By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on June 13, 2026)

As a self-proclaimed, smarty-pants “musicologist”, I thought I already knew everything there was to know about the wildly successful pop-funk institution Earth, Wind, and Fire. I was wrong. In his absorbing documentary (this year’s Opening Night world premiere), musician and filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Summer of Soul, Sly Lives!) takes a deep dive into the group’s evolution and flowering, tracing both its musical and spiritual roots.

The lion’s share of screen time is devoted to the group’s late founder and bandleader Maurice White, an ambitious, dynamic and (as it turns out) somewhat complicated and enigmatic individual. I’ll admit that I had no idea White played drums in the Ramsey Lewis Trio from 1966 until 1970 (when he left to form the first iteration of Earth, Wind and Fire). The most fascinating revelation for me was White’s embrace of Afro-futurism, and how he incorporated it into the group’s ethos (while the two bandleaders’ musical styles were quite different, I was struck by a number of similarities with free jazz pioneer Sun Ra’s journey).

The vibe is largely joyful and celebratory, but this is no hagiography. Former group members pull no punches about how mercurial and controlling White could be; some recall how they were made to feel less like creative collaborators and more like employees. Still, they all acknowledge White’s total commitment to his musical vision and how he tirelessly strove for excellence. Inspiring, moving, and packed with jams from a top-shelf catalog. (Now streaming on HBO/MAX).