God's Country Song

God’s Country Song is a 2023 Christian film about a man working to be a country music star suddenly having to care for the four-year-old son he did not previously know about. The movie was filmed in Fayetteville (Washington County), Bentonville (Benton County), and surrounding areas.

Noah Bryan (Justin Gaston) is an up-and-coming country music artist. He has a tendency to drink a little too much and has a tense relationship with his father Jeremiah Bryan (John Laughlin), who wanted him to stay on the farm, though his mother Sara Bryan (Mariel Hemingway) is his “biggest fan.” While on tour, he is served with legal papers demanding a paternity test for the child of a mother who has died, leaving him as legal guardian. His manager Larry Walker (Christopher Michael) talks him into taking the test, which confirms his paternity. Noah reacts badly but relents when told that either the child J. J. (J. J. Miller) goes with him or into foster care. Leanne Harris (Justene Alpert) with child protective services makes introductions, and Noah soon takes a liking to J. J. as the three spend time together.

Just as Noah decides he wants to take care of J. J., Larry informs him that he is going on tour with country music legend Colt Young (Coffey Anderson), though there will be some stipulations, as Colt does not want anyone drinking while on his tour. Noah takes J. J. to his parents’ home, with plans that he stay there while Noah’s on tour. This brings Noah into further conflict with his father, who wants Noah to give up music and come back to the farm.

While on tour, he starts drinking to excess and tries to fire his drummer, and Larry informs him that he has become “an angry prideful young man.” Larry eventually takes Noah back to his family farm, where he ends up in greater conflict with his father, who still accuses him of turning his back on the family when his older brother died in an accident while Noah was touring. He is arrested after a bar fight one evening and is dropped from the tour and by his manager.

When he returns home, Noah breaks his guitar. His mother drags him to church one Sunday morning. Afterward, his mother takes him into the attic and shows him memorabilia of his father’s time in the rodeo, telling him that his father gave up rodeo to care for his family. Noah ends up praying for forgiveness and reconciling with his father. Leanne shows up for dinner, invited by his mom, and they start spending time together. Noah begins to consider returning to the farm and giving up music, but his dad gives him a guitar, and Larry talks Colt into giving him a second chance. His family and Leanne come to the concert where he premieres his new song, “Being the Man.”

The movie was written by Johnny Remo and Daniel Blackman and directed by Remo, who had directed and/or produced other movies filmed in Arkansas, including Hellfire (2026), Trail of Vengeance (2025), Chariot (2022), Max Winslow and the House of Secrets (2019), and F.R.E.D.I. (2018). Filmed in various locations in northwestern Arkansas, God’s Country Song premiered at the Skylight Theater in Bentonville in April 2023 and was released on DVD and streaming on June 16, 2023. Diamond Bear Brewery products are featured in one scene of the movie, and Smoke and Barrel Tavern in Fayetteville is the setting of Noah’s barfight. Other settings of note include Mount Comfort Presbyterian Church, Tin Roof Bar, Ronda’s Roadhouse, and George’s Majestic Lounge.

The movie appears not to have been reviewed outside of faith-based media. Sarah Rusmussen, writing for Plugged In, a website run by Focus on the Family, noted that although the various plot threads “eventually come together, the story’s pacing and focus feel a bit off,” but she also praised the “positive message about redemption and sacrifice.”

For additional information:
“God’s Country Song.” Internet Movie Database. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23836278/ (accessed June 4, 2026).

Rasmussen, Sarah. “God’s Country Song.” Plugged In. https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/gods-country-song-2023/ (accessed June 4, 2026).

Topich, Al. “Working Red Carpet for ‘God’s Country Song.’” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 28, 2023, pp. 1E, 3E. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/apr/28/working-red-carpet-for-gods-country-song/ (accessed June 4, 2026).

Staff of the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas