Here’s a look at the most famous music festival you’ve never heard of, the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969. This brought together a formidable line-up of talent including Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Sly Stone, BB King and Nina Simone, though it seems most of the rock media’s attention was on Woodstock which was taking place at the same time, to the extent this festival was referred to as “the black Woodstock”. And though much of it was recorded, no broadcaster seemed very interesting in showing any of it, so the tapes remained unseen for many years. But now they’ve been rediscovered and restored, and brought together with new interviews from some of the artists and the audience to reflect on what in hindsight is one of the greatest collections of black artists ever assembled.
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