AllMovie

Nashville, Tennessee is world famous as the American capitol of country music, and accordingly it's a major hub in the music industry, with every major label and a host of smaller ones maintaining offices there and keeping the town's recording studios and music venues busy. But there's more to the Nashville music scene than what one hears on mainstream country radio, and filmmakers Jean-Martin Vogel and Eric LaRocca Mainade offer an insider's look at the city's pop, rock and alternative country music community in their documentary A Nashville State of Mind. Along with featuring the music of artists such as Jeremy Lister, Courtney Jaye, Aaron Winters and Katie Herzig, the film includes interviews with aspiring artists (many "transplants," as locals call folks who moved from out of town to the city to launch a career) who talk about a place where the music is just as important as the business, and a sense of community binds them rather than fierce competition. Also interviewed are Hank Williams III, Doc McGhee, Mike Grimes and other music business veterans who share their views on both the art and the industry of Nashville's "other" music scene. A Nashville State of Mind was fittingly a featured entry at the 2008 Nashville Film Festival.