May 22, 2026
Owen Ziliak/Imagn Images
Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson's new documentary on R&B pioneers Earth, Wind & Fire will be available to stream on HBO Max starting June 7. Above, the band performs at a concert in Phoenix in 2024.
The trailer to Questlove's Earth, Wind & Fire documentary, released ahead of the film's premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York next month, teases an interview with former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.
The film about the legendary R&B group is Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson's follow-up to "Summer of Soul," his Oscar-winning directorial debut in 2021, which unearthed archival footage from the Harlem Cultural Festival in the summer of 1969. That documentary focused on artists ranging from Stevie Wonder to Nina Simone and Sly and the Family Stone, highlighting the Roots drummer and DJ's commitment to celebrating the work of his forebears.
The first trailer for "Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That's the Weight of the World)" features reactions to the group's 1978 disco-funk hit "September." Obama, who was in high school when the song came out, recalled thinking, "If they can do that, what can I do?"
Earth, Wind & Fire's career spans more than five decades, blending a distinctive mix of Afro-pop, funk, disco and Latin music. They're one of the world's most successful and prolific acts, selling more than 90 million records and captivating generations of concertgoers with their elaborate live performances. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Questlove's documentary explores how co-founders Maurice and Verdine White assembled the talent around them to fuse Black musical traditions and innovate new sounds. The project examines the lives of the musicians who performed on some of the band's biggest hits — from 1975's "Shining Star" to 1981's "Let's Groove" — while reflecting on their spiritual and cultural legacies.
Obama notably had Earth, Wind & Fire perform at the White House in 2009, about a month after his first inauguration, during a dinner to celebrate the nation's governors. Two One Five Entertainment, the production company owned by Questlove and Roots emcee Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter, has partnered with the Obamas' Higher Ground Productions in the past to produce "Descendents," a 2022 documentary about an Alabama community's links to the last known slave ship that smuggled captive Africans to America.
Other contributing voices in the Earth, Wind & Fire documentary include Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie and R&B and neo-soul artist H.E.R.
The movie is scheduled to open the Tribeca Film Festival on June 3 before hitting HBO Max on June 7.
