“Where Ya Been” Film About the Life of Luke Bell On The Way
Country artist Luke Bell’s life ended on August 26th, 2022 at the age of 32 in what remains one of the most tragic events in country music in recent memory. Bell died on the streets of Tucson, AZ after going missing a few days before. Considered at one point to be one of the most promising voices in country music and one of the most authentic performers to ever ply the craft, Luke Bell’s legacy may have been truncated, but it left a crater of an impact.
After the death of Luke, it didn’t feel like it was the end of his story. It felt like it was just the beginning, especially after the news of his death garnered surprising international interest, finally giving Luke Bell the attention he’d always deserved.
Now some inspired filmmakers have set out to tell the story of Luke Bell. Directors Kevin Romeo and Matt Bakken of Rhino Media have taken the idea that someone should preserve Luke Bell’s legacy in full and run with it. They’re doing it with the blessing and participation of Luke’s mother Carol, sister Jane, as well as Luke’s grandparents, uncle, and others.
Called Where Ya Been? The Odyssey and Elegy of Luke Bell, Kevin Romeo and Matt Bakken have already been to Luke Bell’s hometown of Cody, Wyoming, the nearby ranching community of Shell, as well as Tucson, Nashville, Austin, and other locations searching for Luke Bell. The filmmakers have spoken to musicians like Matt Kinman and Pat Reedy who played big roles as mentors to Luke, and spoken to yours truly (Trigger of Saving Country Music) on multiple occasions too.
The idea behind the documentary is not to just make a dry recitation of events, but to shepherd Luke Bell’s story into the future, while exploring the deeper themes found in his life and his death, including addiction and mental health from which Luke suffered from and eventually succumbed to.
Director Kevin Romeo says, “We aim to bring together the multifaceted experiences of those who were part of Luke’s life. This film will be a celebration of country music and folklore while offering a poignant reflection on the challenges of mental illness.”
Much has been done already, but to make sure this film gets all the support and lift it deserves, a Kickstarter campaign has been launched “to aid in covering production costs, music licensing fees, media expenses, and other crucial elements essential to ensure the documentary’s integrity and reach.”
The making of the film also coincides with an ongoing effort to make sure all of Luke Bell’s music can be heard by the public, including songs he released before his landmark self-titled album in 2016, and well as songs recorded subsequently that the public has yet to hear.
Support the Where Ya Been? Kickstarter Campaign
Much has been going on during the 2nd half of 2023 to make sure Luke Bell is remembered. On October 21st, friends and family of Luke Bell dedicated the Luke Bell Memorial Chapel at the Circle P Ranch in Mt. Juilet, Tennessee near Nashville. This was the same location where a public memorial was held for Luke Bell on November 12th, 2022.
Luke Bell mentor Matt Kinman and Rose Cashio also started a Go Fund Me campaign earlier this year to help create the Luke Bell Foundation, which is being founded in order to provide resources to help artists and musicians address mental health and drug addiction issues, including group counseling and therapy, support groups, and addiction treatment.
More information on the Luke Bell film and new music from Luke when it becomes available.
December 27, 2023 @ 2:38 pm
Chipped in to see it in Nashville. Thanks to this site for turning me onto him and countless other musicians over the years.
December 27, 2023 @ 5:17 pm
Thanks Kevin Romeo for doing this and all your hard work and to others that are helping out and doing and thanks Trigger for posting this and all you have done…Mike n Melissa…
December 27, 2023 @ 5:53 pm
Happy someone is doing a film on him. Looking forward to seeing the finished product! RIP Luke.
December 27, 2023 @ 7:03 pm
Looks like a move is afoot to try to make Luke Bell an archetype of the tortured soul, musical genius who died young from his demons–a la Hank, Gram, Keith and Kurt.
Good luck, but it seems like not an easy sell. Williams, Parsons, Whitley and Cobain were famous before they died.
December 27, 2023 @ 8:27 pm
As great as this news is, I think a much better way to honor his memory would be to send one of his songs to radio. Given the circumstances it could be a real dark horse surprise it. If they are trying to turn him into a modern day Hank Williams or Buddy Holly, this would be a perfect cap on his legacy.
December 27, 2023 @ 9:00 pm
I wonder how much the man himself would have wanted his mental issues to be doted on.
December 27, 2023 @ 9:12 pm
Though Luke was private about his battles for a long time, in the months leading up to his death he was open about how he’d been dealing with mental illness. Either way, I’m not sure anyone is “doting on” his mental health issues. Using his story to address something that many struggle with, or simply telling his story which can’t be told without addressing mental illness I don’t think is somehow lionizing the disease.
December 27, 2023 @ 11:06 pm
I wonder how the man himself would feel about a film that shepherds his story into the future while exploring the deeper theme of mental health, while offering a poignant reflection on mental illness. .
December 28, 2023 @ 2:56 am
FWIW, I’m bipolar and a survivor of both a suicide attempt and a “good faith effort” of trying to drink myself to death.
Personally,I would want to tell some stories. And do my best to put them to song (even if only for my own).
December 28, 2023 @ 8:30 am
Noted, and appreciate your perspective. I wonder what a seemingly low key guy like Luke Bell would think, and how much that’s been considered. Maybe it has, I’m just wondering.
If all this must be highlighted, I would be more curious about an honest portrayal of the relationship between his drug abuse and said issues. Maybe it will…I will check it out. Mostly out of appreciation for his music.
December 28, 2023 @ 10:08 am
I don’t know if anyone is in a position to know how Luke Bell would feel about all of this. The closest thing we have to that is Luke’s family, who is actively participating in this film and can be seen in the trailer. They’re the ones whose opinion most matters now that Luke is no longer with us.
I can’t speak for the filmmakers, but I will say that from the perspective of a journalist, you really can’t take into consideration the opinions of the subjects you’re covering. Whether I’m covering a news story that doesn’t reflect well on the subject, or writing a review for an album, I can’t say “Well gee, how will the artist feel about this?” It’s my job to tell the story as accurately as possible, or to be as honest about my opinions as possible, and hope they respect that truthfulness and honesty. And if they don’t, oh well.
Mental illness is part of the Luke Bell story. But I feel confident this will also be a documentary on his whole life, his music, his journey.
December 28, 2023 @ 10:52 pm
I get all that, and that’s why you’re a good journalist, critic, or whatever. I still wonder what he would think about it.
December 28, 2023 @ 8:53 am
I didn’t know Luke well, so I ain’t gonna speak for the dead. Instead, this is just a small bit of perspective on how I knew Luke to be. When Luke was bad, he’d take himself away. I don’t know if he was ashamed of it, or didn’t want to burden anyone with it, but I suspect some of both. Maybe he had started to open up in the months before he died, but I hadn’t seen him for a long while before then.
But, when Luke was good, he was a sweet, encouraging man who tried to lift you up. I remember sitting around playing tunes, he lead one, and when he finished, someone said “man, I wish I could play like that.” Luke looked in the eye, smiled, and said with total upbeat sincerity “You can!!”
December 28, 2023 @ 2:45 am
Towards the start of the pandemic I had a dark night of the soul (or whatever) where I thought Lorrie Morgan was trying to arrange a marriage for me…I wasn’t even a Lorrie Morgan fan at the time. I felt duped in the morning. She got me!
On a more serious note,I read around the same time that Jan Howard had died; I was so detached from reality/other human kind that I didn’t even know whether to believe whether it was true. This was before my involvement with this site, so I’ll just say I miss Jan Howard very much.
I’m bipolar and I don’t know a ton about Luke Bell, and I don’t want to go too far off topic, but like I already said, I miss Jan Howard. Off to youtube.
December 28, 2023 @ 7:00 am
Hell yeah this looks so good. As someone who struggled myself I get happy when I see people like Bubba Wallace talk openly about mental health. I’m excited to see this because discovering Luke through this website has positively changed my life.
December 28, 2023 @ 9:21 am
I knew Luke very well. He could be shy, quite and low key sometimes. He was aways willing to help someone out. Knowing a film being made about him and his problems that could help someone else out , HE WOULD BE ALL IN…. That’s 100% percent sure !!! Luke did not die from an overdose , he died from MENTAL ILLNESS , his search for relief ( which many doctors in many states could not find a cure) led him to an overdose. Something with Fentanyl in it killed Luke, but he died from MENTAL ILLNESS… God Bless and Happy Trails , Mike (Squash)…
December 28, 2023 @ 9:04 am
I don’t get it at all. Why not more ” The pursuit of Happiness” films or stories of perseverance. Every single person has times of trouble in their lives. Most of us drive on. I’ve had a few buddies end it all and all it does is piss me off. All these dudes were OIF/OEF vets. Anyways, celebrate the ones that carry on, and aren’t selfish bastards. Somewhere in everyone’s neighborhood there is a family member who has to carry on because their child died young or any other tragedy, and you know what, that person carries on with no one celebrating their commitment to life. Celebrate the brave, remember the brave. My .02
December 28, 2023 @ 10:13 am
First, we don’t know that Luke Bell wanted to “end it all.” Perhaps he did, but his cause of death was an accidental Fentanyl overdose, not suicide. As we have seen countless times over the last few years, folks are dying of Fentanyl thinking they’re taking something else, or taking a fatal dose when that wasn’t their intention.
Clearly there is something very compelling about the arc of Luke Bell’s life. This is the reason when news of his death was revealed, it became a massive international story, despite a very small amount of people knowing about him before. I don’t think this will be a film about mental illness or addiction. It will be a film about Luke Bell, and you can’t tell the story without broaching these subjects.
December 28, 2023 @ 10:20 am
We have different take Trig. If one is using fentanyl, one isn’t trying to extend life, they are trying to end it. It is well known that fentanyl is being mixed in all drugs. Taking anything is putting one at risk of OD and it’s a choice. You don’t have to call it suicide, you can call it Russian Roulette. High or dead.
December 28, 2023 @ 11:14 am
Must be a hell of a view from that glass house you sit in Brad
December 28, 2023 @ 11:57 am
I’ve been shot in the head, had friends killed and family members die. I know trauma so spare me your “glass house” nonsense.
December 28, 2023 @ 10:52 am
Not a goddamned bit of this is about YOU, Brad. You’ve completely missed the point, and I’m guessing that happens to you a lot in life.
December 28, 2023 @ 12:10 pm
John, not a god dang bit about this is about YOU. Youve completely missed the point of my post, and I’m guessing that happens to you a lot in life.
Man, personal attacks are so wonderful………..
December 28, 2023 @ 1:20 pm
Luke Bell was many things, but selfish was not even close to being one of them.
December 28, 2023 @ 6:11 pm
luke earned a film. a singular talent dead. and a story well worth telling.
many of us know of similar unhappy endings.
let luke’s tribute speak for all those “unknown soldiers” passing through our lives, and may his music bring wisdom and pleasure to the many.
December 29, 2023 @ 11:10 am
Thanks Trig for making so many of us aware of his music. I’ve worn out all his songs and wish I had more of Luke’s music to listen to. I knew the first time I heard his music that it was special, exactly the type of music I was looking for. Great to see people preserving his legacy with this film.
January 16, 2024 @ 3:01 pm
Bring the film to San Francisco!
Question on the lyrics; whenever I play The Bullfighter, I sing, “for I am the greatest bullfighter to ever dare the pen.”
Is that what he is saying?
My take has been that he’s making a play on the tension of being a fighter and a poet, a doer and a thinker, an actor and a writer. Any idea what he meant?
September 18, 2024 @ 12:05 pm
Hey Hayden!
We’ll do our best to screen in San Francisco.
The lyric for bullfighter is “For I am the bravest bullfighter to ever dare the pen”.
My two cent take on the meaning of the song is that, sometimes, you have to fight in life. You’re going to face big, hard, challenges, and you have to be brave. You’re gonna get knocked on your ass but you keep going.
I’m sure there’s way more to it, and of course, we’ll never know for sure, but that’s how I view it.
KR