Breaking News: ‘We wanted it to be a tribute to what brings us all together as human beings’: Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart finds connection between rhythm and sports in new ESPN film.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — On paper, it seemed like a challenge to capture, especially in an hour-long documentary:

Mickey Hart, the longtime drummer and percussionist for the Grateful Dead and its successor, Dead & Company, spending time exploring the connections between rhythm–the currency he has dealt in for over 60 years–and sports, speaking with athletes and coaches about the transcendental aspects of music that can also be found on the field, all the while images of nature and the cosmos at play.

Nonetheless, the end result was “Rhythm Masters: A Mickey Hart Experience,” a documentary premiering tonight on ESPN.

Director Torey Champagne, who spent two years with Hart on the project, said that in many ways the film is “meta and layered” in a different way than other films that appear on the network, but that its universal message was something that everyone could understand.

“This film spoke to the broader sense of a human exchange of ideas for people to celebrate,” Champagne said. “We wanted it to be a tribute that brings us all together as human beings.”

In one scene, Hart discusses rhythm being a foundation for musical exploration. In another, celebrated Bulls and Lakers coach Phil Jackson talks about how he urges players to find rhythm with one another in order to better work together.

“It’s kind of a subconscious thing,” he said.

Hart, who recently ended a critically-heralded residency with Dead & Company at The Sphere in Las Vegas, has spent his career incorporating the rhythm of everyday life into music. In 1989, he used the fetal heartbeat of his unborn son, Taro, as the basis for his album “Music to Be Born By.” He even recorded the soundtrack to accompany many of the films sports-centric passages.

“To watch him in the moment process the visualization and turn it into sound was fascinating,” Champagne said.

Champagne, who worked as a session musician in another life before becoming a director, said he was always familiar with the Grateful Dead and its decades of longevity, but getting to see the way Hart could connect with athletes who were not as familiar with the music was amazing. One instance of this was Hart’s connection with former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, who spoke out his ritualistic practice of walking along the gridiron before a game to spiritually prepare himself.

“I think a lot of people would be surprised of Mickey Hart to have a connection with someone like Marshawn Lynch,” he said. “It was supposed to be 30 minutes that spanned to over an hour and a half.”

While acknowledging the challenges of putting a face to the more cerebral aspects of music and performance, Champagne said that ultimately, “Rhythm Masters” was something everyone could relate to.

“Music in and of itself is an undeniable force that runs through people,” he said.

The film will premiere at 8 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN.