Step back in time and journey through the compelling history of a musical art form with Country Music, a new eight-part film directed by Ken Burns, and produced by Burns and his long-time collaborators Dayton Duncan and Julie Dunfey. The series chronicles country music’s early days, from southern Appalachia’s songs of struggle, heartbreak and faith to the rollicking Western swing of Texas, California’s honky-tonks and Nashville’s “Grand Ole Opry.” The film follows the evolution of country music over the course of the 20th century.

Country Music explores crucial questions – “What is country music?” and “Where did it come from?”– while focusing on the biographies of the fascinating trailblazers who created and shaped it — from the CARTEr Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Bill Monroe and Bob Wills to Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Garth Brooks and many more — as well as the times in which they lived. Much like the music itself, the film tells unforgettable stories of hardships and joys shared by everyday people.