Alamo Drafthouse has teamed with GroundUP Music (run by Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League’s cousin, Michael League) to present a series of five classic silent movies with new scores recorded by five artists signed to GroundUP Music’s record label.
Dubbed “GroundUP Music x Alamo Drafthouse,” the series launches Sunday (February 20) at Alamo Drafthouse locations across the U.S. and will continue with a new artist and film pairing for five weeks through mid-March.
Each of the GroundUP Music/Alamo Drafthouse shows will debut at the exhibitor’s new Lower Manhattan location, along with a live Q&A with each film’s corresponding composer. Attendees at those shows will receive a limited-edition letterpress poster designed by New York-based artist Martin Mazzorra and printed on a vintage letterpress located in the theater’s Press Room bar. Additionally, each of the shows screened in the Lower Manhattan theater will feature a screening of a different Snarky Puppy concert film.
Following the Lower Manhattan shows, participating Alamo Drafthouse locations nationwide will screen the GroundUP Music x Alamo Drafthouse series along with the pre-recorded Q&As.
Starting March 25, each of the newly scored titles will be made available individually and as a “six pack bundle” via Alamo On Demand worldwide. The “six pack” will include all five newly scored silent movies, as well as We Like It Here, a documentary on the instrumental collective Snarky Puppy (whose Bob Lanzetti and Chris Bullock participated in the silent movie project) which is only available through Alamo On Demand as part of the bundle. Also on March 25, GroundUp Music will release the original soundtracks for each of the five movies via all digital streaming platforms.
The five GroundUP Music artist and film pairings are:
House of Waters with three silent shorts – Menilmontant (1926), Le Voyage Dans La Lune (1902) and Ballet Mecanique (1923)
Sirintip with The Lost World (1925)
PRD Mais with Waxworks (1924)
Snarky Puppy’s Bob Lanzetti with Nosferatu (1922) celebrating its 100-year anniversary
Snarky Puppy’s Chris Bullock with Aelita: Queen Of Mars
“This began a pandemic silver lining,” said Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League in a statement. “With theaters closed and artists unable to tour, we reached out to collaborate with our friends at GroundUP Music to put our collective bunker time to good use. The GroundUP roster is so strong and so diverse; the work we are unveiling is unique and truly extraordinary. I’m excited to share these wonderful reimagined classic silent films with a whole new audience!”
“We at GroundUP have always felt it would be a natural pairing for our artists to marry their musical talents with a visual medium such as film. It’s an honor for our team to be partnered with our friends at Alamo Drafthouse to bring this longstanding vision to reality,” added GroundUP Music COO Eric Lense.
“Each of the five composers have expressed how much light this project brought into their lives during some of the darkest days we’ve all experienced,” said GroundUP Music director of label operations Jamie Margulies. “Tim League is literally family to us, as he and our founder Michael League are cousins, and we are so grateful to him and the Alamo team for providing our artists with this opportunity.”
Tickets for the GroundUP x Alamo Drafthouse series are available now at https://drafthouse.com/movies/groundup-music-x-alamo-drafthouse. You can find the full lineup below.
GroundUP Music x Alamo Drafthouse lineup:
Sunday, February 20th – Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan (Live Q&A with composer)
Beginning Sunday, February 20th – Participating Alamo Drafthouse locations
- Three Silent Shorts (Ménilmontant, Ballet Mécanique, Le Voyage Dans La Lune) with new score by House of Waters
- groundUP by Snarky Puppy
Sunday, February 27th – Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan (Live Q&A with composer)
Beginning Sunday, February 27th – Participating Alamo Drafthouse locations
- The Lost World with new score by Sirintip
- We Like It Here by Snarky Puppy
Sunday, March 6th – Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan (Livestreamed Q&A with composer)
Beginning Sunday, March 6th – Participating Alamo Drafthouse locations
- Waxworks with new score by PRD Mais
- Family Dinner, Vol. 1 by Snarky Puppy
Sunday, March 13th – Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan (Live Q&A with composer)
Beginning Sunday, March 13th – Participating Alamo Drafthouse locations
- Nosferatu with new score by Snarky Puppy’s Bob Lanzetti
- Sylva by Snarky Puppy
Sunday, March 20th – Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan (Live Q&A with composer)
Beginning Sunday, March 20th – Participating Alamo Drafthouse locations
- Aelita: Queen Of Mars with new score by Snarky Puppy’s Chris Bullock
- Family Dinner, Vol. 2 by Snarky Puppy
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