The film, directed by John McDermott, and an accompanying album were previously released on Blu-Ray and digital formats back in November 2020 and document Hendrix’s 1970 visit to Maui.
The guitar icon originally appeared on the island in order to shoot an ill-fated film called Rainbow Bridge, which was conceived by his manager Michael Jeffery, in the wake of counterculture hit Easy Rider.
Central to the proposed movie was footage of Hendrix performing on the slopes of the Haleakala volcano. Rainbow Bridge’s director, Chuck Wein, pitched the show as a “color/sound vibratory experiment” and the free events soon drew the attention of locals.
Rainbow Bridge was ultimately canned, but footage of the performance remained and has been incorporated into the documentary, alongside original interviews with Billy Cox, Eddie Kramer, Wein and others.
The show itself is remarkable – not just for the quality of the footage captured during the performance, or Hendrix’s typically astonishing, instinctive showmanship – but because of its uniquely bizarre context.
Hendrix performs full-pelt to an audience numbering in the low hundreds – reportedly organised according to their star signs – as kids and locals stand and stare. Surf bums and hippies nod along, while one attendee mounts a horse and rides around the outskirts. Essentially, it’s everything you’d expect from the guitar icon at the height of his career, playing on the side of a volcano in a vibratory experiment…
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The documentary will premiere on February 1 and receive screenings at various US and European locations throughout the month, including a special Q&A and screening at The Regent Theater in Los Angeles with filmmakers John McDermott and Janie Hendrix on February 16.
(Image credit: Experience Hendrix / Abramorama)
Music, Money, Madness… Jimi Hendrix In Maui screenings
Feb 1 Barstow, CA Barstow Station Cinema is D’Place
Feb 1 Bonsall, CA River Village Cinema is D’Place
Feb 1 Mammoth Lakes, CA Minaret Cinema is D’Place
Feb 1 Buffalo, NY Dipson Amherst Theatre
Feb 1 Buffalo, NY Dipson Amherst Theatre
Feb 1 Oklahoma City, OK Rodeo Stockyards
Feb 1 Tacoma, WA The Grand Cinema
Feb 2 Newport, RI The JPT Film & Event Center
Feb 4-10 Vancouver, BC Vancity Theatre
Feb 4-10 Vancouver, BC Vancity Theatre
Feb 4-10 Columbus, OH Gateway Film Center
Feb 7 Cottonwood, AZ Old Town Center For the Arts
Feb 7 Cottonwood, AZ Old Town Center For the Arts
Feb 8-10, 15-17 Albuquerque, NM Guild Cinema
Feb 9 Stamford, CT Avon Theatre Film Center
Feb 10-11 Arlington, MA Regent Theatre
Feb 10 Tulsa, OK Circle Cinema
Feb 10 Portland, OR Cinema 21
Feb 16 Los Angeles Regent Theater*
Feb 16 Dennis, MA Cape Cinema
Feb 16 San Diego, CA Landmark’s Hillcrest Cinemas
Feb 16 Denver, CO Landmark’s Esquire Theatre
Feb 16 Chicago, IL Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema
Feb 16 Atlanta, GA Landmark’s Midtown Art Cinema
Feb 16 Philadelphia, PA Landmark’s Ritz Five
Feb 16 Washington, DC Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Feb 17 San Rafael, CA Smith Rafael Film Center
Feb 17 Santa Monica, CA Laemmle Monica Film Center
Feb 17 Pasadena, CA Laemmle’s Playhouse 7
Feb 17 North Hollywood, CA Laemmle NoHo 7
Feb 17 Glendale, CA Laemmle Glendale
Feb 17 Claremont, CA Laemmle Claremont 5
Feb 17 Newhall, CA Laemmle Newhall
Feb 17, 20, 26 Olympia, WA Olympia Film Society
Feb 20 Rosendale, NY Rosendale Theatre
Feb 21 Orlando, FL Enzian Theater
For more information and to buy tickets for screenings, head to JimiHendrixMaui.com.
Matt is Features Editor for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.
