Deep Roots: The Art and Music of Bill Steber and Friends

DEEP ROOTS is music filmmaker Robert Mugge's feature-length portrait of respected Southern artist, photographer, and musician Bill Steber.

DEEP ROOTS is a 2025 feature-length music doc directed by Robert Mugge, and produced by Mugge with his partner Diana Zelman. It is intended as a companion piece to Mugge's acclaimed 1991 film DEEP BLUES, which examined blues traditions of the Mississippi Delta and North Mississippi Hill Country.

DEEP ROOTS explores the life and work of highly regarded Southern artist, photographer, and musician Bill Steber, while showcasing Black and white musical traditions of the 1920s and 1930s, rural music scenes of Mississippi and Tennessee, and connections between music and the visual arts.

The film's first half takes place largely in Steber's home base of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and its second half largely in the Mississippi Delta, which is a major focus of Steber's work. Included are interviews conducted at a Murfreesboro gallery exhibit of Steber's art and photography; visits to Clarksdale, Mississippi's Juke Joint Festival and Leland, Mississippi's Highway 61 Blues Museum; and public performances by three of Steber's primary music groups: Jake Leg Stompers, Stoop Down Rounders, and Hoodoo Men. Informative commentary is provided by music historian Scott Barretta, museum operator Billy Johnson, festival director Roger Stolle, and gallery curator Shannon Randol, as well as by Steber himself, whose witty musings enliven scenes throughout.

Actors: Deep Roots

Audio Languages: English

Number of Discs: 1

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