Everyone knows about Woodstock, the legendary music festival held in 1969. Famous acts included Creedence Clearwater Revival, Arlo Guthrie, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and more. But few people have heard of another festival that took place in 1969 — the Harlem Cultural Festival. Famous musician Questlove has set out to make its name known.
In his directorial debut, Questlove has created Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). The documentary chronicles the six weeks of the Harlem Cultural Festival through musical performances and behind the scenes footage. In 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, the festival was filmed but the footage forgotten. It features never-before-seen performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension and more.
The film won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival and will be released in theaters and on Hulu on July 2, 2021. See the trailer below and catch it on Hulu or in theaters in July.
