The Venue in Aurora will offer two free movie nights this summer.
The first one highlights “Woodstock.” This documentary illustrates the start of the 1960s counterculture movement. It includes include artist interviews, performances and more.
The second film is “Cheat You Fair: The Story of Maxwell Street.”
The Crossroads Blues Society, which aims to keep the music genre alive, mostly serves the Rockford area. It’s bringing an updated version of the Maxwell Street film to Aurora.
Steve Jones is the president of the society. He said his daughter works at Waubonsee Community College, which is in Aurora, and two of them started talking about music rooms in the city.
“I got to thinking ‘Well I’ve been to The Venue in Aurora to see blues bands,’ so I called them up,” he added, “and, and they said ‘that'd be really cool. We can do we can do a showing.’”
Jones said the movie came out in 2006, but the society added more footage, which includes interviews from Buddy Guy, Bo Diddley and Junior Wells.
He said the movie shows how the Great Migration brought many African Americans to the west side of Chicago.
“And with their arrival,” Jones explained, “and then bringing the music with them from the Mississippi Delta and, and the Hill Country in Mississippi, brought the blues to Chicago and then it got electrified and amplified.”
“Woodstock” will show Sunday, July 28 at 7 p.m. and “Cheat You Fair: The Story of Maxwell Street,” will play on Friday, August 30 at 7 p.m. Register at themusicvenue.org.
