Charley Crockett’s documentary “$10 Cowboy” premiers tonight at Austin Film Festival.
Dave Creaney for American-Statesman
Charley Crockett is a pure-blooded Texan. So when President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January requiring U.S. federal agencies to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” Crockett took to social media defending the body of water’s longstanding name.
“I was born on the Gulf of Mexico. I don’t recognize it by any other name,” Crockett wrote on Instagram. “Any real Texan knows that our Mexican American brothers and sisters hold up our economy in every industry. I’m proud to have been born in the Rio Grande Valley, where the population is over 90% Latino. If those boys in Washington, D.C., wanna go renaming regions of this country, they can start with New England. Because it ain’t new and it ain’t England.”
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Crockett has had a busy year. He just wrapped “The Crooner & The Cowboy Tour” with Leon Bridges in September, which kicked off shortly after releasing “Lonesome Drifter” in March — his first album on Island Records. Since then, he’s dropped another album, “Dollar A Day,” on Aug. 8, along with a single recorded with legendary British rock band Bad Company.
To fully appreciate Crockett’s whirlwind couple of years, we’ll need to rewind a bit — past “Visions of Dallas” and his Johnny Cash cover featured in the “Twisters” movie soundtrack — to when his “$10 Cowboy” album made its debut.
Charley Crockett performs at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021.
ROBERT HEIN FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN
A deep look at a Texas original
Premiering this Friday at Galaxy Theatre 6 during the Austin Film Festival, “$10 Cowboy — A Charley Crockett Documentary” offers a 75-minute portrait of the breakout country singer as he tours Texas in support of his 13th studio album, “$10 Cowboy,” released in April 2024.
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Directed by Patrick Heaphy and produced by LCM247, the film chronicles a week of performances across iconic Texas venues, including Dallas’ Longhorn Ballroom, Austin’s Broken Spoke, Houston’s Armadillo Palace and John T. Floore’s Country Store in San Antonio. The footage is interwoven with interviews and archival clips that trace Crockett’s journey from his humble beginnings to his current success.
The documentary opens with his childhood in San Benito, where he was raised by a single mother, before following his early career busking in New York City subways with the Train Robbers. He later formed his current band, the Blue Drifters, in homage to Hank Williams’ “Drifting Cowboys.”
Charley Crockett performs at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Saturday, October 2, 2021.
Robert Hein / American-Statesman
Struggle, Soul and Self-Discovery
“$10 Cowboy” highlights talent forged through struggle and celebrates how music became Crockett’s salvation. The film also underscores his deep connection to Texas, revealing how his identity as a son of the Lone Star State shapes his artistry.
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Born in the same Rio Grande Valley town as Freddy Fender of the Texas Tornadoes, Crockett continues to build on that legacy — one foot firmly planted in country tradition, the other pushing forward with a modern, soulful edge.
Crockett describes the life he lives now as the closest to being free, finding a sense of purpose in completely dedicating himself to what he loves rather than viewing himself as a commodity to be sold.
In “$10 Cowboy,” Crockett reflects on the grit, risk and heart it took to reach his dreams. His earnestness and storytelling evoke echoes of Willie Nelson — and if he keeps on this trail, Texans may one day revere him in the same way.
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‘$10 Cowboy’ Austin Film Festival Screening
Friday, Oct. 24 from 7 p.m. to 8:41 p.m. at Galaxy Theatre 6
Monday, Oct. 27 from 2 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. at Bullock IMAX Theatre