Sound Opinions at the Movies Series Continues With WATTSTAX Tonight

The popular Sound Opinions at the Movies series continues with a screening of Wattstax, the 1973 Mel Stuart documentary chronicling the legendary Stax Records-sponsorEd Watts Summer Music Festival, at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Avenue, tonight, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. Chicago Public Media's Sound Opinions, the world's only rock 'n' roll talk show, is co-hosted by acclaimed pop music critics Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune and Jim DeRogatis of WBEZ.org and airs on more than 100 radio stations around the country.

A 1974 Golden Globe nominee for "Best Documentary Film," Wattstaxtakes place seven years after the Watts section of Los Angeles ignited in a violent burst of racial tension and revisits the issues that led to the devastation. The focus of the film is the six-hour concert that closed out the 1972 Watts Summer Music Festival at the L.A. Coliseum. The show's all-star lineup included The Staples Singers, The Bar-Kays, Luther Ingram, Rufus Thomas and show-closer Isaac Hayes. As an added bonus, filmmaker Mel Stuart included darkly humorous post-concert commentary by Richard Pryor. An estimated 112,000 people attended what came to be known as "the Black Woodstock" in a soulful, proud, and peaceful celebration of African-American musical heritage.

Tickets for the Sound Opinions at the Movies screening of Wattstaxat the Music Box are $8 in advance for WBEZ members and $9 in advance for the general public online at www.soundopinions.org. Tickets will also be available at the door for $10 (cash only).

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