Joe Boyd Returns to US for Run Of Audio-Visual Cinema Events And Bookstore Readings In Support Of His Acclaimed Book ‘And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain: A Journey Through Global Music’

Recent Celebrations Of Boyd’s Work Include A New Box-Set of Nick Drake’s First Album, The Making Of Five Leaves Left, The 40th Anniversary of R.E.M.’s Fables of the Reconstruction, A Forthcoming Reissue Of and Tribute To The Incredible String Band, + More

Deemed Book of the Year By: Financial Times, MOJO, Irish Times, PopMatters, UNCUT and Songlines

PC: Andrea Goertler

Today, legendary producer, author, and raconteur Joe Boyd has announced a fall slate of US audio-visual cinema events and bookstore readings in support of his latest book And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain: A Journey Through Global Music (ZE Books). A full schedule can be found below. 
Originally commissioned for the 2025 Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN, Boyd’s audio-visual presentation seamlessly mixes stories and excerpts from his book with a selection of film clips, music and photos, and features rare footage and recordings of icons like Taj Mahal with Toumani Diabaté, Ravi Shankar with George Harrison, Dizzy Gillespie with Chano Pozo, Kate Bush with the Trio Bulgarka, Paul Simon in Zimbabwe with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and beyond. A sweeping history celebrating the immense and often unrecognised impact of the world’s musical traditions on Western popular culture, And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain has been internationally praised, and featured on numerous ‘Best of 2024’ lists.

PC: Polly Thomas

The tour continues a busy 2025 for Boyd, whose immense musical legacy has been celebrated throughout the year. He was interviewed in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, MOJO, Uncut, and the BBC around the reissue of Nick Drake’s Boyd-produced debut LP Five Leaves Left, and his role in Bob Dylan’s seminal 1965 Newport Folk Festival performance (where Dylan famously “went electric”) was commemorated in a notable New York Times piece at the end of 2024. Boyd’s legacy will be further celebrated at a forthcoming tribute concert to the Incredible String Band in the UK in advance of the much-awaited reissue box set Very Cellular Songs, and additional reissues of Boyd’s extensive discography are planned throughout 2026 and 2027. 

Additionally, the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s Boyd-produced 1985 LP Fables Of The Reconstruction has been celebrated by Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy, who are following up a sold-out Spring run of US shows with a UK tour (August 19-26) in which they perform the album in full. 

Widely acclaimed as one of the best books of 2024, And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain was praised by MOJO as “The War and Peace of World Music” in a 5/5 star review, while the Wall Street Journal lauded Boyd’s “appreciation of…deep truths and telling ironies”, and The Guardian found Boyd’s “epic account of global music’s cross-pollination … an inspiring tale of seduction, expression and freedom from oppression”. In addition, PBS NewsHour aired a primetime interview on the book and Boyd’s long career. Boyd also shared a special excerpt from the book with Vanity Fair in advance of publication and has recently discussed the book on WTF w/ Marc Maron, NPR’s Here & Now, The Bob Lefsetz Podcast, Conversations With Tyler, the BBC’s Earlier… with Jools Holland, and PRX’s The World, with additional interviews in the Washington Post, Aquarium Drunkard, the Record Store Day podcast, and many more.      

A full schedule of Boyd’s US events can be found below:

September 2, 2025 - Books & Books - Miami, FL (7PM)

September 10, 2025 - Northwest Film Forum / Elliott Bay - Seattle, WA (6PM)

September 11, 2025 - Roxie Theater / Book Passage - San Francisco, CA (6PM)

September 13, 2025 - Ojai Playhouse - Ojai, CA (4PM)

September 13, 2025 - Bart’s Books / Hotel El Roblox - Ojai, CA (6PM)

September 17, 2025 - Octavia Books - New Orleans, LA (6 PM)

 

About Joe Boyd:

Joe Boyd is a record producer and writer, known for his acclaimed memoir, White Bicycles. Artists he has produced include Nick Drake, R.E.M., Toots and the Maytals, Richard Thompson, Pink Floyd, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and ¡Cubanismo! among many others over the course of a nearly sixty-year career. 

After graduating from Harvard in 1964, he tour-managed Muddy Waters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, and others before serving as production manager for the historic 1965 Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals. He then moved to London to open Elektra Records’ office and started the famous UFO club, which became the center of London’s psychedelic revolution. In 1979 he launched his own label, Hannibal Records, which was at the forefront of bringing global artists to western audiences. As a film producer, his credits include Amazing Grace, Scandal, and Jimi Hendrix. A gifted raconteur, he appears frequently on radio, podcasts and documentaries.

 

About ZE Books:

Founded in 2019 by Michael Zilkha, ZE Books publishes extraordinary literary and visual works by groundbreaking writers, artists, and musicians.

Committed to nurturing and championing uncommon talent and voices, ZE Books brings out remarkable, beautifully produced books by exceptional writers, journalists, artists, musicians, and thinkers from around the world. Their titles span music, art, experimental writing, poetry, fiction, memoir, and more.