During the summer of 1969, one of the biggest music festivals in the world, Woodstock, took place. It revolutionized the music world forever. Nearly half a million people came together in Bethel, New York, to see some of the biggest names in music. Meanwhile, 100 miles away, another festival took place—The Harlem Cultural Festival aka. ‘The Black Woodstock.’ Over 300,000 people attended the festival, which was with no charge and free to all.
After 50 years of being locked in a basement, the missing footage of the Harlem Cultural Festival has been recovered—and thank God it was. Thanks to this documentary, an amazing festival that was forgotten (and who not many people knew about, myself included), is now being shown to the public. This never-before-seen footage has performances from amazing and revolutionary music icons of the late ‘60s and ‘70s like B. B. King, Gladys Knight, a 19-year-old Stevie Wonder, and Ray Barretto. It had a wide range of different genres embezzled into the festival; from blues-rock to Latin jazz, R&B/Soul to Gospel.
Similar Styles to Pennebaker’s ‘Monterery Pop’
The footage is similar in style to D. A. Pennebaker’s “Monterey Pop” (1968), which is my favorite concert doc. When you look at it, both festivals have a few similarities. As “Monterey Pop” went with Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and Jimi Hendrix in their lineup, The Harlem Cultural Festival had Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, and Nina Simone. Both festivals had legends that would go on to inspire some of your favorite artists.
Questlove, a member of the Grammy-winning The Roots, draws inspiration from some of these artists, if not all. They have a versatile arrangement in their instrumentations; they combined the essence of Soul and Jazz with the classic sound of Hip hop, delivering complex and eclectic records. It was a perfect choice to let Questlove direct this documentary; with his wide knowledge of music and his artistry, the footage was in the right hands.
With legendary artists on their table, their rosters would run laps on today’s festival lineups. The way they contacted the artists and convinced them to go to the festival is quite similar as well. The artists didn’t know if it was legit, or if they would receive accurate payment. However, once they agreed to go and took their respective stages, what they saw was amazing. Thousands upon thousands of people were singing along and crowding the streets. People climbed on trees, waiting on the outskirts just to get a glimpse of the show.
A Hidden Festival Sees the Light of Day
If seeing the footage brings joy to your soul, imagine being there amongst the people. You feel that emotion of pure excitement now more than ever as the world is opening back again. However, it is not all about the music either. “Summer of Soul” shines a light on the Harlem community during the late ‘60s leading up to the festival’s date. The assassinations of MLK, John F. and Robert Kennedy, and Malcolm X, the heroin epidemic, societal problems, starvation, equality, activism, and the universal moment of the moon landing.
It brings me so much joy and glee to see the people and artists who attended the festival watch the lost footage. They rejoice in remembering an impactful, yet forgotten moment in music history. It is a shame that the festival’s footage was kept for this long, hidden under wraps in a basement. We must thank Questlove and the team behind the doc for bringing this special moment to life. It is ebullient, vigorous, and pulsing.
One of the best compliments you could give this film is that you wish it were longer and that it would last forever. In his directorial debut, Questlove brings us a fascinating concert doc. Hopefully the future will recognize “Summer of Soul” as one of the best concert/music documentaries, along with “Stop Making Sense” (1984), “Gimme Shelter” (1970), “Amy” (2015), and “Monterey Pop” (1968).
