That’s the question on the lips of almost everyone in the bluegrass world.
OK… maybe not just yet. But when this new film debuts during the IBMA Fan Fest on October 2, it is sure to be a lively topic of discussion.
Who Shot Lester Monroe is the brainchild of Tom T. and Dixie Hall, and will be released through their Blue Circle label. There will be a free screening at 1:00 p.m. (CST) in the Music City Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel on the Friday of IBMA week, after which it will be offered for sale and distribution from Good Home Grown Music.
The lovely and gracious Miss Dixie tells us that the film follows the mockumentary style popularized by HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
“The movie is basically an improvisational film. Tom T. gave everyone a basic storyline for the scenes, and we all just improvised our lines. It was a lot of fun!
The general story for the movie is that Lester Monroe was killed at Fox Hollow, while staying in one of the apartments. This begins a buzz in the bluegrass community, trying to figure out just who in the world is Lester Monroe! It turned out great, and grassers will love it. It’s full of inside jokes, and things that non-bluegrass folks just won’t get.”
A movie just for us!
In addition to Tom T. as Shanghai Jim, Buddy Carter as Tallahassee Bob and Tony Wray as Lyric Lamont, dozens of bluegrass personalities appear as themselves. Dale Ann Bradley, Larry Cordle, Melvin Goins, Alecia Nugent, Josh Williams, Larry Stephenson and Don Rigsby are among those who make an appearance, as do members of the IBMA staff, Nacy Cardwell-Erdos, Jill Crabtree and Dan Hays.
Sounds like a hoot.
