Creative states: Tour America with homegrown artists in ‘The Express Way’

From sea to shining sea, Americans express their creativity, and the new, four-part documentary series “The Express Way With Dulé Hill,” premiering Tuesday, April 23, on PBS, looks at the ways self-expression and creativity are intertwined. Featuring artists from four different corners of the United States — in California, the Appalachian region, Texas and Chicago — “The Express Way” looks at the ways these individuals use art to make connections within and outside of their communities and how they use their artwork to challenge views and blaze a trail for others to follow in the future.

Best known by most for his portrayal of Gus in eight seasons in the detective sitcom “Psych,” which he also reprised for three spinoff films, Hill, a real TV veteran, has also had starring roles in “The West Wing,” “Ballers,” “Suits” and more recently, the ABC sitcom “The Wonder Years.”

Now, turning his attention to the artistic pursuits of others, PBS shared in a news release that Hill traveled across America “to connect with local visionaries, activists, changemakers and pioneers who are using their artistic passions to foster connection, deepen empathy and create meaningful change within their communities.”

“There are many people in this world who create space out of nothing. They are the ones turning on the light, setting the path and then guiding others along the journey,” Hill shared about the series in the release.

Shaheem Sanchez, known for his performance in the 2019 film “Sound of Metal,” is a deaf dancer based in Los Angeles. Hill meets with Sanchez in the first episode of “The Express Way,” connecting over a shared passion for dance before getting to know other artists across California.

Also featured in the California stop of “The Express Way” is a group of senior citizens who call themselves the Grant Street Follies, a committed activists and cabaret performers in San Francisco who use their art to combat anti-Asian hate and celebrate the city’s historic Chinatown. Finally, Hill meets trailblazing musicians in Los Angeles’s own Mariachi Arcoiris, the world’s first LGBTQ+ mariachi group.

Visiting the Appalachian region, Hill gets a thorough musical education. In Kentucky, he meets first with Doug Naselroad, the founder and director of Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company. His program, The Culture of Recovery, teaches people to make stringed instruments as an assistive outlet while they recover from opioid addiction. In Johnson City, Tennessee, Grammy-nominated bluegrass musician Amythyst Kiah (“Black Myself”) teaches Hill about the history of Black artists in traditional American music. The founder of “Latin-grass,” musician Joe Troop (“Red, White & Blues”), shares how he fused folk music with bluegrass instrumentation and continues to innovate with his latest collaboration with Venezuelan musician Larry Bellorin (“Caballo Viejo”).

Next, Hill makes his way down to Texas to meet artists who are leaders within their local communities. Hill meets Abuela M’api Rainflowa, founder of Houston Aztec Dance & Drum, who shows him the “Mexica” handshake, as well as the Aztec Sun Dance and a sweat lodge ceremony. At his next stop in Texas, David Lozano, executive director of Cara Mia Theatre, welcomes Hill to Dallas, sharing with him some of the theater’s productions that focus on the Latino experience. In Denton, John Bramblitt, a man who lost his vision taught himself to paint again using touch. Bramblitt creates vibrant paintings and murals, leads workshops and helps foster artistic abilities in other people with vision impairment.