Dean Budnick, the esteemed director of Wetlands Preserved: The Story of An Activist Rock Club, which premiered nationally before airing on the esteemed Sundance Channel. As the editor-in-chief of Relix magazine, Budnick holds a Ph.D. from Harvard's prestigious History of American Civilization program, where he penned his doctoral dissertation on the remarkable career and legal trials of the iconic silent screen star, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.
Budnick is also the co-author of Peter Shapiro's thought-provoking memoir, The Music Never Stops: What Putting on 10,000 Shows Has Taught Me About Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Magic, published by Hachette in 2022, as well as John Popper's autobiography, Suck and Blow, released by Da Capo in 2016.
Furthermore, Budnick has authored several notable books, including Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped, published by Plume in 2011 and ECW in 2010, Jambands: A Complete Guide to the Players Music and Scene, released by Backbeat Books in 2004, and the novel Might As Well, published by Rare Bird Books in 2016.
As a renowned journalist, Budnick has reported on the live entertainment industry for prominent publications such as Billboard, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter. Additionally, he is the creator and host of the popular Long May They Run podcast, which reached #1 on the Apple Music Podcast charts.
