Your Cart is empty
Subtotal£0.00
Your order details
2015 is the 45th anniversary of 1970's legendary Atlanta Pop Festival. The 1969 festival held at Atlanta Speedway track had been a huge success but this time 200,000 people flocked to Middle Georgia Raceway, Byron, Georgia for a huge line-up of top rock bands. Why was it called a pop festival? There was nothing pop about it at all. It was promoted as "three days of peace, love and music" just as Woodstock had been. Tickets for the festival were priced at $35 for three days, however, no tickets were ever collected and it turned into a free festival, as these things often did.
Look at how many brilliant bands were on the bill across three days across the July 4 weekend.
The Allman Brothers Band, Ballin' Jack, Bloodrock, Bloomsbury People, Cactus, Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys, Chakra, Chambers Brothers, Goose Creek Symphony
Grand Funk Railroad, Gypsy, Memphis State University cast of "Hair", Hampton Grease Band, Handle, Richie Havens, Hedge & Donna, Jimi Hendrix, It's a Beautiful Day
Johnny Jenkins, B.B. King, Lee Michaels, Mott the Hoople, Mountain, Poco, Procol Harum, Radar, Rare Earth, Terry Reid, Rig, Savage Grace, John Sebastian, Bob Seger System, Spirit, Ten Years After, U.S. Kids, Johnny Winter.
The Allmans legendary set is now available on an official release. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-Atlanta-International-Festival-July/dp/B0000DK3A3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424868241&sr=8-1&keywords=atlanta+international+pop+festival and if you've not heard it, it really is every bit the equal of the Fillmore East live album which was recorded the following March.
One record of the 'First Great Rock Festivals of the Seventies triple live album featured tracks recorded at the festival by Johnny Winter, Poco, Chambers Brothers, Allman Brothers and Mountain. All superb music. When you consider how primitive the sound systems were, it's a testament to the chops these guys had that it all sounds so great.
With soaring tempratures, massive drug use and widespread nudity (is nudity so bad, really?), it was the last big festival held in Georgia in that era. Eight months later the Georgia State Legislature introduced a mass gathering bill which enforced regulations so strict and expensive that it made it impossible to repeat such a gathering. Booo!! You're harshing our buzz, dude!
