Movies like May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers (2017)
The best movies like May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers (2017) are Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) (2010), Searching for Sugar Man (2012) and Sound City (2013). If May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers hooked you with its music and documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSearching for Sugar Man (2012)7.9/10 from 1,087 votes
- NewestOzzy: No Escape from Now (2025)Released 2025
Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) (2010)
The life and work of the enigmatic singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSearching for Sugar Man (2012)
Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSound City (2013)
The history of Sound City and their huge recording device; exploring how digital change has allowed 'people that have no place' in music to become stars. It follows former Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighter David Grohl as he attempts to resurrect the studio back to former glories.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGeorge Michael: Freedom Uncut (2022)
Freedom Uncut chronicles the tumultuous — yet creatively fruitful — period of George Michael’s life and career following the release of his 1987 solo debut, Faith, then through the creation and release of his 1990 follow-up Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1. Along with documenting his creative efforts during this period, the doc will also explore his relationship with Anselmo Feleppa — who died from AIDS-related complications — as well as the death of Michael’s mother.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky (2018)
Film telling the untold story of John Lennon's 1971 album Imagine, exploring the creative collaboration between Lennon and Yoko Ono and featuring interviews and never-seen-before footage.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIndigo Girls: It's Only Life After All (2024)
An intimate look into the lives of one of the most iconic folk-rock bands in America - the Indigo Girls. With never-before-seen archival and intimate vérité the film dives into the songwriting and storytelling of the music that transformed a generation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream (2007)
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich and packed with rare concert footage and home movies, this documentary explores the history of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, including Petty's famous collaborations and notorious clashes with the record industry. Interviews with musical luminaries including Jackson Browne, George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Lynne, Dave Stewart and Petty himself shed some revelatory vision.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Miss Sharon Jones! (2015)
Two-time Academy Award® winner Barbara Kopple shines a powerful, inspiring and entertaining spotlight on contemporary soul queen Sharon Jones. As she prepares to release her much-anticipated new album, Sharon comes face to-face with the greatest challenge of her life: a grave cancer diagnosis. Follow this tour de force over the course of an eventful and remarkable year as she struggles to hold her band The Dap-Kings together while battling her way back to the stage with the unstoppable determination of a true soul survivor
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
David Crosby: Remember My Name (2019)
You thought you knew him. Meet David Crosby now in this portrait of a man with everything but an easy retirement on his mind. With unflinching honesty, self-examination, regret, fear, exuberance and an unshakable belief in family and the transformative nature of music, Crosby shares his often challenging journey.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Bob Dylan – Don't Look Back (1967)
In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Bob Dylan is surrounded by teen fans, gets into heated philosophical jousts with journalists, and kicks back with fellow musicians Joan Baez, Donovan, and Alan Price.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)
The film chronicles Nina Simone's journey from child piano prodigy to iconic musician and passionate activist, told in her own words.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDig! (2004)
A documentary on the once promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. The friendship between respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor, escalated into bitter rivalry as the Dandy Warhols garnered major international success while the Brian Jonestown Massacre imploded in a haze of drugs.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOzzy: No Escape from Now (2025)
Ozzy Osbourne faces his identity and mortality after his world stops. Dealing with health issues and Parkinson's, he questions if he can perform again while music remains his life's cornerstone.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like this20 Feet from Stardom (2013)
Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEcho in the Canyon (2019)
A look at the roots of the historic music scene in L.A.'s Laurel Canyon featuring the music of iconic music groups such as The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCobain: Montage of Heck (2015)
Hailed as one of the most innovative and intimate documentaries of all time, experience Kurt Cobain like never before in the only ever fully authorized portrait of the famed music icon. Academy Award nominated filmmaker Brett Morgen expertly blends Cobain's personal archive of art, music, never seen before movies, animation and revelatory interviews from his family and closest friends.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIf I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd (2018)
The story of Lynyrd Skynyrd; The Greatest American Rock Band Ever. We fly beyond Free Bird to celebrate the life & times of leader Ronnie Van Zant, from boogie-woogie beginnings in Jacksonville’s Shantytown to a tragic end in a Mississippi swamp.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)
From civil rights to the anti-war movement to the struggles of workers, folksinger Phil Ochs wrote topical songs that engaged his audiences in the issues of the 1960s and 70s. In this biographical documentary, veteran director Kenneth Bowser shows how Phil's music and his fascinating life story and eventual decline into depression and suicide were intertwined with the history-making events that defined a generation. Even as his contemporaries moved into folk-rock and pop music, Phil followed his own vision, challenging himself and his listeners. Not one to pull punches, Ochs never achieved the commercial success he desperately desired. But his music remains relevant, reaching new audiences in a generation that finds his themes all too familiar.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Jagged (2021)
An intimate exploration of Alanis Morissette and her groundbreaking 1995 album Jagged Little Pill.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Amy (2015)
A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSwamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted (2025)
Legendary musician Swamp Dogg, alongside housemates Moogstar and Guitar Shorty, has transformed his home into an artistic playground. Together they navigate the tumultuous music industry, and forge a unique and inspiring path across time and space.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Diane Warren: Relentless (2025)
An intimate look at the life, career and process of one of the most accomplished songwriters of all time, Diane Warren.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of 'Inside Llewyn Davis' (2013)
A concert inspired by the Coen Brothers' film, 'Inside Llewyn Davis,' which is set in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk music scene, featuring live performances of the film's music, as well as songs from the early 1960s. Performers include the Avett Brothers, Joan Baez, Dave Rawlings Machine, Rhiannon Giddens, Lake Street Dive, Colin Meloy, The Milk Carton Kids, Marcus Mumford, Punch Brothers, Patti Smith, Willie Watson, Gillian Welch, and Jack White, as well as the star of the film Oscar Isaac.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Shake! Otis at Monterey (1987)
Renowned documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker captures Otis Redding in his ascendancy, singing at the historic Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. Comedian Tom Smothers introduces Redding to a crowd that is leaving -- until Redding grabs them with his charged rendition of "Shake." Redding's performance also includes "Respect" (which he wrote), "I've Been Loving You Too Long," "Satisfaction," and "Try a Little Tenderness." Tragically, Redding died in a plane crash six months later. An innovative filmmaker who started in the 1950s making experimental films, Pennebaker garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature in 1993 for The War Room, his behind-the-scenes look at Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign. His other subjects have included Norman Mailer, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016)
Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into Frank Zappa’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of performing and, in the next moment, a fiercely intelligent and brutally honest interviewee whose convictions only got stronger as his career ascended.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006)
This 2005 documentary film chronicles the life of Daniel Johnston, a manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist, from childhood up to the present, with an emphasis on his mental illness and how it manifested itself in demonic self-obsession.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco (2002)
A documentary by photographer Sam Jones documenting American rock band Wilco recording their fourth album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Originally intended as a showcase of the band's creative process, the film crew catches unexpected complications between the band and its record label and problems among the band members themselves.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Howard (2018)
Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wrecking Crew (2008)
A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew." a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Bing Crosby.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Man Named Scott (2021)
In 2009, Scott Mescudi aka Kid Cudi released his debut LP, Man on the Moon: The End of Day. A genre-bending album that broke barriers by featuring songs dealing with depression, anxiety and loneliness, it resonated deeply with young listeners and launched Cudi as a musical star and cultural hero. A Man Named Scott explores Cudi’s journey over a decade of creative choices, struggles and breakthroughs, making music that continues to move and empower his millions of fans around the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers?
The closest matches to May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers are Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) (2010), Searching for Sugar Man (2012) and Sound City (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers?
People who watched May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers most often go on to Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) (2010), Searching for Sugar Man (2012) and Sound City (2013).
What is the highest-rated movie like May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers?
Searching for Sugar Man (2012), rated 7.9/10 by 1,087 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers?
Ozzy: No Escape from Now (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers?
Yes: Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) (2010), Searching for Sugar Man (2012) and Sound City (2013).
How are movies similar to May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.