Film Overview

The Deluxe Edition of Rocking the Boat: A Musical Conversation and Journey with heart-pounding 5.1 and DTS sound, 7 new songs, and more than one hour of bonus material is now available and shipping.

For nearly 50 years, 3-time Grammy® award-winning, Roadhouse/Roots/Rock legend, Delbert McClinton has been playing to everything from packed honky tonks to opera houses. He is a revered figure in American music.

He is said to have taught John Lennon licks on the harp as well as being the inspiration for the Blues Brothers, who honed their act on stage with him at the Lone Star Cafe in NYC in the 70's.

Since 1995, he has leased a cruise ship and filled it full of his musical friends and fans and thrown a floating music festival and retreat. From 11 a.m. 'til 3 a.m., every day for 7 days, they rock the boat in the tropics. If you ask many cruisers where the ship is going they don't know. Most don't even care.

Rocking the Boat combines interviews with Delbert and his fellow road warriors, as well as 19 live shipboard performances. The cast represents some of the best and most successful singer/songwriters working today. These artist are fiercely independent and have made many choices in favor of artistic integrity over commerce. The backing musicians are among the most sought after for both touring and recording.

RTB was shot with 5 cameras in HD (this release is standard def). Two designated 24-track audio packages were used to capture live shows that will rock your world.

In 2007, RTB opened the 37th Annual USA Film Festival, and played to enthusiastic crowds across the country on the film festival circuit.

This re-cut version of the film won Best Documentary Feature at the Woods Hole Film Festival and Best Music Documentary at the Lone Star International Film Festival.

Besides Delbert McClinton, Rocking the Boat features Marcia Ball, Rodney Crowell, Jimmy Hall, Stephen Bruton, Teresa James, Paul Thorn, Big Al Anderson, Mingo Fishtrap, Tommy Castro, Terry Allen and Wayne Toups. Actor, Matt Clark, and Author/Musician, Kinky Friedman, throw in their 2 cents, too. Additional artists in the bonus section include Jeff Steele, Nick Connolly, Whitey Johnson, Clay McClinton, Chris Stapleton, Bob Dipiero, and Buddy Miller. There are a total of 30 live performances and a total of more than 3 hours of original Americana material.