On July 28, 1973, over 600,000 music fans congregated at the Watkins Glen Racetrack in New York for an event known as a Summer Jam. The Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers Band and The Band shared the bill at an event that for many years held the Guinness Book of World Records title for "largest audience at a pop festival." Over 150,000 tickets were sold to what eventually became a free concert.
A new documentary titled Summer Jam, which is now in production, looks back on that event. The executive producers of the film, Shelly Finkel and Jim Koplik promoted the original event, with assistance from Bill Graham and Grateful Dead road manager Sam Cutler. The interviewees include Finkel, Koplik, Cutler, Chuck Leavell, Jaimoe, Derek Trucks, Steve Parish, Dennis McNally and many others with a direct connection to Summer Jam.
Director Jordan Bogdonavage is a two-time Emmy winner whose recent work includes the Lollapalooza docuseries LOLLA. The team also includes a number of accomplished producers and crew members with multiple sports Emmys to their credit.
Summer Jam is now soliciting stake holders via an equity offering on Wefunder. The pitch to investors notes, “There’s something for everyone in Summer Jam– from the collective audiences for the bands that played, to the 600,000 people that attended, to music doc fanatics, to anyone fascinated by the generation that reshaped American culture forever. People want to see this film. The production is already underway, nearing completion. Your investment goes to filming a few more key interviews, editing, clearances (clips, stills, and music), graphics and titles, and refining the technical side of the film for distribution platforms. With the necessary funding in place, we will bring the film to millions of viewers worldwide.”
Minimum investment is $100, with the full details at the film’s Wefunder page.
