Rebel Country – Original Score
Table of Contents
Rebel Country (2025) — Original Score
Client / Film: Rebel Country
Director: Francis Whately
Screened at: Tribeca Festival (World Premiere, 2024)
Project Overview
Rebel Country is a bold and timely documentary that interrogates the dominant narrative of country music by reclaiming its diverse roots and elevating voices too often marginalized. The film explores how Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ artists have shaped—and continue to reshape—the genre.
Featuring performances and interviews with luminaries such as Lainey Wilson, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Jelly Roll, Blanco Brown, Jake Blount, Rissi Palmer, Frank Ray, Brooke Eden, Sam Williams, BRELAND, and Lindsay Ell, Rebel Country juxtaposes storied traditions with new trajectories.
My Contribution: Soundtrack & Score
For Rebel Country, I was commissioned to compose an original score that would both complement and contrast the documentary’s live performances. The challenge—and opportunity—was to create a sonic narrative that could:
Weave in subtle ambient textures to reflect the film’s social, historical, and emotional layers
Anchor thematic arcs—identity, reclamation, resistance, and reinvention
In scoring Rebel Country, I engaged in a close collaboration with the director Francis Whately, attending rough cuts, fine-tuning cue placement, and ensuring the score propelled transitions without overshadowing the voices on screen. The result is an original film score that strengthens the narrative and deepens emotional resonance, while allowing the performances and interviews of celebrated artists to remain the film’s heart.
Highlights & Takeaways
The score serves as a connective tissue between interviews, archival material, and performance segments, offering both continuity and contrast
I employed a modular motif-based structure, enabling flexible adaptation to sudden shifts in tone or pacing
Several cues lean more ambient or minimal during archival/reflective moments, while others amplify energy during the title theme and montages
The collaboration yielded an original score that feels both rooted in tradition and forward-looking in spirit
You can watch Rebel Country and hear my original score on streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, Apple TV and SBS On Demand (Australia only)
Watch the opening credits for ‘Rebel Country’ below
