$10 General / $6 Members | R | Documentary/ Music | 1 hr 43 mins
A one-of-a-kind concert film, featuring performances by the top stars of 1970s soul, gospel, R&B, blues, funk, and jazz, will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary re-release in a one-night-only screening at the Rosendale Theatre.
WATTSTAX showcases the musical brilliance of legendary artists Isaac Hayes, the Dramatics, the Staple Singers, the Emotions, Johnnie Taylor, Mel and Tim, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Luther Ingram, the Bar-Kays, Albert King and Little Milton, plus others. Directed by Mel Stuart.
WATTSTAX was a seven-hour benefit concert organized by Stax Records to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the 1965 riots in the Black community of Watts, Los Angeles. The concert took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 20, 1972. Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson was emcee. Richard Pryor appeared in the film via a series of segments filmed later. In 2020, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”