Blues concert at xBk to feature Buckmiller/Schwager, highlight Eric Smidt's documentary

A central Iowa band and an Ames filmmaker are on a mission: They want to keep blues music alive.

When the Buckmiller/Schwager Band, led by Tom Buckmiller and Brian Schwager, won the Iowa Blues Challenge in 2021, it afforded the band the opportunity to play on Beale Street.

Eric Smidt, who also plays with the band, saw the trip as a chance to shine a spotlight on blues music through the art of filmmaking.

Smidt created a short documentary film, “To Memphis and Back,” to share the band’s experience of playing on Tennessee’s famous Beale Street during the 2022 International Blues Challenge, where the band was a semifinalist.

“With the trip to Memphis serving as the backdrop, ‘To Memphis and Back’ captures how this blues band uses their live shows to educate each crowd about the blues,” Smidt told the Ames Tribune.

“To Memphis and Back” is edited to appeal to seasoned and novice music lovers, Smidt said.

“Throughout the film, viewers are educated about the beauty of the blues genre, such as its different styles and chord structure, but also what it means to play the blues,” he said. “For the musicians in the crowd, the live performances and solos in the film, which oftentimes serve as the hallmark of the blues, can be awe-inspiring.”

‘To Memphis and Back’ film shares a title with Buckmiller/Schwager’s album

Tom Buckmiller and Brian Schwager formed the Buckmiller/Schwager Band in 2019. Their most recent album, “To Memphis and Back,” has attained critical acclaim, leading Blues Blast Magazine to note it as an “Emerging Artist Debut Release” in 2022.

With original titles such as “Whiskey Man,” “Thrill of the Thrill” and “Black Jeep Blues,” the album reflects Buckmiller’s creativity and songwriting skills. His stand-out vocals combine with Schwager’s stellar lead guitar playing, resulting in vibrant record sales.

Concert at xBk will also be broadcast on IPR

Iowa Public Radio will host an All Access event April 6 at xBk, 1159 24th St. in Des Moines. That performance will be broadcast live on IPR, and during one or both of the sets, interviews will take place.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The broadcast begins at 7, with live music starting at 7:30.

Although not a documentary showing, an interview piece with the band will include conversations about the film.

Blues documentary has shown at several film festivals, earned honors

“To Memphis and Back” was accepted at six film festivals in 2022, including Alternating Currents Film Festival in Davenport, Iowa Independent Film Festival in Clear Lake, South Dakota Film Festival in Aberdeen, Sioux City Independent Film Festival and Muscatine Music & Independent Film Festival.

In February, Smidt’s film was shown at the Winter Blues Fest, a large blues festival in Des Moines, organized by the Central Iowa Blues Society.

In March, the film took home the award for Best of Fest in the short documentary film category at the Oneota Film Festival in Decorah.

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Smidt strove for broad audience appeal

Because this project centers around two blues musicians from Iowa, Smidt said it was important to find ways for the documentary to appeal to a broad audience.

“We knew we would have the trip to Memphis, so how do we use that for a larger story?” he said. “Leading up to the trip to Memphis, I was thinking about what those pieces could be and quickly found them through the live performance.”

The film has extended music scenes that can appeal to novice and professional musicians alike, he said.

“Additionally, there is a scene in the film that we call the ‘blues education,’ where the band explains the different shades of the blues,” Smidt explained. “With those pieces in place, along with the trip to Memphis, the historic home of the blues, I knew we had a story to tell.”

Smidt has been playing music and performing with bands for more than 25 years. He’s been enjoying the blues for the past decade or so.

“It’s the live music and storytelling that are the most appealing parts. When a blues band and crowd are locked in together, whether it’s a large venue or a small jam session in a bar, the energy is amazing. Solos can take on a life of their own and the music is healing, both for the performer and everyone in the crowd. We explore these concepts in the film.”

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Smidt is no stranger to telling stories through film

The longtime communications director for the Ames school district, Smidt now serves as vice president of marketing and communications for the Ames Chamber of Commerce.

“To Memphis and Back” is not Smidt’s first foray into filmmaking.

In 2019, he created the award-winning “Amazing Grace Lemonade Race,” which features Ames student Grace McCunn.

At age 10, McCunn was diagnosed with chronic daily migraines and spent several days at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. Her experience there caused her to want to give back, so she started a lemonade stand.

That stand grew into a 5k run event, the Amazing Grace Lemonade Race. In 2022, the sixth year for the run, the organization had raised a total of more than $100,000 for Blank.

Smidt also created “We Own the Knight: A High School Basketball Documentary Film” in 2015. The doc follows the boys’ basketball team from Woodward Academy, a residential facility for male, delinquent youth, as it qualified for the Iowa High School Boys State Tournament for the first time in school history.

In 2011, Smidt directed “Knights of Iron,” which features a juvenile residential facility as it prepares a group of novice weightlifters for the USAPL High School Powerlifting National Championships.

Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. You can reach her at rlawless@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames filmmaker's award-winning doc strives to keep the blues alive