, and That Outlaw Bit”. Austin’s Rollins Theatre at Long Center will host the premiere on March 15th, showing the installment centered around Armadillo World Headquarters, the legendary Austin music and beer hall that served as an incubator for the outlaw movement.
The ten-part, artist-focused They Called Us Outlaws — Cosmic Cowboys, Honky Tonk Heroes and The Rise of Renegade Troubadours includes interviews with more than 120 recording artists, songwriters, and producers. Jessie Colter (Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipient) and Ray Benson (9x Grammy-winning Asleep at the Wheel founder), who executive-produced the series alongside the Country Music Hall of Fame, trace the movement from its origins all the way to the modern day.
Among many others, the film features interviews with Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Billy Joe Shaver, Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, Leon Russell, Tom T. Hall, Steve Earle, Robert Earle Keen, Chris Gantry, Bobby Bare, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Shooter Jennings, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Charley Crockett, Margo Price, Tyler Childers, Amanda Shires, Nathaniel Rateliff, Molly Tuttle, S.G. Goodman, and many more.
“Beyond ‘Willie, Waylon, and The Boys,’ this project is a love letter to an era, a culture, and a multitude of artists across genres who had the courage to follow what’s inside…regardless,” director Eric Geadelmann, who independently financed the series in the true nature of existing outside the system, said. “Considering that the tectonic shift in country music in the 1970s mostly came out of Austin, it’s only fitting that the world premiere of They Called Us Outlaws would be at SXSW. And, as an Austinite whose film career began at SXSW, the opportunity means a great deal personally.”
The expansive series will not just look at the 1970s watershed of the outlaw movement. They Called Us Outlaws examines the artistic and cultural landscape of the mid-to-late ’60s, all the way through the modern-day explosion of Americana music.
“From the very first interview with my hero Kris Kristofferson, who set the tone for the entire project, to recent performances and interviews with my contemporaries, the push and pull relationship with the music establishment is intensely felt, but as a way to delve into truth,” narrator and independent country artist Jack Ingram said in 2022. “And the truth is, regardless of what you call them (‘outlaws’), these legends were all about ’doing the good work,’ as Kris told us, ‘writing soulful songs.’ And that’s all any of us should aspire towards.”
Check out the trailer for They Called Us Outlaws below and find details on the SXSW world premiere here. Stay tuned for additional screening and distribution info.
They Called Us Outlaws — Cosmic Cowboys, Honky Tonk Heroes and The Rise of Renegade Troubadours | Trailer