What To Watch
22 Music Documentaries to Watch with the Volume Cranked Up
Hit play and rock out to these films from your front row seat.
By Mary Sollosi and Ananda Dillon
March 27, 2026
22 Best Music Documentaries to Rock Out To - Netflix Tudum
Concert ticket prices got you down? Old favorite albums sounding tired? Your own complete lack of musical ability bumming you out?
Whatever the problem, don’t worry! Immerse yourself in brilliant artistry — and find common ground with a person who famously can carry a tune — by queuing up a music documentary.
Whether you’re a casual listener or a veteran performer yourself, these engaging films and shows offer new insights into the tracks you love (or perhaps that you’ve never heard before). Some are intimate profiles of an artist’s evolution throughout their career, while others capture a lightning-in-a-bottle moment in music history. These stories celebrate both the up-and-comers and the long-established legends — creative people making it happen in the genres of pop, rock, rap, country, and more.
Whatever your musical tastes or cinematic wishes, there’s a great documentary for you. So what are you waiting for? Get streaming and get some rhythm into your life!
Popular Now
ABBA: Against the Odds
The hardest part about watching this documentary chronicling Sweden’s biggest — and sparkliest — songsters is paying attention to the story of ABBA when all you want to do is sing along to their many infectious songs. From their start as winners at the 19th annual Eurovision Song Contest, performing “Waterloo,” to their rise as disco royalty with “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight),” just as the genre was being demonized, the film dives deep into the iconic pop group’s cultural influence.
ariana grande: excuse me, i love you
The pop star spent 2019 on the road with her Sweetener World Tour, performing hits from her fourth and fifth studio albums Sweetener and Thank U, Next. This documentary concert film captures the O2 Arena spectacular — including Ariana Grande’s live take on tracks like “7 Rings,” “God Is a Woman,” and “NASA” — and also follows her offstage for candid, behind-the-scenes moments that provide a glimpse into her work ethic and relatable sense of humor.
Avicii - I'm Tim
Avicii’s melodic and bass-heavy electronic house music is energetic and catchy as hell. This documentary follows the Swedish DJ, aka Tim Bergling, from his childhood in Stockholm as a self-described computer nerd making house music with his friends, all the way to the height of his fame — headlining sold-out EDM festivals. Once you finish the story of Bergling’s life and art, jump over to Avicii - My Last Show to experience his final performance.
Becoming Led Zeppelin
It’s easy to believe that the world’s most prominent bands simply emerge from the ether as fully formed powerhouses. Becoming Led Zeppelin is an illuminating look into just how long and winding the road to stardom truly is. Interviews with Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and even John Bonham — via rare archival recordings from before his death — chronicle the 1968 formation and subsequent rise of one of the world’s most recognizable bands.
Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell
Though his life and career were tragically cut short, Biggie Smalls — also known as the Notorious B.I.G. — is still remembered as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Emmett Malloy’s documentary honors his contributions to music at large, featuring interviews with his collaborators and family members. Altogether, the film traces the history of Christopher Wallace, a talented Brooklyn kid who went on to become one of hip-hop’s biggest stars.
BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky
Caroline Suh’s documentary about the record-shattering girl group Blackpink offers an illuminating look at the band and the K-pop genre. Light Up the Sky portrays the first few years of Blackpink’s journey, including glimpses into their studio process and the unique and rigorous trainee system through which the group was formed. The film pays special attention to each of its members — Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé — by highlighting their distinct identities and experiences, even as they work together to form a powerhouse quartet.
BTS: THE RETURN
BTS is back. RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook gather in Los Angeles to record their fifth studio album, Arirang, and this documentary brings fans into their shared creative space as they make new music and prepare to perform together for the first time in more than three years. Bao Nguyen (The Greatest Night in Pop) directs this companion film to the concert event BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG.
Gaga: Five Foot Two
This intimate documentary goes behind the scenes with Lady Gaga during a year of immense creative output, as she prepares to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show while simultaneously filming scenes for the series American Horror Story: Roanoke and releasing her fifth studio album, Joanne. It includes interviews with the likes of Tony Bennett, Florence Welch, Mark Ronson, and Donatella Versace, as well as emotional scenes like the performer playing songs for her grandmother and struggling with chronic pain caused by the onset of fibromyalgia.
The Greatest Night in Pop
Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Billy Joel, and dozens more, all led by Quincy Jones: In 1985, the biggest names in popular music gathered to record “We Are the World,” a charity single written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie to benefit the nonprofit USA for Africa. Bao Nguyen’s documentary chronicles the story behind the once-in-a-lifetime track, which went on to win four Grammys and raise millions of dollars for humanitarian aid.
Halftime
Jennifer Lopez was at a climactic moment in her career when she opened up her life for documentary filmmaker Amanda Micheli. She was coming off of a critically acclaimed acting role in Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers and preparing to perform at the 2020 Super Bowl. Taking fans behind the scenes with the triple-threat entertainer, Halftime isn’t just named for the Super Bowl midpoint: The film makes clear that, at 50, Jenny from the block had only just finished her first act.
HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé
In 2018, Beyoncé made history as the first Black woman to headline Coachella — and thankfully, she took a camera crew along with her. This documentary tracks the artist through months of detailed planning, grueling rehearsals, and candid conversations about art and motherhood. Come for footage of her critically acclaimed set — a two-hour hit parade, complete with surprise reunions and an homage to historically Black colleges and universities — and stay for the insights into her singular creative genius as she puts together an extraordinary show.
Karol G: Tomorrow was Beautiful
When Karol G set out to pursue her dream of becoming a global reggaeton superstar, she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. But despite the massive success of her chart-topping fourth studio album, Mañana Será Bonito, the Colombian singer faced an uphill battle when she announced her ambitious touring plans. This documentary outlines her creative process and determination, from finalizing her album in the recording studio to becoming the first Latina musician ever to headline a global stadium tour.
Keith Richards: Under the Influence
Morgan Neville turns his camera onto rock icon Keith Richards as he takes viewers on a tour of his own influences — the musical kind. Richards reminisces about his brilliant career while working on his 2015 solo album, Crosseyed Heart. If you see the film’s title and think only of the legendary musician’s counterculture reputation, then be warned: Under the Influence may not be the wild ride you expect. But Richards’s wit, energy, and passion for his art make him irresistibly watchable.
Miss Americana
Tour one of Taylor Swift’s most transformative eras for yourself, without leaving the comfort of your couch. Lana Wilson’s Miss Americana follows the pop star from the end of her Reputation stadium tour through the release of her Lover album. In addition to documenting Swift’s creative process and featuring candid interviews about her life, the doc sees the singer make the choice — after spending much of her career keeping quiet about politics — to stand up for what she believes in.
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Winner of Best Documentary Short Film at the 2025 Academy Awards, this short documentary puts on view the talent and remarkable career of Orin O’Brien, who joined the then all-male New York Philharmonic in 1966. At the time, there wasn’t even a dressing room for her to change in before performances. Now 87, the double bassist reflects on the institutional sexism she had to endure when Leonard Bernstein invited her to join the ensemble, as well as a lifetime of lessons in playing and teaching music.
Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE
For the first time in history, K-pop idol-making machine HYBE (yes, the label that created BTS) partners with Geffen Records for this docuseries about the creation of their first global girl group. Twenty hopefuls from countries around the world undergo the most intensive K-pop training program in existence to form the dynamic pop sound that’s now all over TikTok: KATSEYE. The blood, sweat, and tears these young women pour into the program is second only to the love they pour into each other.
Quincy
In case Quincy Jones didn’t have enough Grammy Awards to begin with (he had 27, from 79 nominations, at the time of filming), the Recording Academy also awarded one to this documentary about the eminent multihyphenate, for Best Music Film in 2019. Co-directed by Alan Hicks and Quincy’s own daughter Rashida Jones, the film is an intimate portrait of the producer, composer, songwriter, musician, and all-around cultural icon, tracing the history of his astonishing, decades-spanning career.
ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke
Each ReMastered installment investigates a strange — and usually quite dark — episode in music history. Kelly Duane de la Vega’s The Two Killings of Sam Cooke reconsiders the legacy of the famed soul singer, honoring his work and his activism while also examining his untimely death. Other subjects in the series include the unsolved murder of Jam Master Jay, the history of blues legend Robert Johnson, and the exploitation of Solomon Linda, who never got a penny for his composition that became “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley
In 1968, after seven years of no performances and five years without a new recording, Elvis Presley’s career was in jeopardy. This documentary zooms in on his “Comeback Special,” which aired on NBC. Ex-wife Priscilla, family friend Jerry Schilling, and Elvis aficionados such as Billy Corgan, Baz Luhrmann, and Conan O’Brien present anecdotes on the ups and downs of Presley’s music and acting career and all that led him to this historic TV event.
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese is also a celebrated rockumentarian, having made two films about Bob Dylan. No Direction Home is the more straightforward account of the artist’s rise to fame in the ’60s. Rolling Thunder Revue covers Dylan’s 1975 tour of the same name and captures the spirit of its moment, on the eve of a complicated nation’s bicentennial. As subversive as its subject, the film resists easy classification; mixing fact with fiction, Scorsese presents something perhaps not strictly accurate, but somehow all the more true.
WHAM!
You’ll want to go-go watch this documentary from Chris Smith (Tiger King, Fyre), which charts high school friends George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s rise to fame as one of the biggest and most commercially successful pop acts of the ’80s. Told through never-before-seen footage and previously unheard interviews, much of it from the duo’s personal archives, WHAM! explores the ups and downs of their journey from teenage pals to international music sensations.
What Happened, Miss Simone?
The legendary Nina Simone cannot be limited to a single descriptor. She is the standout singer of gospel, jazz, folk, and blues, to name a few genres. She trained as a classical pianist and often accompanied herself expressively during performances. And she became a key activist in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. This documentary uses never-before-heard recordings, rare archival footage, and audio of her best-known songs to zoom in on the High Priestess of Soul.
Additional reporting by Erin Corbett and Ashley Lee
Dive Deeper into Documentaries on TudumFrom in-depth filmmaker interviews to the latest-breaking news, stay in-the-know about your favorite true stories on Tudum.
Additional reporting by Jessica Derschowitz
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