50th Anniversary ‘Easy Rider’ Screening Will Feature Live Soundtrack by Members of Steppenwolf and The Byrds
On September 20, Radio City Music Hall will screen the iconic 1969 counter-culture classic Easy Rider with live, real-time musical accompaniment by the musicians who contributed to the original soundtrack, including John Kay of Steppenwolf and Roger McGuinn of The Byrds.
“This is a dream project for anyone, but especially a film and music head like me,” said Easy Rider Live producer Peter Shapiro. “And it’s a pretty simple concept. Just take those legendary road scenes that featured those iconic songs and add the magic of live music. And get the original voices, the voices that helped define a film that really defined an era of American history. It may have taken 50 years but given what’s going on in America right now this feels like a good time to bring the defining film of the counterculture era to life in a new, hopefully elevated, way.”
The film’s star Peter Fonda will co-produce the event, as will Live Nation Entertainment and Shapiro’s Dayglo Presents. T-Bone Burnett will act as the screening’s musical director.
Hailed as one of the A.F.I.’s 100 greatest films of all time, Easy Rider boasts a star-studded soundtrack (with legendary rock outfits like the Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Band) and tells the tale of two motorcycle outlaws as they journey from California to New Orleans.
“The original movie was visually groundbreaking and its epic soundtrack cost nearly triple the film’s budget to put together,” said Jason Miller of Live Nation. “Without any score during the dialogue scenes, we have a unique opportunity to marry a live band to film in a way that no other cinematic work could provide. Easy Rider, along with its namesakes, is truly one of a kind.”
Tickets for Easy Rider live at Radio City will go on sale Aug. 2 at 12 Noon ET.
However, there will be an Aug. 1 presale, kicking off at 10 a.m. ET for select ticket buyers.
