Tom Petty’s Beloved Masterpiece Wildflowers Continues 30th Anniversary Celebration
- Details
- Category: Theatre, Music
- Published on Friday, 10 October 2025 14:21
- Written by A&E Contributing Editor
Continuing the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Tom Petty's all-time classic Wildflowers, the critically acclaimed documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers is now available to stream on Peacock, watch HERE.
The film, which The Hollywood Reporter hails as "a love letter to Petty," is an uplifting 89-minute documentary offering a look into the creative mastery and turbulent personal life of the legendary rock star between 1993-1995, featuring a collection of 16mm film that was discovered in Tom Petty's archive in 2020.
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Directed by Mary Warton (Sam Cooke: Legend, Elvis Lives! The Beatles Revolution), the film includes interviews with Rick Rubin, Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, Petty's daughter Adria and many more. The documentary first debuted at SXSW 2021, winning the festival's Audience Award, and went on to garner Best Documentary Film at the Boulder Film Festival, Outstanding Producer of Televised or Streamed Motion Picture at The PGA Awards, was AFI Docs' Official Selection and received widespread critical acclaim throughout the film festival season.
Additionally, the Petty estate today releases a previously unseen performance video of "You Wreck Me," from the 1995 Dogs With Wings tour rehearsals—watch/share HERE. This latest offering follows the debut video in the series, "Crawling Back to You," from a treasure trove of never-before-seen footage from the vault. Featuring hours of performances and rehearsals from the Wildflowers tour, the estate is making the exclusive content available for free over the next few months through Tom Petty's fan club, Tom Petty Nation—join HERE.
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Petty's beloved masterpiece Wildflowers is now available as a special two LP One-Step vinyl release with Because Sound Matters, out today via Warner Records. Of the vinyl Tracking Angle raves, "sounds soooo much better, it's kind of ridiculous." Joining the ranks of essential One-Step releases including Joni Mitchell's Blue, Eagles' Hotel California, and Miles Davis' Bitches Brew the release is limited to 6000 numbered copies, with the first pressing cut directly from the original master tapes by engineer Chris Bellman, overseen by Petty's longtime audio engineer Ryan Ulyate. Cut for a true all-analog presentation with exceptional clarity and depth the vinyl is housed inside a top quality, uniquely designed and numbered slipcase, with the enclosed LP packaging featuring a double-pocket gatefold tip-on jacket; order HERE.
Later this fall, Genesis Publications in collaboration with the Petty Estate is releasing Wildflowers, a new limited edition book taking readers into the studio, the songwriting process, and the mind of an artist at the peak of his creative powers. The landmark publication will showcase uncut interviews, rare photos, handwritten lyrics, extended commentary and ephemera from the original sessions. Limited to just 1,500 numbered copies worldwide, every copy is signed by Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. The book is also notably published in the year of Petty's 75th birthday; preorder HERE.
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Originally released in November 1994, the Wildflowers sessions were the first collaboration with legendary producer Rick Rubin. The sessions produced volumes of personal music. Wildflowers was Petty's fastest selling album and was certified Triple Platinum by the RIAA only nine months after its release. It charted at #8 on the Billboard 200 and was recently included on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time."
Over his 40-year career, Tom Petty became a beloved American rock & roll icon, world renowned for his songwriting and his incredible band the Heartbreakers. In addition to the 13 studio albums he made with the Heartbreakers, Petty recorded three solo albums, including the acclaimed Full Moon Fever, Wildflowers and Highway Companion. Petty was also a member of the supergroup Traveling Wilburys and in the pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch.
Hailed as one of the greatest rock music artists of all time, Petty's honors include Songwriters Hall of Fame, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and multiple Grammy Awards. He has sold over 85 million records, amassed over five billion streams and performed to over 140 million fans worldwide. Widely recognized and remembered for his philanthropy and service, Petty is the recipient of some of the highest honors in philanthropy including Midnight Mission's Golden Heart Award in 2011, and MusicCares 'Person of the Year' in 2017.
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The Petty Estate aims to extend the late artist's legacy, both musically and in spirit, by supporting philanthropic and social issues that were close to Petty's heart. Earlier this year the Estate provided financial support to 10 families in partnership with GoFundMe, as well as MusiCares and Healthcare for Homeless Animals in the aftermath of the Los Angeles Wildfires. Additionally, the Estate were sponsors for this year's NYC Pride as well as LGBTQIA+ nonprofit youth organization It Gets Better.
Tom Petty passed away in 2017 shortly after completing his 40th anniversary tour, leaving behind a massive archive of unreleased material. His music continues to reach fans, both new and old, around the world today.
Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers
Runtime: 89 minutes
Directed by Mary Wharton
Available on Blu-ray HERE
Shot on 16mm Film
Includes 30 minutes of bonus content,
featuring outtakes and 4 music videos.
Because Sound Matters One-Step Details:
Audio Source: Original Analog Master Tapes
Vinyl Compound: Neotech VR900-D2 180g High Performance Vinyl
Vinyl Mastering: Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering
One-Step Process: Dorin Sauerbier at Record Technology, Inc.
Pressing: Record Technology, Inc.
Packaging & Print: Stoughton Printing Company
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Wildflowers – Because Sound Matters One-Step Tracklist
A1: Wildflowers
A2: You Don't Know How It Feels
A3: Time To Move On
A4: You Wreck Me
B1: It's Good To Be King
B2: Only A Broken Heart
B3: Honey Bee
B4: Don't Fade On Me
C1: Hard On Me
C2: Cabin Down Below
C3: To Find A Friend
C4: A Higher Place
D1: House In The Woods
D2 Crawling Back To You
D3 Wake Up Time
