Rediscovering a Musical Legacy: The Forgotten Festival of Harlem

In 1969, during the same summer as Woodstock, another music festival took place 100 miles away. The Harlem Cultural Festival featured black musicians like Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder — stars who we might not have glimpsed at this point in their careers.

Footage of the festival had been locked in a basement for 50 years, because TV and film companies were not interested in it at the time.

Questlove and his fellow filmmakers speak to Audie Cornish about bringing the concert festival to the big screen in their movie, Summer Of Soul, which is also out on Hulu.

NPR's Eric Deggans also reviewed the film. Some descriptions of the film from his review are heard in this episode.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy