‘Louder Than Guns’ a Thought-Provoking New Music Documentary About Firearms and America

Can Country Music Heal America’s Deepest Divide??

LOUDER THAN GUNS, directed by Doug Pray, arrives in Los Angeles this month, bringing with it a profound question… Can music and the communities it creates set aside cynicism and distrust and finally move the needle on gun reform? In an era where the American public’s awareness is often fueled by media outrage, a new documentary is offering what critics call a “radical” alternative.

The Nashville Catalyst

The project was born from a moment of profound local tragedy: the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville. In the aftermath, Ketch Secor, lead singer of the Grammy-winning Old Crow Medicine Show, felt a responsibility to speak out. He penned a New York Times op-ed titled, “Country Music Can Lead America Out of Its Obsession with Guns,” which caught the attention of his friend David Greene, a former NPR reporter and host of KCRW’s Left, Right & Center.

Together, they set out to see if music—an art form that inherently brings people together—could serve as a bridge over the deep cultural and political canyons that define the modern gun debate.

A new kind of front row

“People in the front row of their concerts might not agree on anything besides the music they love,” the filmmakers note. This shared love for song provides one of modern America’s rarest opportunities: the chance for citizens to engage with one another respectfully, because maybe, just maybe we are more connected than our political differences might indicate.

The film, directed by Doug Pray, follows Secor and Greene as they take this conversation on the road. The creators lean into the unique demographic of Old Crow Medicine Show fans, who often sit side-by-side in the front row despite standing at “the furthest ends of today’s culture wars”. This shared love for the band’s signature song, “Wagon Wheel,” creates a “rare opportunity” to engage respectfully with those who hold vastly different views but at heart, value the very same things.

Conversations in the heart of the community

Moving away from the polarized shouting matches of cable news, the documentary follows Secor and Greene into the heart of American life. They facilitate emotional and inspiring discussions in barbeque joints and barbershops, church pews and gun stores, Concert halls and rural communities.

In these settings, the film seeks to smash stereotypes by facilitating emotional and inspiring discussions. It posits that when neighbors are simply asked to listen to one another, they often discover a shared, fundamental goal: the desire for safer communities, whether they are gun owners or not.

Critical Acclaim & Los Angeles Screenings

The film has already earned significant praise and now Los Angeles audiences will have two opportunities to experience the film and join the conversation at screenings this month on July 28 at Laemmle’s Monica Theater and on July 29 at Laemmle’s Glendale Theater.

As Secor and Greene demonstrate, the needle on gun reform may finally move not through more outrage, but through the power of a shared harmony.

Official website: LouderThanGuns.com

*Promotional images and information courtesy Karen Oberman / K.O. PR