There was a historic music festival in the summer of 1969. But it's not the one that took place in Bethel, NY. The
Harlem Cultural Festival ran from
June 29 to August 24 that summer, presenting a concert every Sunday afternoon in
Mount Morris Park (known today as Marcus Garvey Park).
Three hundred thousand people turned out for the
six free concerts, hearing acts like
Nina Simone , Sly & the Family Stone (the only act to play both Woodstock and the "black Woodstock"), Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, The 5th Dimension, Moms Mabley and. Speakers included Jesse Jackson and "blue-eyed soul brother" Mayor John Lindsay. Security was courtesy of the
Black Panthers, since the NYC police refused to provide it. Filmmaker Hal Tulchin recorded
over 50 hours of concert footage, which has remained unreleased.
Historic Films seems to hold the footage; it was supposed to be made into a movie to
premiere at Sundance 2007, but its
release seems to be continually delayed for reasons unclear.
[more inside]
posted by Miko
on Aug 20, 2009 -
19 comments
HONK! is a showcase and annual festival for a "new kind of street band": motley, theatrical, activist protest groups working within the
marching band tradition. From this central site, link to
video and
audio from
twenty bands currently playing in the "honk" genre, from New York's
Rude Mechanical Orchestra to to Atlanta's
Seed and Feed Marching Abominables to Portsmouth, NH's
Leftist Marching Band. Heavy on the brass and percussion, rousing, raucous, and fun, these bands form part of a
worldwide musical phenomenon.
posted by Miko
on Jul 30, 2007 -
19 comments
After the Storm Sometime this weekend, you may be able to hear one of the best expressions of New Orleans’ role in music and culture available in any mass media. It's American Routes, a weekly show carried on
many US public radio affiliates. Programmed and hosted by
folklorist and
UNO professor of folklore and culture Nick Spitzer, the show normally broadcasts from a studio in the heart of the French Quarter, but has found a temporary home on a
Creole/Cajun French/English public radio station in Lafayette. Spitzer
told the NYT that he began planning
the music for this week’s show as he was fleeing the flooding city in his car, playing Fats Domino’s
“Walking to New Orleans."
This week’s show highlights New Orleans’ recovery from disasters past, emphasizing the city’s role as the greatest single wellspring of American music. The Crescent City, after all, has either
birthed or nurtured everything from
jazz,
R & B,
cajun and the related black-influenced zydeco,
soul,
blues,
gospel, and
rock and roll.) With an encyclopedic knowledge of American vernacular music, an utterly democratic spirit, and an unmistakeable respect and love for American musical forms and the people who create them, Spitzer has
stepped forward several times this week to serve as a compassionate and optimistic spokesman for the irrepressible
creative spirit of a suffering city and a
culture in diaspora.
posted by Miko
on Sep 10, 2005 -
19 comments
