The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, MA will present a preview screening of THROW DOWN YOUR HEART with introduction, Q&A and performance by banjo virtuoso B?©la Fleck on Thursday, July 9 at 7:00 p.m.

THROW DOWN YOUR HEART follows Fleck on his journey to Africa to explore the roots of the banjo and record an album. Fleck’s  boundary-breaking musical adventure takes him to Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia and Mali, and provides a glimpse of the beauty of Africa and the richness and diversity of its musical traditions. During his travels, Fleck works with an array of musicians ‚Äì from local villagers who play a twelve-foot xylophone, to a family that makes and plays the akonting (thought by many to be the original banjo), to international superstars such as the Malian diva Oumou Sangare. Using his banjo, Fleck transcends barriers of language and culture, finding common ground and forging connections with musicians from very different backgrounds.

Tickets to the July 9 preview are available in advance online at www.coolidge.org/showtimes or at the Coolidge Corner Theatre box office, located at 290 Harvard Street in
Brookline, MA.  The Coolidge will present additional screenings of THROW DOWN YOUR HEART beginning July 10. For more information, visit www.coolidge.org or call 617/734-2500.

Praise for THROW DOWN YOUR HEART

“An exhilarating feast of sight and sound”
LA Times

“You don’t need to know the language to be gripped by the force…”
New York Times

“Both the documentary and the disc of Throw Down Your Heart justify their existence independently‚Äîand rather beautifully.”
Time Out
New York

“Demonstrates that no other language is needed when two people sit down with their instruments and make them sing.”
San Francisco Chronicle