stax of music for the soul on stage and on screen
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Students from the Stax Music Academy in concert
ACMI presents a special encore screening of Wattstax - this time, preceded by a free performance from students of the Stax Music Academy, direct from Memphis, Tennessee.
At the Federation Square main stage on 25 June Melbourne audiences will be treated to the soulful funky sounds of this 16-piece band, before having the opportunity to kick back in the cinema and take in the big screen magic of the 1973 concert film all over again.
Wattstax is a documentary centred around the 1972 Watts Summer Festival, a legendary day-long concert dubbed "the Black Woodstock." The festival celebrated the music, people, and the proud stand taken by the black community in the Watts area of Los Angeles.
This concert film features a series of electrifying performances (and behind the scenes insights) from the crème de la crème of the Stax music label - including Isaac Hayes, Rufus Thomas, The Emotions, the Bar-Kays, Albert King, Carla Thomas, Melvin Van Peebles and the Staple Singers. Highlights are a special, rousing appearance by Reverend Jesse Jackson, and the early comic stylings of a young Richard Pryor as the concert MC.
Wattstax also explores the catalyst for the music festival, the Watts riots of 1965 and the racial issues that spurred that conflict, by bringing together a rich tapestry of real footage of the community, its people, politics and history.
Get inspired for the first time, or all over again, on Wednesday 25 June.
More information here
Published Tuesday, 17 June 2008
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