Muscle Shoals

December 21 – December 26

Muscle Shoals
If you liked 20 Feet From Stardom, you are going to burst into song for Muscle Shoals— you might even dance. After all, “Land of 1000 Dances,” “Mustang Sally,” “Brown Sugar,” and many other hits were sparked here. Since the 60s, a bevy of artists were recorded: Percy Sledge (discovered while picking cotton in a nearby town), Wilson Pickett, Jimmy Cliff, Aretha Franklin (who found her sound here), Paul Simon, the Allman Brothers, Bob Seger, Linda Ronstadt, Bob Dylan, Etta James, Willie Nelson, the Staple Singers, the Rolling Stones, and more. You may not know Muscle Shoals, but you’ve known its music by heart. In the shadows of segregation, on the Tennessee River in a small Alabama town, a converted tobacco and candy warehouse with studio musicians dubbed “The Swampers” became a destination point. Feast on interviews, performance clips, and rich cinematography intertwined with indigenous tales of the “Singing River”. The alchemy creates a sense of place with music history. Complete your journey after the credits by hearing founder Rick Hall’s recipe. Muscle Shoals deserves a spot in the annals of great music films.

Dir.: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier / 2013 / US / 111 min / Digital Cinema