Country on Film
Texas Music Revolution documentary marks 30 years of alt-country fest
Charley Crockett features heavily in the Texas Music Revolution trailer.
The Texas Music Revolution isn't a simple matter of geography. This independent music festival in McKinney, hosted by KHYI 95.3 "The Range," has been digging into alternative country western subgenres for 30 years as of this summer. A new documentary by the same name, Texas Music Revolution, charts the festival's evolution, culminating in one chaotic and memorable event.
Fans in Austin can watch two screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at Slaughter Lane and Lakeline on April 27 and 28, respectively. The film will be on a nine-city tour that also includes San Antonio, Dallas, Denton, and Richardson, plus other cities outside of Texas.
KHYI broadcasts to the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, prioritizing a version of country music that hasn't been smoothed out by a desire to appeal to the mainstream. That means genres like Red Dirt, outlaw country, and Americana, according to a press release about the film.
The station's irreverent website calls itself "a beacon of hope in the murky ocean of cheesy, generic, pseudo, so-called “Country” music." It makes digs at Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, and "Rascal Flattulence," while pledging allegiance to Robert Earl Keen, Ray Wylie Hubbard, the Turnpike Troubadours, and other artists who get less radio play. Popularity doesn't fully prohibit artists from getting play on KHYI; it also pays homage to Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Sr., and other country greats.
Festival founder Joshua Jones takes a leading role not just in the festival, but in the film as a subject and as a producer. Directed by Troy Paff (cinematography for Dirty Jobs), Texas Music Revolution ponders the ethos of KHYI and the styles of music it plays, recounts the 1997 start of the festival, documents the exposure it creates for up-and-coming acts, and follows a dramatic storm that derailed the festival while creating an opportunity for an even more fun Plan B.
A newly released trailer gives fans an idea of what the film will cover and who will be onscreen. Austin musician Charley Crockett features heavily in the trailer, and Kiefer Sutherland also appears. Others throughout the film include Ray Wylie Hubbard, Joshua Ray Walker, Zane Williams, Ottoman Turks, and more.
If fans miss the screening, they will be able to stream the film during the next Texas Music Revolution festival, June 5 and 6, 2026. More details will be announced as the date gets closer.
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