Early Review of Cameron Crowe’s New Rock’n’Roll Series, Roadies–Plus News of a Soundtrack Release Date

Two years ago, Showtime announced they picked up a Cameron Crowe series called Roadies. In the past few months we have shared the trailers for the show. Now, it has been announced that the official soundtrack will be released on August 26.

If you want a preview of the music featured on the soundtrack, one song is already available for streaming on Apple Music. This track, by Scottish indie band Frightened Rabbit and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, “I Wish I Was Sober” will be featured in the Roadies season premier tonight.

Dramas about the music industry have already proven to be a difficult task, as shown by HBO cancelling Vinyl. However, where Vinyl was about a 1970s record executive, Roadies features — as suggested by the show’s name — a group of roadies. So far, the reviews have been mixed. The Globe and Mail’s John Doyle calls it bland and states:

“The premise of Roadies is too clean-cut to begin with. The roadies, who are the key support workers for a band, are a family. That’s it, that’s the premise – they’re family. They have their quirks and sometimes go astray, but they’re family, bound by an unbreakable force that is, somehow, defined by the vibe of the band and the music. Here, all of that comes across as a Disneyfied version of reality. The viewer never quite believes any of it”.

Huffington Post’s Shira Hirschman Weiss, on the other hand, loved it and had this to say:
“A naif to roadie culture myself until I was privileged with a sneak peek of the show, my thoughts of Tom Petty pretty narrowly turn to “Free Fallin.” However, it was this very talented multi-hit musician who once said: “I think the general public has no idea what roadies do. Bless ‘em all. I just play the songs. They make the show happen.” You will see this exact quote in the opening credits, and believe me, you won’t want to miss the full experience”.

Finally, Keith Phipps of Uproxx admits Roadies has a few flaws, but it cautiously optimistic.

“There are signs of life. Crowe’s visual skills have only gotten stronger over the years. A fluid sequence following Kelly Ann on her skateboard doubles as an introduction to the day-to-day routines of the crew as they set up for a show in New Orleans. Then there’s that sincerity. Crowe can be corny, but he’s never phony, and when the characters here drop into reveries about why they do what they do it’s easy to buy them as passionate people who live in service of art. And so, obviously, is Crowe, even if his latest project has a ways to go to live up to his best work. Maybe it’ll get there further down the road”.

Here’s to hoping the show lives up to its hype. We need a good music series after Vinyl’s mediocre reception and cancellation.