It’s a Milwaukee story through and through: a man and woman meet at Ma Fischer’s in 1989 and decide to start a Neil Diamond tribute act called Lightning & Thunder; the tribute act takes off and becomes a local sensation; the man and woman get married at the Wisconsin State Fair in 1994; the tribute act continues to take off; decades later, long after the tribute act has folded, Hollywood comes calling and turns the story into a major motion picture.
Enter Song Sung Blue, a new film from Focus Features due in theaters on Christmas Day 2025. It tells the story of Milwaukee’s Mike and Claire Sardina and their long-running Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder. It stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson. The trailer is out today.
Oh, and Hudson’s Wisconsin accent is pretty good!
“Based on a true story,” reads the film’s description, “two down-on-their-luck musicians (Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson) form a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band, proving it’s never too late to find love and follow your dreams.”
In addition to being based on a true story, Song Sung Blue is based on a 2008 documentary of the same name, directed by Greg Kohs.
There’s more to the Lightning & Thunder story than what we listed up top, of course. A freak car accident outside the couple’s south side home in 1999 resulted in Claire losing part of her leg. Mike passed away in 2006. (Claire is alive and kicking.) Misfortunes aside, it’s great to see such a “Milwaukee” story make it to the big screen—accent and all.
Also, here’s Lightning & Thunder with Eddie Vedder, because of course they sat in with Pearl Jam at the Marcus Amphitheater in 1995.
Video still: Song Sung Blue (2008)
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