11 Music Movies Premiering at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, Spotlighting Lives of Melissa Etheridge, Steven Van Zandt, Liza Minelli, and More

The 2024 installment of the Tribeca Film Festival, June 6-15, is showcasing a series of music films spotlighting women, LGBTQA+, mental health, legends and their legendary stories, and more. Complementing the 2024 festival is a four-day Music Lounge, which featured performances by Linda Perry and a tribute to Genesis P-Orridge, and more linked to the selection of 2024 films getting their premiere at Tribeca.

Along with the Music Lounge, The Storytellers Series features conversations with Michael Stipe, who is finishing his first solo album, along with Jon Batiste, in conversation on Nat King Cole, along with retrospectives on the 40th anniversary of Beat Street, featuring an introduction by Nas, and the remastered premiere of the 2003 animated film Interstella 5555: The 5tory Of The 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, based on Daft Punk’s 2001 album Discovery.

Here’s a look at 10 highlighted films premiering at Tribeca and worth a movie night in 2024.

[RELATED: Linda Perry, Genesis P-Orridge Tribute, Highlight Tribeca Festival Music Lounge]

1. Linda Perry: Let It Die Here

Featuring appearances by friends and collaborators Dolly Parton, Christina Aguilera, Brandi Carlile, Kate Hudson, wife Sara Gilbert, and more, Let It Die Here, directed by Don Hardy, follows the life of Linda Perry from working as a waitress and writing songs and her 4 Non-Blondes days and breakout hit “What’s Up?” to becoming a Grammy-nominated producer and Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee. Throughout her career, Perry has worked with Ringo Starr, P!nk, Alicia Keys, Celine Dion, Miley Cyrus, Adele, Britney Spears, Courtney Love, and more.

2. Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken

Tribeca 2024 marks the world premiere of the Parmount+ Melissa Etheridge docuseries Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken. Directed by Brian Morrow and Amy Scott, the film also follows the story of five women serving time at the Topeka Correctional Facility who wrote letters to Etheridge, which she used to write an original song for them. Etheridge, who lost her son to opioid addiction in 2020 at age 21, bonds with the women, while excavating the roots of addiction.

3. Following Harry

Following Harry follows the life of singer, actor, and activist Harry Belafonte and his continued work before he died in 2023 at the age of 96. Directed by Susanne Rostock, the film offers a glimpse into the civil rights icon’s life during the 12-year period from the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012 and his journey to Ferguson, Missouri, Ghana, and back around to his hometown of New York City. The film features interviews with Aloe Blacc, Philip Agnew, Jesse Williams, Aja Money, Carmen Perez, and more.

4. Kneecap

Director and screenwriter Rich Peppiatt makes his feature film debut with Kneecap, chronicling the Irish hip-hop group of the same name and their “post-Troubles Belfast when the rap trio erupted as a defiant champion of the Irish language and potent symbol of Ireland’s disenfranchised youth,” according to Tribeca. The biopic spans the trio’s crazier run through sex, drugs, and hip-hop and stars Michael Fassbender as their father figure.

5. LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story 

Director Bruce David Klein moves through the life, collaborations, mentors, and influences of Liza Minnelli in LIZA: Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story, titled after the words the icon used in her introduction to “Ring Them Bells” during her 1972 concert in New York City. The film delivers an “eye-opening” look at the gossip surrounding the star’s life and career and her perspective on it all, in her own words.

6. They All Came Out to Montreux

Directed by Oliver Murray and produced by Bill Lord, They All Came Out to Montreux documents the evolution of the legendary music festival in Switzerland and features archival footage of Prince, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, and more who performed at the famed festival throughout the decades.

7. Rebel Country

Directed and produced by Francis Whately, Rebel Country “exposes the diverse roots of country music, reclaiming the contributions of Black and Mexican-American musicians and uncovering the history of segregation and censorship that has made so-called ‘bro-country’ the norm in Nashville ” according to a Tribeca. The film features performances by Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, BRELAND, Blanco Brown, Jake Blount, Rissi Palmer, Frank Ray, Brooke Eden, Sam Williams, and Lindsay Ell.​​

8. Luther: Never Too Much

Named after Luhter Vandross’ 1981 debut solo single, and first No. 1, Luther: Never Too Much documents the R&B legend’s career, from starting in the house band at the Apollo Theater, and going on to support David Bowie, Roberta Flack, Bette Midler, and more artists before breaking out a solo star. Directed by Dawn Porter, the film features archival footage of Vandross, who died in 2005 at 54, giving a wider glimpse into his work ethic and artistry.

9. 1-800-ON-HER-OWN 

In 1-800-ON-HER-OWN—named after Ani DiFranco‘s record company hotline—director Dana Flor spotlights the life of ’90s folk and alternative rocker’s life as an activist, wife, and mother, who has continued releasing music and touring since her 1990 self-titled debut through 2024 release Unprecedented Sh!t.

10. Avicii – I’m Tim

Before becoming the electronic music luminary DJ, producer, and songwriter known as Avicii, there was Tim Bergling. At 16, Bergling started releasing remixes, landed his first record deal as a teen, and had his first hit, “Levels” in 2011. Avicii. who released his debut album, True, in 2015, is often considered the DJ who helped usher electronic music into the Top 40, Bergling was nominated for a Grammy Award for his collaborations with David Guetta on “Sunshine” and for “Levels” in 2013. Bergling also went on to produce and write songs for Madonna, Lenny Kravitz, Coldplay, and more, along with collaborations with Nile Rodgers, Aloe Blacc, and Adam Lambert on his electronic chart-topping album True and more on his 2015 release Stories, which went to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Directed by Henrik Burman (Yung Lean: In My Head) and produced by Björn Tjärnberg, I’m Tim features interviews with Bergling’s friends family, and collaborators, along with never-before-seen footage, providing a narration in the artist’s voice.

11. S/He Is Still Her/e – The Official Genesis P-Orridge Doc

S/He Is Still Her/e – The Official Genesis P-Orridge Doc inspects the life of the British singer, songwriter, poet, performance artist, and occultist Genesis P-Orridge, from their industrial thrusts of Throbbing Gristle, and the pop-rock band Psychic TV, and more. Directed by David Charles Rodrigues, the film traces the life of the iconoclast artist in conversation near the end of their life through a “deep meditation on mortality from the brilliant mind of a revolutionary in their own words,” according to a descriptor of the film.

Main Photo: Liza Minelli (l) by Larry Ellis/Express/Getty Images; Steven Van Zandt by Fin Costello/Redferns