25 years ago I started working for my dad, who was building a house, and he played, what was to me, the sonic bile that was country radio all day. I remember the songs well. Brad Paisley “We Danced.” Toby Keith “How Do You Like Me Now.” I hated it. I wanted Minor Threat and 7 Seconds, not Shania Twain and Garth Brooks.
My dad, honorary as he was, wasn’t turning the dial. So country music it was. I was stuck with the music. No earbuds. Just me, my dad and KFRG (95.1 FM).
Eventually, I started hating certain songs less than the others. “There Is No Arizona” was a hit. “Ol Red” by the long haired Blake Shelton was a good one, and Travis Tritt “It’s Great Day to be Alive” was a window into country glory (now that I think of it I can’t fail to mention, just to get you other folks my age nodding in remembrance and approval, a few deep cuts that include Hal Ketchum “Small Town Saturday Night” and the mellow tones of the still abiding John Anderson: is there any song from that era better than “Seminole Wind”?). I was being worn down, the waves of early 2000s country radio were washing over me and transforming me – acquiring a taste for country radio, whether I wanted to or not.
Around the same time my dad invited me to go see “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” The movie was pure genius. My favorite movie to this day (with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation a close second – again, nod in remembrance and approval. If you know you know.). But really, the wit and dialogue was pure brilliance. By way of reminder, just remember this one (the scene in the car after they just picked up Tommy and they start banter on Satan and souls):
Pete: I’ve always wondered, what’s the devil look like?
Ulysses Everett McGill: Well, there are all manner of lesser imps and demons, Pete, but the great Satan himself is red and scaly with a bifurcated tail, and he carries a hay fork.
Tommy Johnson: Oh, no. No, sir. He’s white, as white as you folks, with empty eyes and a big hollow voice. He likes to travel around with a mean old hound. That’s right.
(The execution was just as good as the script. Enjoy:)
Again, pure dialogue genius (for more reminiscing, do join the “’O Brother Where Art Thou’ Movie Quotes” Facebook group.)
Now that I sit here and think about it, I don’t recall if the music from the movie jumped out at first. But, somewhere right around that time, though, I got the soundtrack. The music was just as good as the movie. And, without realizing it, I had stepped into a defining epoch of country revival: It stands in line with the revivals that followed Harry Smith’s 1952 “Anthology of American Folk Music,” then the folk revival of the 60s (with the New Lost City Ramblers partially leading the charge), and then the 1972 sessions of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”, and then, finally, this moment in 2000. It yielded the same digging into the past and that same sense that old songs still mattered (and, yes, I dd by a banjo that I still don’t know how to play).
For me, the O, Brother soundtrack was the gateway to Doc Watson, The Carter Family, and The Chuck Wagon Gang. And those, in turn, opened the doors to Hank III, Steve Earle, The Avett Brothers, and so on. I am sure it did the same for a lot of folks. I started this website (CountryMusicPride.com) in 2008 partly because of that soundtrack (and the other part was because I had been making a punk rock fanzine, and print was dead).
A little after the success of the soundtrack, my dad and I went and saw the “Down From the Mountain” tour, where many of the acts from the album toured together. That was the soundtrack brought to life. Again, if you were there, you know.
Of course, Dan Tyminski (the voice behind “I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow”) became known to the masses. The high lonesome singing of the Soggy Bottom Boys that George Clooney lip syncs to. Always the Martin guitar. Always the cigar. He played with Alison Krauss for years, and, of course, this crossover hit where lightning struck twice for this folkie:
(While I have your ears on the subject Dan Tyminski, do yourself a solid and stream his album of a few years ago, a swampy ‘lil collection of songs called “Southern Gothic.” Here’s the title track)
I recently roped my kids into watching the movie. I pulled out the projector (try to hit em with that same feel I had when I was with my dad 2 decades back). They loved it – stayed awake the entire time (the wife is still yet to not fall asleep while watching it). You either love this movie, or you do not. The arrows of my quiver loved it.
When you read the Bible, you get something new every time. That is kind of how “O Brother” is. Every time I rewatch it I get something again.
The highest meta-reality, that’s no mystery, is that it is loosely based on Homer’s Odyssey (of course, a Depression era Mississippi retelling of the ancient Greek epic). But, there’s a slew of Easter eggs (is that a real term? The Swifties taught me that). Gillian Welch, looking old timey as ever, cameos in her asking for a Soggy Bottom Boys disc. Chris Thomas King played himself. The Whites played themselves, etc. There are the deeper historical threads. The Coen Brothers clearly have encyclopedic knowledge of early 20th century America. Politics. Radio. Religion. Race. Populism. Revivalism. Medicine shows. One example is John R. Brinkley. The notorious quack doctor of the 1920s and 30s who made millions implanting goat testicles into men. At the same time, he built massive radio stations in Mexico that blasted The Carter Family across North America at night.
Ok, last one: the bizarre, hyper-choreographed “KKK rally” scene in O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a spitting image, and musical echo, of The Wizard of Oz scene at the witch castle with her henchman marching around and chanting (start at the 28 second mark here on the Wizard of OZ video and compare with the KKK scene):
But hot damn, the music!
It is still a regular on my turntable (yes, I went with the clear vinyl option). And, by the way, Lost Highway is re-releasing it on Gold slab!)
Back to the concert, I knew this year marked the 25th anniversary of the O Brother soundtrack, and I was excited it was being talked about again. I had heard whispers there might be something at the Grand Ole Opry and now it is official.
On Saturday, February 28, 2026, the Grand Ole Opry is hosting a 25th anniversary celebration for (the 8x Platinum… That is, 8 million units) O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.
The show will feature folks from the original soundtrack (and beyond). We’re gonna’ see Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Del McCoury Band, Emmylou Harris, Old Crow Medicine Show, Molly Tuttle, The Fairfield Four, The Whites, Sarah Jarosz, Billy Strings, Jerry Douglas, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and more. Tim Blake Nelson (Delmar) will be on hand.
The soundtrack itself went to number one on the Billboard 200, won multiple Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, and was named Album of the Year by the CMA, ACM, and IBMA. It became the biggest selling soundtrack of the decade (again, 8 million).
Not bad for a bunch of old songs.
As mentioned, Lost Highway Records is releasing a 25th anniversary vinyl gatefold edition on February 20, 2026. There will also be a special Hatch Show Print poster (Hatch Show being the genre defining poster design co in Nashville that has been leveraged almost since the inception) available at the Opry.
I am still out west. But the first thing I did when I heard was call my dad, who lives in Tennessee now, and said, “Let’s go.”
Not to be morbid, but, he’s getting older. Twenty-five years ago we had job site radios. Then the movie together. Then Down From the Mountain together. Now this, Lord willing, together. I do not know how much longer my dad will be on his earthly pilgrimage. This might be one of our last notable outings together. And that makes it matter.
Of course, Dr. Ralph Stanley is gone now. John Hartford is gone. James Carter, the voice that lead out “Po’ Lazarus” is gone. But the lineage remains. The Fairfield Four. The Fisk Jubilee Singers. Del McCoury. Emmylou Harris. Alison Krauss. Billy Strings. Old Crow Medicine Show all still carrying the banner.
We can only hope Gillian Welch and T. Bone Burnett show up. But even if they do not, it will still be special.
The circle will come full circle on February 28, at least for me and my dad.
And I wonder how many other people will be traveling from all over, gathering under that roof, because of a movie and a soundtrack changed their musical life. Regardless, if you love this music, this history, and this strange little movie that somehow reshaped American roots culture, this is one worth making the trip for.
Ok, here’s the details:
Grand Ole Opry
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Opry House
Nashville, Tennessee
Tickets and info available through the Grand Ole Opry website.
