In addition to the special guests below, attendees will be treated to presentations by 70 of the
world’s leading authors, scholars, historians and thinkers on the Beatles over the three-day
course of EF4Fest.
KEN BURNS (via Zoom)
Ken Burns has been making documentary films for 50 years. Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Ken has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; The National Parks: America’s Best Idea; Prohibition; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; Country Music; The U.S. and the Holocaust; The American Buffalo; Leonardo da Vinci; and, most recently, The American Revolution. Ken’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including seventeen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations. In September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Ken was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In November of 2022, Ken was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
https://kenburns.com
(Appearing Friday only)
MICHAEL LINDSAY-HOGG (via Zoom)
Michael Lindsay-Hogg is a British-American film, television, music-video, and theater director whose career has been closely intertwined with some of the most influential musicians and cultural figures of the 1960s and 1970s. Notably, Lindsay-Hogg directed promotional films—an important precursor to the modern music video—for the Beatles. Among his most celebrated Beatles films are “Paperback Writer,” “Rain,” “Hey Jude,” and “Revolution,” works that helped establish the visual language of the contemporary music video. In 1968, Lindsay-Hogg directed the Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus. His most consequential work came in January 1969, when the Beatles hired him to direct their feature documentary Let It Be, released in 1970. The film captured the Beatles during one of the final chapters of their career, including their legendary January 30, 1969, rooftop performance—their last public concert as a group.
https://www.michaellindsay-hogg.com
(Appearing Friday only)
NELLIE MCKAY
Award-winning singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor and activist Nellie McKay will be joining us in conversation, along with a performance. McKay’s 2004 breakout album Get Away From Me was produced by Beatles recording engineer Geoff Emerick. She performed “If I Needed Someone” on the This Bird Has Flown tribute to Rubber Soul, and her music has been featured on Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire and Grey’s Anatomy, among others.
https://nelliemckay.com/
(Appearing Friday only)
ROB SHEFFIELD
Rob Sheffield is an author and long-time contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where he writes about music, TV, and pop culture. His books include Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World, and Heartbreak is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music. Sheffield will be joining us in conversation and signing copies of his books.
https://www.rollingstone.com/author/rob-sheffield/
(Appearing Saturday only)