Documentary to be shown at PAC in April

A new documentary about singer Rob McNurlin hasn’t even made its debut in America and it has already won a prize in Northern Ireland.

Called “From The Cowboy’s Boot Heel: The Musical Journey of Rob McNurlin,” after one of his songs, the film is set to have local premiere at the Paramount Arts Center on April 17.

But the film was entered in the Eutopia Arthouse Film Fest in Belfast, Ireland and won Best Music Film on Wednesday. 

The film was made by Steve Middleton, a mass media instructor at Morehead State University, who is also a filmmaker and member of the New Beckham County Ramblers.

“It’s very exciting,” he said, with a laugh. He wasn’t able to pick up the award, but a friend in Ireland who lives near Belfast, went and picked it up for him and gave his acceptance speech. “It’s sitting in his office now until we can figure out how to get it here.”

McNurlin has seen a copy of the film and really enjoyed it.

“Its a pretty cool documentary. I’ve seen a rough cut of it. I am honored he did it. And in awe that he did it,” McNurlin said.

And how a film about the Greenup County musician known as the Last of the Beatnik Cowboys ended up in an Irish film festival is, of course, all about the music.

McNurlin met Middleton years ago, when the musician was playing a café in Morehead where Middleton worked while he was an undergraduate student. 

“I’d heard the legend of Rob McNurlin for years,” Middleton said, admitting that he was rather intimidated by the tall man in a cowboy hat and duster. “He was an imposing figure when he walked in, but he is just the nicest guy.”

They bonded over their mutual love of singer-song writers, specifically the music of Bob Dylan.

“He had seen all the weird Bob Dylan movies that he had produced himself,” Middleton said. “He is just an encyclopedia of music knowledge.”

They stayed in contact over the years, and about a year or two ago, McNurlin posted on Facebook that he was taking some time off the road and moving from Nashville back to Greenup County to take care of his parents and work on his wood carvings.

“Apparently, I posted it all wrong,” McNurlin said. “Well, a lot of people took it as I was retiring. I never said I was retiring. And a couple people said it sounded like I was going to kill myself. So it must have been way more depressing than I meant it to be.”

Middleton heard about the Facebook post from another member of the New Beckham County Ramblers about McNurlin’s “retirement” and reached out to ask him if he would mind being the subject of a documentary, citing the number of musicians who call McNurlin as an influence on their careers.

McNurlin said he had some things to tie up before he could commit to the project. Finally, a couple months later, McNurlin wrote back to Middleton.

“He said “Let’s do it.’ Middleton said. 

They used the stage of the Paramount Arts Center and traveled to other places to interview musicians that McNurlin has worked with over the years including Dave Prince, Marty Stuart, Jorma Kaukonen and his wife.

And now, McNurlin finds himself tour more than he has for a couple of years as venues book him to play and show the film.

“Apparently, the movie is opening up some doors and I’m going to be playing more than I thought I would,” he said. “It’s a ray of sunshine. I’d reached a low point, career-wise, and the Lord opens a door and there’s Steve Middleton making a movie about me.”

The American premiere of “From The Cowboy’s Boot Heel: The Musical Journey of Rob McNurlin” is, fittingly enough, in Morehead, Kentucky on April 1.

“April Fool’s Day, I thought that was very telling right there,” McNurlin said.

The documentary will be the anchor movie of the Appalachian Film Festival in Huntington, West Virginia on April 26. It will be shown at the Kentucky Theater in Lexington, Kentucky on May 6.

“They’ve all asked me to perform too,” McNurlin said. “I’m kind of blown away by the whole thing.”

“From The Cowboy’s Boot Heel: The Musical Journey of Rob McNurlin” is Middleton’s 20th film.