CCM presents film screening double feature 'Cincinnati Sounds' + 'King of Them All'

CCM presents film screening double feature "Cincinnati Sounds" + "King of Them All"

Explore Cincinnati's musical spaces, places and sounds via two engaging documentaries on June 13

CCM invites audiences to explore the city of Cincinnati's musical spaces, places and sounds via two engaging documentaries in a single program. Join us at the Garfield Theatre on Saturday, June 13, 2026, for a Movie Screening and Discussion that delves into Cincinnati's exciting musical heritage.

The event presents a double feature film screening of directors' cuts of the documentaries Cincinnati Sounds: Exploring a Musical City's Spaces, Places and Sounds, directed by Melissa Godoy and co-produced with Davison Black at CCM Recording Productions, and King of Them All: The Story of King Records, by Yemi Oyediran and co-produced with JP Leong. This community engagement event hosted by Cincinnati World Cinema includes a moderated public panel discussion.

Cincinnati Sounds is a brief compendium of the sounds that give Cincinnati its unique character, sharing the roots and evolution that connect us all. The music of the street, of worship, entertainment, commerce, neighborhoods, the river, social upheaval.

King of Them All is Yemi Oyediran's and JP Leong's history of King Records and its founder, Syd Nathan, whose multi-racial melting pot became an epicenter of American music. King Records fostered the creation and distribution of blues, country, R&B, gospel and rock-n-roll, of local and national significance.

Screenings occur at both 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m on June 13 at Cincinnati's Garfield Theatre. For details and tickets, visit https://cincyworldcinema.org/cincy-sounds/

About the Presenters

Cincinnati Sounds project director Kristy Swift is Assistant Professor of Music Studies at CCM, Director of the Bachelor of Arts in Music program, musicologist and organist who studies sound, music and trauma, historiography, opera, musicology pedagogy and music and moving images.

The Cincinnati Sounds panel discussion will be moderated by Yemi Oyediran. Discussion leaders are:

• Davison Black, a CCM Media Production graduate who films and edits promos, musical performances and documentaries and contributed to the Ohio Valley Emmy Award-winning short documentary "The Making of Sweet Charity."
• Joshua Adewole Kerobo, a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, studying sociopolitical implications of Black Atlantic music cultures among youth communities, Black music development in Cincinnati, and African popular music.
• Alexandra Kori Hill, the 2025-26 Provostal Post-Doctoral Fellow in Musicology at CCM, who is the current chair of the Cincinnati Symphony's Multi-Cultural Awareness Council, serves as assistant editor and communications associate for I CARE IF YOU LISTEN, the in-house publication of American Composers Forum, and whose first book, The Cambridge Companion to Florence B. Price, is out now from Cambridge University Press.
• Eric R. Jackson, a professor of history and black studies in the Department of History and Geography at Northern Kentucky University, where he teaches courses in American and African American history/studies, race relations and peace studies.

The King of The All panel discussion will be moderated by Melissa Godoy. Discussion leaders are:

• Yemi Oyediran, director of King of Them All, is a filmmaker, musician and creative innovator whose work blends storytelling, technology and academia, with experience building advanced software using deep learning. He is the co-founder of Afrochine, a media collective producing films and cultural projects that highlight overlooked histories and communal narratives. His background across music, technology and scholarship brings distinctive depth and rhythm to his films, in particular King of Them All: The Story of King Records.
• Tammy L. Kernodle is a University Distinguished Professor of Musicology at Miami University, specializing in African American music. She is the author of Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams, and appeared in documentaries such as Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band and Miles Davis: The Birth of Cool. She regularly collaborates with institutions including NPR, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the BBC and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Featured image at the top: The Singing Mural, designed by nationally renowned artist and Cincinnati resident C. F. Payne, this cast of characters represents the community coming together in celebration of the arts. Learn more about the mural.

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