'Hello Cleveland!' Documentary Explores 70s Music Scene: UPDATE

UPDATE: Ashley Harrington got in touch with Scene to add some context to the film, which is actually a thesis project from her days at Syracuse University. She's working at Focus Features in New York City these days, and, until our story was posted this morning, she was unaware that the film had been leaked to YouTube.

But the reaction all day has been great, she says, and we're looking forward to any future endeavors Harrington pursues regarding "Hello Cleveland!"

"I graduated in 2009 and this thesis film was created with the idea in mind that I'd use it to seek out finishing funds to complete shooting and editing the larger story," she explains. Rock 'n' roll is eternal in our fair city, and Harrington has a phenomenal foot in the door in terms of telling that tale.

One YouTube commenter notes in earnest: "This should be playing nonstop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

We couldn't agree more.

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Originally posted at 9:04 a.m. April 25

"Hello Cleveland!" is making the rounds online, presenting a magical era of our city's past. The documentary highlights the unique elements of Cleveland's music scene in the 1970s. The Agora and WMMS both figure into the storyline heavily.

Director Ashley Harrington is was a student at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Her film offers a great deal of context behind the now hazy years of rock 'n' roll's ascent in Cleveland.

Interview segments round up the best of the local personalities who had a hand in really pushing Cleveland to the forefront of national music culture - think Agora owner Hank LoConti, concert producer Buddy Maver and WMMS program director John Gorman. Each of them tells firsthand stories about how Cleveland's renown came to be.

Check out the film below, and pass it on.