Joe Boyd Returns for an Audiovisual Tour of ‘And the Roots of Rhythm Remain’
See the Stories of And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: A Journey through Global Music brought to life onscreen and onstage
With stops in Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, Ojai, and New Orleans
Legendary producer, author, and raconteur Joe Boyd has announced a slate of audio-visual cinema events and bookstore readings for ZE Books’ biggest hit to date: And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: A Journey through Global Music. A full schedule can be found below.
Originally commissioned for the 2025 Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN, Boyd’s audio-visual presentation 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 more. 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 was named a Best Book of the Year by Financial Times, MOJO, Irish Times, PopMatters, UNCUT, and Songlines. Celebrate with us this September at events listed below!
September Events
Sep 2, 7 PM ET • Miami, FL: Books & Books
Sep 10, 6 PM PT • Seattle, WA: Northwest Film Forum / Elliott Bay Book Company
Sep 11, 6 PM PT • San Francisco, CA: Roxie Theater / Book Passage
Sep 13, 4 PM PT • Ojai, CA: Ojai Playhouse | Reception at Hotel El Roblar with Bart’s Books
Sep 17, 6 PM ET • New Orleans, LA: Octavia Books with Jay Mazza
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.
For more information on And the Roots of Rhythm Remain,
please reach out to Matt Hanks (mhanks@shorefire.com), Chris Taillie (ctaillie@shorefire.com), and Henry Thomas (hthomas@shorefire.com)
at Shore Fire Media