Free Film Screening: ” Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N Roll” with Q&A @ SBPL

Santa Barbara Black Culture House, in partnership with the Santa Barbara Public Library, will be presenting a free screening of “Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N Roll,” a documentary celebrating the life and legacy of Charles Edward Anderson Berry, immortalized simply as “Chuck,” one of the founding fathers of rock ‘n roll music.

The film will screen at 1pm on Sunday, February 1, 2026 in the Faulkner Gallery at the Santa Barbara Public Library Central Branch, located at 40 East Anapamu Street, downtown Santa Barbara.

Chuck Berry, who passed away in 2017, would have been 100 years old on October 18, 2026. His signature singing, guitar playing, and songwriting are cornerstones of the rock ‘n roll genre and have influenced generations of rockers, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, and countless others. “Chuck Berry is an institution unto himself regarding his contributions to the music world,” says Darrell McNeill, co-founder of Santa Barbara Black Culture House, “His DNA channels through every cell of rock ‘n roll and still has thousands of acolytes following in his footsteps.”

“Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N Roll,” released 40 years ago, captures Berry mid-career when he turned 60 in 1986. A gathering of stars featuring Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James, Robert Cray, Julian Lennon, and led by The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, perform a concert tribute to Berry at The Fox Theatre in his native St. Louis, MO. The concert was documented and edited with interviews and additional historic footage by Santa Barbara’s own Oscar-winning filmmaker Taylor Hackford.

McNeill will lead a discussion and Q&A about the film and Chuck Berry’s life and legacy. “Rock ‘n roll originated in the Black community,” he says, “It started as rhythm and blues. But in the late ‘60s rock shifted focus exclusively to White artists, while Black artists were excluded from the genre. Rock icons of that day worshipped the ground Berry walked on, but their US fans had little interest in the elder statesman. Artists who professed Berry’s influence played stadiums while he was lucky to play large theaters.”

The screening of “Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n Roll,” is just one of the Black History Month offerings presented by Santa Barbara Black Culture House, a pop-up events space focused on Black culture, creativity, and history. McNeill and his wife, Sally Foxen-McNeill have produced events around the greater Santa Barbara area since 2020. The theme for this year’s Black Culture House is “100 Years of Black History Month,” in recognition of educator Carter G. Woodson’s founding of Black History Week in 1926. This collaboration with the library includes a Black History curation of the large display case in the library’s main lobby. “Our attitude is Black History happens all year,” McNeill says, “But the true recognition began with Mr. Woodson’s work, and that needs to be acknowledged, particularly now when diversity, equity, and inclusion is under siege.”

“Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ’N Roll,” will be screened for free in the Faulkner Gallery at Santa Barbara Public Library, located at 40 Anapamu Street between State and Anacapa Streets, downtown Santa Barbara. This screening and all 2026 Santa Barbara Black Culture House events are made possible through grants from the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture, The Towbes Fund for the Performing Arts, and sponsorship by the Black Rock Coalition. All Santa Barbara Black Culture House events are free and open to the general public. Other Culture House events to be announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, January 19, 2026).

For more information: Contact Darrell M. McNeill and Sally Foxen-McNeill at SBBlackCultureHouse@gmail.com.