Photo Credit: Merri Cyr (photo courtesy Magnolia Pictures)
The much-anticipated trailer for “It’s Never Over: Jeff Buckley” has arrived, offering a revealing glimpse into the life of one of the most enigmatic voices in modern music.
The documentary, an official selection at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, promises to shed new light on the brief but powerful career of Jeff Buckley. Buckley’s meteoric rise in the 1990s New York City avant-garde scene marked him as a standout among his generation. After years of performing as a session guitarist and playing in Los Angeles bands, Buckley moved to New York, quickly establishing himself with deeply emotive performances at venues like Sin-é in Manhattan’s East Village.
In December 1993, Buckley released his first commercial recording, the EP Live at Sin-é, which featured him solo with his electric guitar. This intimate release set the stage for his only full-length studio album, Grace, in 1994. Grace did not initially find mainstream commercial success in the United States, but the album’s emotional depth and Buckley’s haunting voice quickly earned him critical acclaim and a cult fan following.
The album includes a now-iconic cover of Lenoard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” a recording that has since been named one of the greatest songs of all time and was inducted into the National Recording Registry. Musicians including Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Muse’s Matt Bellamy, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Adele, and Lana Del Rey have all cited Buckley’s influence on their works.
Following relentless touring across the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia, Buckley returned to the studio in the mid-1990s to work on new material. However, his career ended abruptly in May 1997, when he drowned at the age of 30 while preparing to record his second studio album in Memphis.
“It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley” is directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg (Deliver Us From Evil, Janis: Little Girl Blue, West of Memphis). The film features never-before-seen archival footage, plus intimate perspectives from Buckley’s mother, Mary Guibert, former partners Rebecca Moore and Joan Wasser, bandmates Michael Tighe and Parker Kindred, as well as artists including Ben Harper and Aimee Mann. This documentary promises to highlight both Buckley’s career achievements and the deeply personal side of his legacy.
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