Jonny Phoenix is a fading LA rock star, so desperate for a comeback that he returns to his childhood home in the South to convince the middle-aged members of his former garage band (“The Shine”) to reunite. He lies to them by saying that he has only a year to live, and that his dying wish is to make amends for selfishly abandoning them nearly 18 years ago — but in reality he’s actually trying to win the job as the replacement lead guitarist for a famous LA rock band by presenting the illusion that he’s stil
Despite uprooting the stable lives of his old friends by taking them through “rock school,” entering them into a highly competitive “battle of the bands,” and then leading them on a multi-city bus tour, Jonny unexpectedly begins to re-form the bonds of brotherhood that he once had with his old band mates. He also develops a strong bond as the mentor/father figure of The Shine’s new teenaged lead singer, the shy but ultra-talented son of Jonny’s high school sweetheart.
Even more unexpectedly, The Shine starts to steadily grow in popularity, to the point where the band soon realizes that they might be able to save their ailing home town from bankruptcy by playing a charity concert that will raise the money needed to fight a greedy redeveloper who is bent on destroying their home. The Shine, and the citizens of their small town, rally to promote and prepare for the show. Ticket sales grow, while the greedy redeveloper does everything in his power to make sure that the chari