#Oscar-Nominated Doc Summer Of Soul Will Air On ABC

“Summer of Soul” is the story of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival at Mount Morris Park, 100 miles south of Woodstock. The festival was several days long, and it was filmed, but the footage wasn’t shown outside of a few clips on the news at the time. Thompson went through 40 hours of never-before-seen footage, which included performances from Black music icons like Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, Mahalia Jackson, Gladys Knight and the Pips, B.B. King, the Staple Singers, David Ruffin, and the 5th Dimension. If you loved “The Beatles: Get Back” (which also featured never-before-seen footage filmed in 1969), then put “Summer of Soul” on your watchlist.

The film also talks about the history of music in Harlem and how the different cultural communities influenced the time and its musical expression. The footage is stunning, and as someone who had never heard about this festival before the documentary, I recommend this as must-see. It not only gives you a real look at a powerful time in music and world history, but it puts it in context with discussion from people like Gladys Knight, Reverend Al Sharpton, Chris Rock, Sheila E, Lin-Manuel Miranda and more. 

Depending on your feelings on Spotify, you can listen to the soundtrack for the documentary right now. It’s got music live from the 1969 festival and it’s pretty amazing. 

“Summer of Soul” will air on ABC on February 20 at 8 p.m. EST.