‘Banjo Romantika’ celebrates 10th anniversary with screening, live performance

The public is invited to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the documentary, "Banjo Romantika: American Bluegrass and the Czech Imagination," with a special screening and live performance on Feb. 8.

The event will take place at 3 p.m. at the Jackson Theatre in Jonesborough, Tennessee. The program begins with a live performance of Czech bluegrass by the Banjo Romantika band, followed by a screening of the film and a Q&A session with the producers.

Produced by East Tennessee State University faculty members Shara K. Lange, Ph.D., and Lee Bidgood, Ph.D., the film explores the unique cultural connection between American bluegrass and its thriving counterpart in the Czech Republic. Lange serves as the program head of the Radio, TV and Film program at ETSU, while Bidgood is the director of the Institute for Appalachian Music and Culture and a professor in the Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music program.

"Banjo Romantika" blends ethnomusicological research with documentary storytelling to showcase how bluegrass music, often associated with Appalachia, served as a countercultural alternative to state socialism in Czechoslovakia during the 1960s. The film features scenes of Czech musicians crafting instruments, jamming in pubs and touring the United States.

Originally broadcast nationally on PBS stations in 2015 and 2016, the documentary reached millions of households across the U.S.

For more information about the film, visit here. Tickets and venue details are available here.