In 1934, on 125th Street in Harlem, New York, a theatre opened that would change the history of American music. The Apollo Theater was the first major venue in New York to open its doors to African American artists and audiences at a time when segregation was the norm.

What made the Apollo legendary was Amateur Night: every Wednesday evening, anyone could step on stage and perform. The audience decided who stayed and who left. The only thing that mattered was what you did with your few minutes on stage.

Amateur Night launched the careers of artists who became legends: Ella Fitzgerald won at 17, James Brown built his reputation here, and Lauryn Hill, D’Angelo and Machine Gun Kelly all went through the same trial by fire. Elvis Presley and John Lennon, whenever they were in New York, had the Apollo at the top of their must-visit list.

The Apollo Theater proved something simple and revolutionary: if you give people a stage with no conditions, talent finds its own way.