Sounds of Summer: Greatest Hits Vol. 1

As part of our 20th anniversary celebration, we’re delighted to offer this jam-packed lineup featuring some of the stellar music docs we’ve screened in Sounds of Summer over the years. Sounds is such a fun series to put together each year, and attending these screenings is one of the absolute best experiences you can have at the JBFC: sitting in a theater with a crowd of music-loving cinephiles, watching fantastic performances on a huge screen with incredible music pumping through our sound system—you can’t beat it.

This year’s series features a wide array of films covering all sorts of artists and genres, so even in this greatest hits lineup of stone-cold classics, there’s something for everyone. Prepare to have your socks knocked off (again) by the force of nature that is Aretha Franklin in Amazing Grace; get a double dose of Dylan with Dont Look Back and Rolling Thunder Revue; revisit the Cuban Cinderella story of Wim Wenders’ Buena Vista Social Club; get your festival fix from films like Jazz on a Summer’s Day, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, Monterey Pop, and Wattstax; witness Madison Square Garden vibrate in Shut Up and Play the Hits and Awesome; I F*ckin’ Shot That!; and don’t miss our annual tribute screening of Stop Making Sense in honor of our dear friend, Jonathan Demme.

All this and more will play in the series as we celebrate being a part of this community for two decades! Sounds is one of my favorite series to curate for the JBFC, and we’re so excited to offer our audience the chance to groove through the hot summer months with some excellent music films and a heaping helping of air conditioning. —Andrew Jupin, Senior Film Programmer

Free Anniversary Screenings for Members: The July 13 6:00 pm screening of Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, the July 14 7:00 pm screening of Buena Vista Social Club, and the August 12 7:00 pm screening of Festival are available as free screenings for members in celebration of our 20th Anniversary. Members may choose one of the three screenings to attend for free. Due to limited availability, we suggest that members redeem their tickets in advance and request that they choose one screening only. Members must log in to access their free ticket/s online, or can pick up their ticket/s at the box office.

Want to keep the party going? Check out JBFC Mixtapes, Vol. 22: Sounds of Summer, a custom playlist curated by JBFC Senior Film Programmer Andrew Jupin to celebrate the return of this beloved series!