Film screenings and Q&A with the filmmakers!

You Gave Me a Song: The Life and Music of Alice Gerrard

Kenny Dalsheimer, filmmaker

You Gave Me a Song offers an intimate portrait of old-time music pioneer Alice Gerrard and her remarkable, unpredictable journey creating and preserving traditional music. The film follows eighty-four year-old Gerrard over several years, weaving together verité footage of living room rehearsals, recording sessions, songwriting, book project work, and performances with archival photos, rare field recordings, and animation. Much of the film is told in Alice’s voice and via interviews with musical collaborators and family members who share the story of Alice and others chasing that high lonesome sound. This is one woman’s story of being traditional, never conventional. This is a film about getting older, but never giving up.