BBC Music Presents… Arena: American Epic

Highlights and performances from this BBC Arena series (narrated by Robert Redford), telling the stories of the pioneers of American roots music.

Part 1: The Big Bang

The 1920s saw record companies travel rural America to record the music of ordinary people
Part 2: Blood and Soil

The stories of those early music pioneers whose names have largely been forgotten.
Part 3: Out of the Many, the One

Exploring Hawaiian steel guitar music, Cajun music and Mississippi John Hurt's blues.
Arena: American Epic

Episode guide and broadcast schedule
Taj Mahal - High Water Everywhere — Arena, American Epic, The Sessions

Taj Mahal performs Charley Patton's 1929 track
Nas - One Mic — Arena, American Epic, The Sessions

Nas performs his classic track 'One Mic' with Jack White and his band
The Hawaiians - Tomi Tomi — Arena, American Epic, The Sessions

The Hawaiians perform 'Tomi Tomi', originally recorded by the Aloha Serenaders in 1930
Ashley Monroe and The Americans - Jubilee — Arena, American Epic, The Sessions

Ashley Monroe performs 19th Century Appalachian folk song, 'Jubilee'
Elton John - Two Fingers of Whiskey — Arena, American Epic, The Sessions

Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote this song specially for the American Epic sessions
Willie Nelson and the late Merle Haggard - Old Fashioned Love — Arena, American Epic, The Sessions

Willie and Merle record using the same technology as their early predecessors.
Alabama Shakes - Killer Diller — Arena, American Epic, The Sessions

Alabama Shakes put their spin on Killer Diller, recorded by Memphis Minnie in 1946.
Into Space with Blind Willie Johnson — Arena, American Epic, Out of the Many, the One

A Blind Willie Johnson recording was launched into space as part of the Voyager mission
Joseph Kekuku and the Steel Guitar — Arena, American Epic, Out of the Many, the One

Kekuku’s descendants explain how he invented the steel guitar in the late 19th century.
The dynamic church of Elder Burch — Arena, American Epic, Blood and Soil

Taj Mahal discusses the freedom experienced by Elder Burch's congregation
"The influence of Charley Patton can not be understated ..." — Arena, American Epic, Blood and Soil

Taj Mahal explains how Charley Patton captured the struggles of life in the cotton fields
The Memphis Jug Band — Arena, American Epic, The Big Bang

Rapper Nas explains the significance of the band whose music set the foundation of rap
Record sales were plummeting... — Arena, American Epic, The Big Bang

‘The Big Bang’ explains how the pioneers of American music were recorded in the 1920s
Steve Martin and Edie Brickell - Cuckoo — Arena, American Epic

Steve Martin demonstrates his instrumental skill, accompanying Edie Brickell