Also this year the festival opens with a music film at Cinemateket.
SIDEMEN - Long Road To Glory" is an intimate look at the incredible lives and legacies of piano player Pinetop Perkins, drummer Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith and guitarist Hubert Sumlin, all Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf sidemen. The film captures some of the last interviews and their final live performances together, before their deaths in 2011.
The historic live shows are accompanied by performances and personal insights from many of the blues and rock stars these legendary sidemen inspired including; Bonnie Raitt, Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Shemekia Copeland, Robby Krieger, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Perry, Joe Bonamassa and Johnny Winter.

Narrated by Marc Maron and directed by Scott Rosenbaum, this documentary explores the legacy of blues musicians Pinetop Perkins, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, and Hubert Sumlin. The film includes their last concerts and interviews before they passed away, and also celebrates their lives via accounts from the next generation of musicians who were inspired by the trio.

'Big Eyes' Smith and guitarist Hubert Sumlin may not be household names - but they played pivotal roles in shaping rock and roll as we know it, influencing legendary bands like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. As the “sidemen” behind Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, their sound is unmistakable. Director Scott D. Rosenbaum pays tribute to their musical genius.

"I have always been a huge music fan. As a kid it was Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Who and The Band. One of my favorite records was The Rolling Stones, "Love You Live." I particularly loved the song “Mannish Boy.” After seeing The Last Waltz for the first time and watching this guy named Muddy Waters (with a bushy haired Bob Margolin) perform that Rolling Stones song, my lifelong love and appreciation for the blues was born. In 2008 I was fortunate to meet and work with Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. After hearing their first hand accounts of life growing up in the Delta and experiences as sidemen for the legendary Muddy Waters and larger-than-life Howlin' Wolf, I knew I had to make a film that honored these men and the great legacies that they were a part of. My initial thought was to shoot a Last Waltz-style concert film, pairing these great blues musicians with all the rock and blues stars that covered, and in many cases made famous, the great blues-rock songs I grew up loving. But, the fates had other plans and what resulted after seven years is Sidemen: Long Road To Glory. I believe the film we made far surpasses my initial vision. My hope is that the film we created is worthy of these incredible musicians, the band leaders they played with and the great legacies they left behind. I believe that we have and I thank you for being a part of it." - Scott Rosenbaum - Director:

Here are all the people, you'll see on the screen:
Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith
John Landis, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Perry, Robby Krieger, Mickey Thomas, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Bonamassa, Guy Davis, Brad Whitford, Warren Haynes, Johnny Winter, Elvin Bishop, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Bernard Fowler, Shemekia Copeland, Bernard Pretty Purdie, Norman Dayron, Sugar Blue, Tim Reynolds, Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, Bob Margolin, Jim Kent, Paul Nelson, Scott Sharrard, Robin Ford, Walter Trout, Bobby Rush, Javik Smith, Nic Clark, Will Romano, Paul Oscher, Halldor Bragason, Bob Stroger, Hugh Southard, Lance Lopez, Austin Young, Derex B. Williams, Gary Allegretto, Illene Louise Smith, 'Six String' Andrew Sullivan