''Festival Express'' is a 2003 documentary film about the 1970 train tour of the same name across Canada taken by some of North America's most popular rock bands, including the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band,

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

, Flying Burrito Bros, Ian & Sylvia's Great Speckled Bird, Mountain and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. The film combines footage of the 1970 concerts and on the train, interspersed with contemporary recollections of the tour by its participants. The film, released by THINKFilm, was produced by Gavin Poolman (son of the original 1970 film shoot's producer, Willem Poolman) together with John Trapman, and directed by double

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winner Bob Smeaton, with music produced by

Eddie Kramer Edwin H. Kramer (born 19 April 1942) is a British recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin ...

and featuring original footage shot in 1970 by

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning cinematographer

Peter Biziou Peter Biziou BSC (born 8 August 1944 in Wales) is a British cinematographer. Peter Biziou is the son of special effects cameraman and cinematographer Leon Bijou best known for shooting ''Foxes'' in 1980. He began his career in the mid-1960s w ...

. The original 1970 footage was filmed by director Frank Cvitanovich. A

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

release followed the film's 2003 theatrical run.

Concert tour

''Festival Express'' was staged in three Canadian cities:

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

and Calgary, during the summer of 1970. Rather than flying into each city, the musicians traveled by chartered Canadian National Railways

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

, in a total of 14 cars (two engines, one diner, five sleepers, two lounge cars, two flat cars, one baggage car, and one staff car). The train journey between cities ultimately became a combination of non-stop jam sessions and partying fueled by alcohol. One highlight of the documentary is a drunken jam session featuring The Band's

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

, the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, New Riders of the Purple Sage's John Dawson, as well as Janis Joplin. The event, initially billed as the ''Transcontinental Pop Festival'', was developed and conceived by Ken Walker and promoted by Eaton-Walker Associates (consisting of Thor Eaton, George Eaton, and Ken Walker) and the concerts were produced and financed together with Industrial and Trade Shows of Canada (ITS) division of MacLean-Hunter Publishing Company and originally included the following cities: The Montreal event was cancelled a few weeks before the scheduled date by

Lucien Saulnier Lucien Saulnier, (July 25, 1916 – June 22, 1989) was a Canadian politician. He was chair of the Montreal Urban Community during the October Crisis. He was also Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Société de développement industri ...

, chairman of the City of Montreal Executive Committee (and acting under authority of mayor Jean Drapeau), because it clashed with St. Jean-Baptiste Day (June 24) celebrations and there were concerns about a diluted security force and the potential for violence. Buses were run from Montreal to the Toronto Festival Express stop and Montreal tickets were honored in Toronto. The Vancouver venue, Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) Empire Stadium, could not be secured as they were scheduled to have artificial turf (Tartan Turf) installed shortly before the scheduled event, and there was concern about damage to the turf. In March, 1970, Walker requested use of an alternate venue, Capilano Stadium, for the event, but this was denied by the Vancouver City Council over several concerns, including inadequate sanitary and food facilities, challenges with policing the event, and vagrancy. Therefore, Vancouver was dropped from the tour, and Calgary was subsequently added. The event in Calgary was initially to be held in an open field, Paskapoo Ski Hill (to later become

Canada Olympic Park Canada Olympic Park (COP), formerly known as Paskapoo Ski Hill, is a ski hill and multi-purpose training and competition facility located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, owned and operated by WinSport. It is currently used both for high performance at ...

), but the city requested it be held at McMahon Stadium instead, as it would permit better organization and security. The tour ultimately began in Toronto at the CNE Grandstand, which was plagued with about 2,500 protestors who objected to what they viewed as exploitation by promoters charging $14 per ticket. The opposition was organized by the May 4th Movement (M4M), the left-rebel group that grew out of the May 4, 1970

Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...

. They attempted to crash the gates and scale the fence, and clashed with police, resulting in injuries to both protesters and policemen. To help calm the crowd, Metro Police Inspector Walter Magahay asked the promoter, Ken Walker, to lower ticket prices, but this would have left the promoters unable to pay the musicians. Subsequently, Jerry Garcia, in conjunction with Magahay, was instrumental in calming the unruly crowd by arranging a spontaneous free "rehearsal" concert in nearby Coronation Park upon a flatbed truck, while the scheduled show continued at the stadium. Once the free concert, which began at about 7:00pm on June 27, was announced, most of the ticketless fans dispersed to Coronation Park, with an initial attendance of about 6,000, thereby resolving the protest. Once the show at the CNE Grandstand ended at 12:30am, another 6,000 fans went to the park for the remainder of the free concert, which lasted until about 4:00am on June 28. Playing at Coronation Park were The Grateful Dead, Ian & Sylvia and the Great Speckled Bird, James and the Good Brothers, the New Riders of the Purple Sage (all of whom also performed at the CNE concert). Other local Toronto bands also played, including January, The People's Revolutionary Concert Band, Si Potma and P.M. Howard (of '' Beatlemania'' fame). There are some reports indicating a free concert was also performed on the second day, albeit to a much smaller crowd of about 500, as many of the protesters paid admission to the event on the second day. Many people spent the night and following day sleeping in the park until the second show at CNE Grandstand ended at 12:30am on June 29. On the way to Winnipeg, the second stop on the tour, the train stopped in

Chapleau, Ontario Chapleau is a township in Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada. It is home to one of the world's largest wildlife preserves. Chapleau has a population of 1,942 according to the 2016 Canadian census. The major industries within the town are the log ...

, to replenish its dwindling alcohol supply, buying out the entire stock of a small liquor store. The Winnipeg show had only a modest turnout of 4,600, partly due to fears about crowd violence based on the events in Toronto and partly due to the Manitoba Centennial appearance by Prime Minister Trudeau. The event was not plagued by protests or violence, however. In Calgary, the third and final stop, the police wished to avoid the protests witnessed in Toronto and their presence seemed to subdue the crowds outside the stadium, though there were many complaints about the ticket prices. It was estimated that about 1,000 people managed to sneak in on Saturday by climbing fences early in the day, but security was tightened, and by the afternoon and Sunday, fewer people managed to breach the fences. However, there was a heated altercation between promoter Ken Walker and Calgary mayor Rod Sykes after Sykes strongly suggested to Walker on Sunday afternoon that he open the gates and let the kids in free after the show was well underway. Walker, who was livid about the mayor's intrusion and his reference to Walker as "Eastern scum" "trying to skim" the young people of Calgary, claimed to have punched the mayor in the mouth, and boasted that he still had a scar on his hand to prove it. The tour had an original budget of about $900,000 (of which $500,000 was for musical talent), but largely due to less than predicted turnout, gross receipts were just over $500,000 and the project ultimately lost between $350,000 and $500,000 for the promoters. Although the tour was a financial failure, it produced many notable performances, including some of the final performances by Janis Joplin, who would die about three months after the end of the tour. In the film, Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead said, "Woodstock was a treat for the audience, but the train was a treat for the performers." Jerry Garcia later said that what he remembers most about the tour is being "so blisteringly drunk".

Songs

Performed in the film

* " Don't Ease Me In", Grateful Dead * " Friend of the Devil", Grateful Dead * " Slippin' and Slidin'", The Band * "

Comin' Home Baby "Comin' Home Baby" is a song originally written as an instrumental by Ben Tucker and first recorded by the Dave Bailey Quintet in 1961, and shortly thereafter by Herbie Mann. Lyrics were added by Bob Dorough, and the vocal version became a US Top ...

Mashmakhan Mashmakhan was a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 in L'Île-Perrot, Quebec. The band is best known for their 1970 hit single " As the Years Go By". The song reached No. 1 in Canada, and the Top 40 in the United States. The song was also a maj ...

* "

Money (That's What I Want) "Money (That's What I Want)" is a rhythm and blues song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise. Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, ...

Blues Band * "Lazy Days",

The Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris ...

* "

The Weight "The Weight" is a song by the Canadian-American group the Band that was released as a single in 1968 and on the group's debut album '' Music from Big Pink''. It was their first release under this name, after their previous releases as Canadian ...

", The Band * " Cry Baby", Janis Joplin * " Ain't No More Cane", jam session on train including

, John Dawson, Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir * " Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay", performed by

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After ga ...

* " New Speedway Boogie", Grateful Dead * "

C.C. Rider "See See Rider", also known as "C.C. Rider", "See See Rider Blues" or "Easy Rider", is a popular American 12-bar blues song that became a standard in several genres. Ma Rainey, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was the first to record it on October 16, 192 ...

", Ian & Sylvia and the Great Speckled Bird (with Jerry Garcia and Delaney Bramlett) * " I Shall Be Released", The Band * "

Tell Mama Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) is a national project which records and measures anti-Muslim incidents in the United Kingdom. It is modelled on the Jewish Community Security Trust (CST) and like the CST it also provides support for v ...

", Janis Joplin * "

Me and Bobby McGee "Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posthu ...

", Janis Joplin * "Cold Jordan", Jerry Garcia * "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad", Delaney & Bonnie & Friends

Additional songs on DVD

* "

Casey Jones John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train at Vaughan, Mississippi. Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois C ...

", Grateful Dead (opening credits) * " 13 Questions", Seatrain * " Child's Song",

Tom Rush Thomas Walker Rush (born February 8, 1941) is an American folk music, folk and blues music, blues singer, guitarist and songwriter who helped launch the careers of other singer-songwriters in the 1960s and has continued his own singing career f ...

* "

Thirsty Boots "Thirsty Boots" is a civil-rights-era folksong by American singer-songwriter Eric Andersen that first appeared on his 1966 album '' 'Bout Changes 'n' Things''. According to the album's liner notes, the song "was written to a civil rights worker-fr ...

Eric Andersen Eric Andersen (born February 14, 1943) is an American folk music singer-songwriter, who has written songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, the Grateful Dead and many others. Early in his career, in the 1960s, ...

* "

As the Years Go By "As the Years Go By" is the first single by rock fusion band Mashmakhan from their self-titled debut album. The single was recorded in Columbia B Studios and was released as the first single to Mashmakhan's self-titled debut album. The other sin ...

* "

Tears of Rage "Tears of Rage" is a song with lyrics written by Bob Dylan and melody by Richard Manuel. Dylan and the Band first recorded the song in 1967, but it was not released until 1975 on ''The Basement Tapes'' album. In 1968, the Band recorded it for t ...

", Ian & Sylvia and Great Speckled Bird * "

Hoochie Coochie Man "Hoochie Coochie Man" (originally titled "I'm Your Hoochie Cooche Man") is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954. The song makes reference to hoodoo folk magic elements and makes novel use of a sto ...

Blues Band * " Hard to Handle", Grateful Dead * " Easy Wind", Grateful Dead * " Move Over", Janis Joplin * "

Kozmic Blues "Kozmic Blues" is a song from American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin's '' I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!'' album, her first after departing Big Brother and the Holding Company. It was a part of Joplin's set at the Woodstock Festival ...

", Janis Joplin

Other Festival Express performances

* Audio recordings of Janis Joplin's performances from all three shows have surfaced on various posthumus releases. Starting with the 1972 double live album, '' Joplin In Concert'', which consisted of Festival Express recordings on its second disc, and culminating with ''Live From The Festival Express Tour, Canada'', released as a bonus disc for the 2005 deluxe reissue of her 1971 album, ''

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

''. The 13 track disc collected many of the previously released recordings, along with 6 which were previously unreleased. Five filmed performances ("

", "

", " Cry Baby", "Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)" and " Move Over") were featured in the 1974 film, '' Janis''. * Filmed performances of "

Long Black Veil "Long Black Veil" is a 1959 country ballad, written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin and originally recorded by Lefty Frizzell. It is told from the point of view of a man falsely accused of murder and executed. He refuses to provide an alibi, ...

" and "Rockin' Chair", from July 5, 1970 in Calgary appear on The Band's anthology album, ''

A Musical History ''A Musical History'' is the second box set to anthologize Canadian-American rock group the Band. Released by Capitol Records on September 27, 2005, it features 111 tracks spread over five compact discs and one DVD. Roughly spanning the group ...

''.

Other festival performers

These festival performers were not featured in the film or DVD extras: *

Robert Charlebois Robert Charlebois, OC, OQ (born June 25, 1944) is a Québecois author, composer, musician, performer and actor. Charlebois was born in Montreal, Quebec. Among his best known songs are ''Lindberg'' (the duo with Louise Forestier in particular ...

Delaney & Bonnie Delaney & Bonnie were an American duo of singer-songwriters Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett. In 1969 and 1970, they fronted a rock/soul ensemble, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, whose members at different times included Duane Allman, Gregg ...

& Friends ( Delaney Bramlett sits in with Great Speckled Bird during "C.C. Rider" and

Bonnie Bramlett Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, November 8, 1944) is an American singer and occasional actress known for performing with her husband, Delaney Bramlett, as Delaney & Bonnie. She continues to sing as a solo artist. Life and career ...

can be seen on the train; their saxophonist Jerry Jumonville also appears.) *

The Ides of March The Ides of March (; la, Idus Martiae, Late Latin: ) is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several Religion in ancient Rome, religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling d ...

* James and The Good Brothers *

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

(member Leslie West can be seen jamming at the beginning of the film) *

Ten Years After Ten Years After are a British rock group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, the band had eight consecutive Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition, they had twelve albums enter the US ''Billboar ...

(performed only in Toronto; performances of "I'm Goin' Home" and "Slow Blues in C" were filmed, but according to film producer Gavin Poolman in May 2011, lead guitarist and singer Alvin Lee wouldn't approve their appearance in the film, saying he thought his guitar was out of tune) *

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...

(performed only in Toronto; on the DVD, promoter Ken Walker states that

was on the train, but the band's record company wouldn't allow them to appear in the film. Two performances were filmed; however, according to film producer Gavin Poolman in May 2011, Steve Winwood's management refused permission for these to appear in the film.) *

The New Riders of the Purple Sage ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, which, in mid-1970, featured Jerry Garcia on pedal-steel guitar, as well as Mickey Hart as occasional percussionist. Also, John Dawson is seen in the " Ain't No More Cane" scene, sitting on the couch with

and Janis Joplin, as they work through several drunken verses of the tune.

Buddy Cage Buddy Cage (February 18, 1946 – February 5, 2020) was an American pedal steel guitarist, best known as a longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage.

can also be seen, performing as a member of Great Speckled Bird.

Film production

Because the Festival Express tour turned out to be a complete financial disaster, the promoters injuncted the film footage and the film project was shelved soon afterwards, as the footage mysteriously disappeared. Some of the film's reels turned up in the garage of the original producer Willem Poolman, where they had been stored for decades and used at various times as goal posts for ball hockey games played by his son Gavin when he was a teenager. The plan to resurrect the film was started in 1999 by executive producer Garth Douglas and story consultant James Cullingham, who found many more reels in the Canadian National Film Archives vault, where it had been kept in pristine condition, unknown to the world. Garth got in touch with Gavin, who had grown up to become a film producer based in London, England. Gavin put the film together with his old high school friend John Trapman, and Bob Smeaton, double Grammy Award-winning director of ''

The Beatles Anthology ''The Beatles Anthology'' is a multimedia retrospective project consisting of a television documentary, a three-volume set of double albums, and a book describing the history of the Beatles. Beatles members Paul McCartney, George Harrison an ...

'', was brought on board. The music tracks were mixed at Toronto's MetalWorks Studios and produced by

, Jimi Hendrix's producer, and engineer for

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

, ''

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

'', and ''Derek & The Dominos Live In Concert''. The film was produced by London-based Apollo Films (a division o
Apollo Media
together with PeachTree Films in Amsterdam.

Release

Premieres and festivals

''Festival Express'' had its world premiere at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. Other festival releases included the

San Francisco Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in in ...

, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Bermuda Film Festival,

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...

, Miami Film Festival,

Wisconsin Film Festival The Wisconsin Film Festival is an annual film festival, founded in 1999. The festival is held every April in Madison, Wisconsin, and has recently been expanded from five days to eights days. The Festival presents a broad range of independent Ameri ...

NatFilm Festival The NatFilm Festival, staged annually across 16 cinemas in Copenhagen, in addition to several in Odense, Aalborg (replaced by Kolding in 2007) and Århus, shows the widest programme of films to the largest festival audience in Denmark. Establishe ...

Karlovy Vary Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become ...

Maine International Film Festival The Maine International Film Festival, or MIFF, is a 10-day film festival held annually in Waterville, Maine. The festival usually runs in the third week of July at Railroad Square Cinema and the Waterville Opera House. Founded in 1998, the festi ...

Flanders International Film Festival Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture ...

, the IN-EDIT Barcelona International Music Documentary Film Festival, Hohaiyan Music Film Festival, Rio Film Festival,

Vienna International Film Festival The Vienna International Film Festival, or Viennale, is a film festival taking place every October since 1960 in Vienna, Austria. The average number of visitors is about 75,000. Traditional cinema venues are ''Gartenbaukino'', ''Urania'', ''Metro ...

and the

São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival ( pt, Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A non-profit event, the festival is organized ...

. The film was released theatrically on July 23, 2004 in the United States, as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Scandinavia.

Home media

A two-disc DVD for Region 1 was released on November 2, 2004 by New Line Home Video. A two-disc DVD for Region 4 was released in Australia in 2005 by Magna Pacific

A Blu-ray disc for Blu-ray region code, Region 1 was released in 2014 by Shout Factory.

Box-office reception

The film earned $1.2 million at the US Box Office, and the DVD went straight in at number 1 on the Music Video & Concert DVD top-sellers charts at

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

, Barnes & Noble,

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Recor ...

, etc., and has had an average customer review rating of 4.5 stars out of 5. According to

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''Festival Express'' was the second most critically acclaimed film released in 2004.

Legacy

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American folk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2005. The group is led by singer Alex Ebert. The band's name is based on a story Ebert wrote in his youth, about a messianic figure named E ...

joine
The Railroad Revival Tour
in April 2011 with

Mumford and Sons Mumford may refer to: *Amazing Mumford, a Muppet character on ''Sesame Street'' * ''Mumford'' (film), a 1999 American comedy-drama film * Mumford procedure, also called distal clavicle excision or distal clavicle resection, an orthopedic surgical pr ...

and

Old Crow Medicine Show Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that has been recording since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013. Their ninth album, '' Remedy'', released in 2014, won the ...

. Traveling in vintage rail cars, the three bands performed in six "unique outdoor locations" over the course of a week starting in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. The musical documentary ''Big Easy Express'', which was made of the trip and directed by Emmett Malloy, premiered March 2012 at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival (SXSW Film) in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

References

External links

* *
Song list

{{The Band 1970 in music 2003 films Concert films Concert tours English-language Canadian films Canadian documentary films Films shot in Canada 1970 in Canada Cultural history of Canada Rockumentaries Documentary films about rail transport 2003 documentary films Hippie films 1970 in Canadian music Documentary films about music festivals Canadian musical films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films