WKNO is premiering a new documentary that takes a look into the journey of 14 Stax Music Academy students and a group of faculty members as they embark on the first ever Stax Music Academy Summer Tour.
One of the highlights of the tour featured the young musicians opening the festivities for the 19th annual Porretta Soul Festival in Porretta Terme, Italy.
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The Stax Music Academy: From Soulsville to Italy, a WKNO production, premieres Thursday, August 2 at 8:00 p.m. on WKNO/Channel 10.
As part of the Stax Music Academy, a non-profit organization that provides primarily at-risk inner-city youths with the training and technology to make music, these students, as well as many others, are learning to utilize their talents to recreate the sound that made Stax Records famous decades ago.
The film is part of a two-night celebration of Stax on WKNO. On Wednesday, August 1, WKNO will premiere Great Performances: Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story. This program, which will air at 8:00 p.m., details the story behind the legendary label that launched a whos who of soul music greats: Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, the Staple Singers, Isaac Hayes, Eddie Floyd, Carla and Rufus Thomas, Albert King and Booker T. and the MGs, to name a just a few.
