Rissi Palmer to be Featured in PBS Documentary Series

Rissi Palmer’s life and career in country music are being told through the art of film.

In the upcoming second season of the PBS documentary short series, American Masters: In the Making, Palmer is one of nine artists across a variety of fields whose work is being spotlighted for its impact on American culture. Rissi Palmer: Still Here focuses on Palmer’s journey in country music, including the making of her new album while breaking down barriers for people of color in the genre through her various efforts, including her Color Me Country Radio show on Apple Music and the Color Me Country Artist Grant Fund she launched in 2020 in collaboration with Kelly McCartney’s Rainey Day Fund.

A trailer for Palmer’s doc, directed by fellow Durham, North Carolina, native Dilsey Davis, shows Palmer recording in the studio, making her Grand Ole Opry debut in 2007, and discusses her experience in the music industry and being an independent artist. “I want to make music that matters,” Palmer states in the video.

“So y’all… I was about to bust wanting to tell you,” Palmer shared in a Facebook post. “My dear friend Dilsey Davis made a really beautiful documentary about my life/career for PBS American Masters!!! It’s pretty surreal.”

“It blows my mind every time I see PBS American Masters and my name in the same sentence,” she adds in another post.

Palmer’s story will be featured in the broadcast premiere, alongside a film about opera star J’Nai Bridges titled Unamplified, airing on March 24 at 9 p.m. ET. “No one becomes an ‘American Master’ overnight, and of the idea behind In the Making is to take a behind-the-scenes look at the creative processes of artists who are on their way to becoming masters in their field,” Michael Kantor, executive producer for American Masters, explains in a press release.

In 2007, Palmer made history as the first Black woman in 20 years to chart a country song when her single, “Country Girl,” reached No. 54 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Dona Mason accomplished the feat in 1987 as a vocalist on Danny Davis’ “Green Eyes (Cryin’ Those Blue Tears),” which hit No. 62 on the same chart.

Photo Credit: Chris Charles/Courtesy of Hot Schatz PR