Bio : Echo In The Canyon

Echo In The Canyon celebrates the explosion of popular music that came out of LA’s Laurel Canyon in the mid-60s as folk went electric and The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield and The Mamas and the Papas gave birth to the California Sound.  It was a moment (1965 to 1967) when bands came to LA to emulate The Beatles and Laurel Canyon emerged as a hotbed of creativity and collaboration for a new generation of musicians who would soon put an indelible stamp on the history of American popular music.

Featuring Jakob Dylan, the film explores the beginnings of the Laurel Canyon music scene.  Dylan uncovers never-before-heard personal details behind the bands and their songs and how that music continues to inspire today.  Echo in the Canyon contains candid conversations and performances with Brian Wilson, Ringo Starr, Michelle Phillips, Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Roger McGuinn and Jackson Browne as well as contemporary musicians they influenced such as Tom Petty (in his last film interview), Beck, Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Regina Spektor, and Norah Jones.

“The best test of songwriting is that it transcends its moment in time and there is no doubt that the songs we explore in this film are as powerful today as they were in 1965,” said star and executive producer Jakob Dylan.

The film premiered to glowing reviews as the Opening Night film at the LA Film Festival and DOC NYC.  Deadline raved the film is “sensational” and “irresistible in every way”, The Hollywood Reporter called it “rich with revealing observations and engaging anecdotes” and Film Threat declared “a music documentary up there with the all-time greats…will be watched for decades.”

Directed by former music journalist, record producer and label executive Andrew Slater, Echo In The Canyon opens in Los Angeles on May 24 at Arclight's Cinerama Dome and The Landmark followed by a New York opening at the Angelika and The Landmark at 57 West on May 31.  Both openings will feature performances by musicians from the film all weekend with a national rollout and a soundtrack on BMG Music following in June.