The Promised Land

The Promised Land — A Swamp Pop Journey is a film that takes you to the heart of South Louisiana’s musical phenomenon – swamp pop. Tracing founder member CC Adcock’s search through the swamps and flatlands, we witness firsthand the formation of a band of unsurpassed talents and heart-warming personalities they now call Lil’ Band O’ Gold.

Every member is a master of a different musical style: 70-year-old Warren Storm, a veteran blues drummer and Swamp Pop singer; 68-year-old Dickie Landry, a careering avant-garde art jazzman on saxophone and Steve Riley, arguably the greatest traditional Cajun accordionist alive today.

Filmed by London based filmmaker Matthew Wilkinson with an impressionistic, freewheeling affection for its subject and unfettered access over two and a half years, The Promised Land shows us a part of America where there is still a local, non-corporate culture based around music and food. It’s a culture that operates by word of mouth and local knowledge and one that never forgets to make ‘em dance. The Promised Land is a bittersweet film about people from America’s neglected South with one thing left to keep their hope alive – music.

“The Promised Land provides a convincing, amusing and sometimes moving cinematic treatise on the subject… Watching the sometimes casual, sometimes intense creative process of these ragin’ Cajuns is nothing less than captivating. This is a film you don’t want to end. In fact, where’s their next gig? I’ll fly, I’ll drive, I’ll walk.”
Ron Maxwell (writer-director, Gettysburg)

“A terrific film about Louisiana and a supergroup of local musicians who come together to make extraordinary music.”
Louis Black (Founder, South by Southwest Festival)

Links:

• The Promised Land on imdb.com
• The Promised Land trailer