Summer Of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Woodstock wasn’t the only thing that happened in 1969. Six weeks later, the Harlem Cultural Festival took place in New York’s Mount Morris Park, a massive meetup of Afro-American musicians and their large audiences. The footage reveals the intense performances of Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, The 5th Dimension, The Staple Singers, Sly and the Family Stone, and many others. Yet at the time, the festival was considered “obscure” and “in the minority”. Film musician Ahmira "Questlove" Thompson, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2021, explores why – while XXX the explosively energetic music.