The Best Documentaries About Music Festivals in the 1960s and ’70s
The 1960s and 1970s saw the rise of the music festival, and a number of documentaries have captured the spirit of these events. Some of the biggest bands at the time played festivals, and documentarians immortalized their sets and the atmosphere — both jubilant and dangerous — that characterized the performances. Here are seven of the best documentaries to watch about music festivals.
‘Woodstock’
Woodstock was the defining music festival of the century, and the 1970 film Woodstock captures its spirit. Even viewers who weren’t yet alive during the three-day festival in Woodstock, New York, will walk away with a sense of what it was like to attend. It features performances by artists like Crosby, Stills & Nash, Joan Baez, The Who, Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix.
The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing and picked up the win for Best Documentary Feature
‘Gimme Shelter’
The 1970 film Gimme Shelter focuses specifically on The Rolling Stones as they toured the United States in 1969. It culminates in footage of the Altamont Speedway Free Festival, though, so it can technically be considered a festival film.
The free festival, which featured Santana, Jefferson Airplane, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the Stones, quickly spun out of control. As the day wore on, both the crowd and the security, who were Hells Angels, grew drunk and violent. The film culminates, disturbingly, in the stabbing death of a fan. The documentary is dark enough to be considered horror, but it is widely seen as one of the best music documentaries of all time.
‘Summer of Soul’
The 2021 film Summer of Soul captures the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Summer of Soul shows performances by artists like Mahalia Jackson, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Stevie Wonder, and Nina Simone. It also includes interviews with performers and attendees, and news footage from the time.
For decades, the footage sat forgotten until filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson brought it to viewers.
‘Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival 1970’
The 1995 documentary Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 takes its name from the Jimi Hendrix song, not the atmosphere. The film captures the abject chaos at the festival, from gatecrashers to crowds booing Kris Kristofferson to Joni Mitchell pleading with the audience to respect her set.
The festival took place one year after Woodstock, but it appeared to represent a crashing end to the peace and love of hippie culture. The documentary perfectly captures all of this while also showing a number of performances by popular artists.
‘Monterey Pop’
The 1968 documentary Monterey Pop puts ’60s counterculture optimism on full display. Crowds at the Monterey International Pop Festival sit, transfixed, and watch the performers, who take the stage in flowing clothing. Director D.A. Pennebaker captured a career-making performance by Janis Joplin and sets by Simon & Garfunkel, Otis Redding, The Mamas & the Papas, and Ravi Shankar, among others.
‘Festival Express’
The 2003 film Festival Express follows some of the most popular bands of the 1970s as they traveled to music festivals across Canada. The artists traveled by train. Filmmakers captured artists like The Grateful Dead and The Band having drunken jam sessions as they traveled between cities.
The tour was not a financial success, so Festival Express went unreleased for decades. In 2003, though, it finally debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival.
‘Wattstax’
The 1972 festival Wattstax commemorated the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots, sparked by a traffic stop confrontation between a Black man and a police officer. Because of this, the documentary Wattstax does not just focus on the music but the Watts community as a whole.
Interspersed between performances by acts like the Staple Singers, Albert King, and Isaac Hayes are conversations with Watts residents and shots of the community. Wattstax is a festival documentary that is about far more than just music.
“It was a celebration of the African-American experience and a testament to the transformative power of music,” record producer Al Bell said, per NPR.
