Tribeca Turns 25: Founders Look Back as Questlove’s Earth, Wind & Fire Steals the Spotlight

Tribeca just turned 25, and it marked the occasion the loud, joyful way: with Questlove putting Earth, Wind & Fire front and center. Not bad for a festival that started as a neighborhood lifeline.

Opening night: Questlove, Earth, Wind & Fire, and a full-on celebration

The 25th Tribeca Festival kicked off with the world premiere of Questlove's documentary 'Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World)' — yes, that is the title — and then went straight into a performance by the band itself with The Roots. As an anniversary choice, it was a savvy flex: legacy act, legacy festival, and a crowd that wanted to both look back and dance a little.

The room felt like a reunion tour for the city: industry vets, artists, longtime supporters, all there to toast how far Tribeca has come since its scrappy, post-9/11 beginnings. The doc as an opener made sense — this year is about longevity, creativity, and cultural footprint — and Earth, Wind & Fire checks all three boxes.

'We just wanted to give our community a new memory, and to give them something to look forward to.'

From recovery project to global platform

Tribeca was born in the aftermath of 9/11, launched by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Whoopi Goldberg to bring people back downtown and signal that New York was still moving. A quarter century later, it's a major showcase for film, TV, music, and every flavor of storytelling.

Rosenthal has been in reflective mode. She has said she did not expect the festival to keep going after year one — De Niro did — and that around the 10-year mark it clicked that Tribeca wasn’t a one-off. Since then, it has become a year-round rhythm: planning the next edition while the current one is still unfolding. Former NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg even chimed in on June 2 with a public congrats, pointing back to how the founders helped turn the festival into a vote of confidence in the city’s future.

So, when can you actually watch Questlove's doc?

• Premieres on HBO Sunday, June 7, 2026, from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET/PT.
• Streams on Max the same night; that’s the film’s streaming home. If you still have HBO cable, you can watch on the linear channel.
• What’s in it: decades of Earth, Wind & Fire history, a deep dive on founder Maurice White’s legacy, a mix of interviews and archival footage, and first-hand stories from people who felt the band’s influence up close.
• Festival path: it debuted at Tribeca and is doing a quick lap through festivals on its way to the HBO/Max launch.

Early chatter has been warm — even musicians-turned-film nerds have been flagging how much the band shaped them — which tracks for a group that has been soundtracking family gatherings for half a century.

As birthday statements go, this one lands: a festival built on resilience throwing the spotlight on artists whose music keeps connecting generations. It’s celebratory, a little nostalgic, and very New York.