HEARTWORN HIGHWAYS (1976) + Live Music by Austin McCutchen & More!

In celebration of the great Townes Van Zandt's birthday (March 7th), The Philosophical Research Society will be screening director James Szalapski's legendary and quintessential 1976 country music documentary HEARTWORN HIGHWAYS ! After the film, we'll have rousing live performances of the music featured in the film by local artists Austin McCutchen, TJ Lemieux, Emily Rose Epstein, Justin Taylor and more TBA!

"By 1975, a loose confederation of longhaired musicians had left Texas and invaded Nashville. They attended each other’s gigs and picked together in each other’s homes. Everything they did was focused on the music and the eternal search for a song.

Originally shot in Austin and Nashville, the film offers a rare look at what was then a fringe element of country music made by people who have since become songwriting icons. Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, Steve Young and a 19-year-old Steve Earle all feature prominently. The footage varies from Clark repairing frets on a guitar to Van Zandt fooling around on his farm and then bringing tears to Uncle Seymour’s eyes as he plays “Waiting Around To Die” in his kitchen. Eschewing narration, the director chose instead to keep the scenes as organic as possible, letting the music do all the evocation.

The varied scenes—the Christmas Eve picking party at Guy and Suzanna Clark’s house, the new footage of John Hiatt (with hair!) at legendary photographer and closet dobro player Jim McGuire’s house, Charlie Daniels playing in a school gymnasium, the performance by the outrageous David Allan Coe at the Tennessee State Pr*son, studio footage of Barefoot Jerry and Georgian Larry Jon Wilson—all combine to paint a picture of music that possessed a soul and vibrancy missing from much of Nashville’s current output.

Heartworn Highways is an intimate look back at a more innocent time in country music; it’s a film no true country music fan can afford to miss."

- Jeff Wall, Paste Magazine

"Sometimes, a documentary maker is present at precisely the right moment to capture lightning in a bottle. It happened with essential punk doc The Decline of Western Civilization, it happened with Dylan’s Don’t Look Back and Chet Baker’s Let’s Get Lost, and it happened with 1976’s Heartworn Highways.

The iconic performance documentary saw filmmaker James Szalapski travel to Texas and Tennessee to capture the radical country artists reclaiming the genre via an appreciation for its heritage in folk and bluegrass and a rejection of the mainstream Nashville machine. Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Steve Young, David Allan Coe, Steve Earle and many others appeared on both screen and soundtrack, where musical highlights include Clark’s brilliant “Desperados Waiting For A Train,” Young’s stirring “Alabama Highways” and Van Zandt’s emotional “Waiting Around To Die.”

The hard living – and hard partying – lifestyles of outlaw country’s figureheads are played out on screen as we visit Van Zandt’s Austin trailer, see Coe play in Tennessee State Pr*son, join the gang in Nashville’s notorious Wig Wam Tavern and witness a liquor-fueled Christmas at Clark’s house. No wonder the film’s original tagline read: “The best music and the best whiskey come from the same part of the country”. Outside of a couple festival screenings, the movie remained unreleased for five years after its completion, finally hitting screens in 1981 and finding a cult audience ever since.”

– Light in the Attic

Please email [email protected] or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.

ACCESSIBILITY

PRS wants all guests to be able to enjoy our events safely and comfortably. If you require any accessibility accommodation, please reach out to [email protected] before showtime and we will be happy to assist you.

REFUND POLICIES

All sales are final. There are no refunds for PRS events , except in the event of a medical emergency, including but not limited to a positive COVID-19 test. Ticket exchanges may be granted on a case by case basis, pending circumstances.

In the event that PRS is forced to cancel an event entirely, tickets will be refunded or vouchers offered for a rescheduled event.

PARKING

Limited parking is available onsite at PRS in both the front lot (entry from Los Feliz Blvd. when heading east) and back lot (entry from first alley way, off Griffith Park Blvd. from intersection with Los Feliz Blvd.), as well as street parking on Griffith Park Blvd. and (after 7 PM) on Los Feliz Blvd. We encourage attendees to consider carpooling, walking or biking to events if possible, and please be considerate of our Los Feliz neighbors when parking.

PRS EVENT POLICIES

• We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.
• Events are subject to change without notice, including guest speakers and/or performers.
• We encourage you to arrive at least 30 min. before the scheduled event start time to find parking, enjoy the Bookstore and take your seats.
• Please turn off all mobile devices before the show. Talking and texting are not allowed during the events.
• No filming, audio recording or mobile phone recording of events, screenings, concerts or other programs by audience members is allowed without permission.
• There is no smoking permitted on PRS grounds.
• We strongly encourage guests to wear masks to PRS events to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
• PRS allows Service Animals into the facility under ADA and state guidelines. For further details please visit www.ADA.gov. No animals permitted whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support, under ADA guidelines and CA Health Code.
• Please do not bring outside food or drink into PRS events.
• Weapons are strictly prohibited at PRS events.

Host or Publisher The Philosophical Research Society