USA TODAY International Edition
Fyre and music fill slate of documentaries
We’re barely halfway through 2019, and the year’s landscape of music documentaries already has seen an embarrassment of riches.
Streaming now is “Free Meek,” an Amazon docuseries that follows Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill and his controversial legal fight and exposes flaws in the criminal justice system.
Documentaries from earlier this year have allowed music fans to dive into Netflix and Hulu’s competing Fyre Fest documentaries, learn more about music legends such as Leonard Cohen and the Wu-Tang Clan, and, more seriously, reevaluate the legacies of Michael Jackson and R. Kelly via the hard-hitting profiles of the two artists.
And no conversation about the year in music docs is complete without a mention of ‘Homecoming.”
Beyoncé’s concert film allowed fans to experience her 2018 Coachella headlining performances in rich detail.
Read on for a list of the year’s most noteworthy music documentaries.
Some are available now and others are upcoming.
Surviving R. Kelly
Release date: Jan. 3
The Lifetime documentary ignited a national conversation about Kelly’s decades-long history – stretching to the present-day – of alleged crimes, with the singer currently sitting in jail awaiting trial on the new criminal charges that have been brought against him in the months since.
Fyre Fraud
Release date: Jan. 14
Hulu’s Fyre Festival investigation was released by surprise four days before Netflix’s documentary on the disastrous event, beating the competing streaming service to the punch while also featuring an exclusive interview with Fyre founder Billy McFarland.
Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened
Release date: Jan. 18
While Netflix’s Fyre Fest doc didn’t include McFarland’s first-person take, the film featured a buzzier interview with event producer Andy King, who went viral with his quote about how he prepared to offer sexual favors to a customs official in order to obtain Evian water for the festival.
Leaving Neverland
Release date: March 3
The controversial Michael Jackson documentary tells the stories of accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck who alleged that Jackson sexually abused them when they were children in his inner circle.
The film ignited a flurry of lawsuits from the Jackson estate.
Amazing Grace
Release date: April 5
Shot over two days at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles in 1972 by director Sydney Pollack,
this Aretha Franklin documentary was delayed for decades by logistical and legal issues.
Homecoming
Release date: April 17 Released by surprise in April, accompanied by a live album, Netflix’s concert film shows exactly how Beyoncé pulled off her blockbuster 2018 Coachella headlining performance.
Viewers also got a glimpse of what the superstar’s life looked like as a new mom of three.
Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men
Release date: May 10
The Showtime series presents a fourepisode retrospective on the generation-defining rap collective, from its founding and the original lineup’s heyday through the surviving members’ projects today.
Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation
Release date: May 24 Released to commemorate Woodstock’s 50th anniversary this year, the PBS documentary examines the tumultuous decade that led to the 1960s’ historic concert event.
The Quiet One
Release date: June 21 Overshadowed by the wilder personalities of his Rolling Stones bandmates, bassist Bill Wyman is the subject of this new documentary, which heavily featured archival Super 8 footage shot by Wyman himself.
Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love
Release date: July 5 Examining the romantic-yet-problematic relationship of an artist and his muse, this documentary digs into the love affair between singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen, the Norwegian woman who helped inspire his work.
Between Me and My Mind
Release date: July 17
Beloved Phish frontman Trey Anastasio gets the documentary treatment with “Between Me and My Mind,” a must-see for the band’s superfans interested in a deep dive into his creative process.
David Crosby: Remember My Name
Release date: July 19
Still standing today after one of the most remarkable – and, at times, selfdestructive – careers in rock ’n’ roll, Crosby is at the center of a documentary that follows his early fame, his difficult days in the throes of addiction, and his eventual redemption.
Free Meek
Release date: Aug. 9
The Amazon docuseries follows Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill, who was released from prison after a controversial legal fight last year.
It documents the flaws in the criminal justice system as well as his fight for exoneration.
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Release date: Aug. 23
Named after the jazz icon’s 1957 album, this documentary combines interviews with his contemporaries and archival footage to attempt to reveal new truths about Davis’ life and career.
Wu-Tang: An American Saga
Release date: Sept. 4
The Hulu series traces the legendary hip-hop group’s mythology back to its formation in New York City in the early 1990s.
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
Release date: Sept. 6
This film will give the much-deserved documentary treatment to the rock icon of the ’70s and ’80s, featuring appreciations from Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and more.
John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky
Release date: Sept. 13
The relationship between John Lennon and Yoko Ono is one of the mostdocumented in rock music, with a new film homing in on the making of Lennon’s “Imagine” album while telling a larger story about their art, politics and lives together.
Country Music
Release date: Sept. 15
Ken Burns goes long on the history of the storied genre with a new eight-part, 16-hour PBS series that traces country music back to its roots and profiles its greatest artists.
Mystify: Michael Hutchence
Release date: Oct. 12 (U.K. only) More than two decades since the death of the INXS frontman, Hutchence is remembered in a documentary that tells the troubled story of his rock ’n’ roll successes as well as his personal demons.
All I Can Say
Release date: TBD
This sure-to-be-quirky documentary is told through the personal footage of Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon, providing a portrait of rocker life in the 1990s.
The Apollo
Release date: TBD
Telling the story of Harlem’s iconic theater, the HBO documentary tracks the venue’s history while spotlighting the behind-the-scenes action that helps it run night after night, with featured voices including Patti LaBelle, Pharrell Williams, Smokey Robinson and Jamie Foxx.
Devil’s Pie: D’Angelo
Release date: TBD
An R&B enigma, D’Angelo has lived an alternately troubled and triumphant life, which makes a film tracking his career particularly appealing.