A new independent film, “Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: The Documentary”, is set to shed light on one of music’s most monumental events.
Produced in part by Summer Jam concert promoters Jim Koplik and Shelly Finkel, the film tells the never before heard stories of the legendary 1973 concert that lured a record-breaking crowd to Upstate New York.
On July 28, 1973, the drowsy, sun-dappled village of Watkins Glen was stirred from its small-town slumber by two up and coming concert promoters, Koplik and Finkel. The pair sold 150,000 tickets at $10 a piece in exchange for the promise of a day filled with festival fun, featuring performances from rock bands The Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead and The Band. Like moths to a flame, over 600,000 music-fanatics flocked to Watkins Glen Grand Prix Raceway, fashioning Summer Jam into the record-breaking free-for-all that it is known as today.
Though more than 50 years have passed since Summer Jam, the history behind this once in a lifetime event continues to unravel; prompting Koplik and Finkel to collaborate with several experienced filmmakers to tell the full story in “Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: The Documentary”.
The film homes in on the behind the scenes details that threatened to derail Summer Jam; The Band was at odds both on and off the stage, having not played a live show in nearly a year, several poor experiences had Grateful Dead hesitant to playing large outdoor festivals and The Allman Brothers Band was mourning the recent loss of two of its founding members.
“Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: The Documentary” also explores the technical intricacies behind the event, including the first ever implementation of delay towers – the strategic placement of speakers throughout large venues to compensate for the speed of sound – a method still used today. The sheer size of the audience at Summer Jam was instrumental in the creation of Grateful Dead’s massive, sound reinforcement system which soon after became a fixture of the band’s legacy and is now famously known as the “Wall of Sound”.
The film features an exclusive interview with Sam Cutler, The Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead tour manager, just weeks before his death in 2023. Cutler worked closely alongside Koplik and Finkel to organize the many logistics of Summer Jam and in a video preview, stressed the instrumental role each organizer played in the event’s tremendous success. The “Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: The Documentary” film crew went to the home of Chuck Leavell, the Allman Brothers Band first full-time pianist who joined the band in 1972. A true performer at his heart, in another video preview Leavell a beloved classic of the Allman Brothers Band, the iconic instrumental released in 1973 titled “Jessica“.
“Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: The Documentary” is still in production, but is aiming for a hopeful release in the near future.
For more information, exclusive updates and to watch the trailer for “Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: The Documentary”, visit the film’s website.
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