The Paradise Presents ... THE SUMMER SESSIONS. Join us in July and August as we explore musical styles and modes of performance in film. This screening series is split into two parts- each chronicling the distinctive cinematic language of a genre, and each featuring a special presentation of BAND AND A MOVIE- pairing a film in the series with a live performance from a local musical act! Throughout the summer we will be paying tribute to the transcendental work of documentary filmmaker Les Blank- known for his vivid portraits of traditional musicians. Selected screenings will be preceded by a Les Blank short relating to the month's genre.
VOL I. BOOTS & ROOTS- Country and Folk Music on screen: We are kicking off the series with a tribute to the traditional musical stylings of the American southwest. Join us for a month of country and folk music at the movies!
THE BEST MUSIC AND THE BEST WHISKEY COME FROM THE SAME PART OF THE COUNTRY. We end Vol. I with a glorious blend of folk and country in this hidden gem of a doc celebrating the outlaw musicians of 1970s. Featuring Steve Earle, Guy Clarke, and the great Townes Van Zandt- it's HEARTWORN HIGHWAYS.
In the mid-‘70s, filmmaker James Szalapski documented the then-nascent country music movement that would become known as “outlaw country.” Inspired, in part, by newly-long-haired Willie Nelson’s embrace of hippie attitudes and audiences, a younger generation of artists including Townes Van Zandt, David Allan Coe, Steve Earle and Guy Clark popularized and developed the outlaw sound. It borrowed from rock, folk and bluegrass, with an edge that was missing from mainstream Nashville country. This newly-restored documentary includes rarely-captured performances of the aforementioned musicians as they perfected this then-new style and helped change the course of country music history.
(Courtesy of Kino Lorber)
*This screening will be preceded by Les Blank's A WELL SPENT LIFE (1971)- Musician Mance Lipscomb commands the screen in Blank’s vivid sketch of a man some consider the greatest blues guitarist who ever lived. (Courtesy of Janus Films)
Monday July 29th: Doors 6:30 PM/Short 7 PM/Film 7:45 PM
General Admission $12.50 | Student/Senior (with valid ID) $10.00 + HST/eventbrite fees
Door tickets are available for purchase on the day of screening. Refunds can be requested up to 12 hours before the screening. All refunds must be requested and processed through eventbrite.
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