Move Over Hippie, Here Comes Something Funkier

As hundreds of thousands of people grooved their way into the national spotlight at Woodstock in the summer of 1969, a story of soul, funk and R&B was unfolding in New York City’s Central Park – an event that’s been seemingly forgotten. Until today.

Thirty-seven years after the Harlem Music Festival drew huge crowds to the northern end of the park, a couple of filmmakers are bringing the event, sometimes referred to as the Black Woodstock, out of obscurity. They have just announced that they are compiling footage of the six-day show into a feature-length film and their goal is to have it ready in time to premiere at January’s annual Sundance Film Festival.

The Harlem Music Festival was originally shot by television producer and director Hal Tulchin, who said that no distributor was interested in purchasing the footage after the event.

“Time and time again I was told candidly, 'There is no interest in putting on a Black special,'" Tulchin said.

Emceed by Jesse Jackson, the security at the Harlem Film Festival was provided by the Black Panthers – a job said to have been declined by the New York Police Department. There were performances by B.B. King, Sly & the Family Stone, the Staples Singers, and Mahalia Jackson. Along with show performances, the filmmakers plan to put the concerts in historical context through interviews with surviving participants.

Turn on, tune in and funk out.