DJTees Blog — Festivals

This is where I indulge in my passions - VINYL & ROCK 'n' ROLL

Krumlin Festival, Barkisland, Yorkshire, England 1970

Krumlin Festival, Barkisland, Yorkshire, England 1970

Authored By John Nicholson

Held in the hills of West Yorkshire, 4 miles from Halifax, it was, even by England’s low standards of festivals, an absolute disaster. If you know this area of Yorkshire, the hills are cold and wet at all times of the year and rain is never far away.  International Times, the UK’s hippie bible wrote of the event "It was the worst organized festival ever. It was a piece of moorland. About 25,000 kids turned up, but the weather turned almost immediately from a mild grey to rain, hail, sleet and rain, blue rain and thunderstorms. This went on for...

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Toronto Rock n Roll Revival 1969

Toronto Rock n Roll Revival 1969

Authored By Johnny Blogger
The Toronto Rock and Roll Revival was held at Varsity Stadium, at the University of Toronto, to an audience of over 20,000. The originally listed performers for the festival were local band Whiskey Howl, Bo Diddley, Chicago, Junior Walker and the All Stars, Tony Joe White, Alice Cooper, Chuck Berry, Cat Mother and the All [...]
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Woods of Dartmouth Pop Music Festival, 1970

Woods of Dartmouth Pop Music Festival, 1970

Authored By John Nicholson

With so many students making up much of the regular festival crowds, it was inevitable that college’s would seek to put on their own gigs too, organised by students. Of course, many college principals were against the kids getting their groove on and this led to stand-offs between student entertainment committees and the squares. Inevitably though, there were always some staff who felt the kids should be allowed to celebrate their new and groovy culture and thus one way or another, a show was put on. The fear of a massive drugs freak-out and that there’d be people getting it...

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Summer Solstice Festival, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco 1967

Summer Solstice Festival, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco 1967

Authored By John Nicholson

Slap bang in the middle of the summer of love came this gathering which in so many ways was a quintessential hippie happening. It was advertised thus: “During the Sunrise Ceremony spiritual leaders of the community will lead in chanting, and ancient religious ceremonies will be performed. Between 8:00 and 10:00 AM, a pilgrimage will be made into Golden Gate Park, and the day-long festivities will begin throughout the park.  There will be a barbecue picnic celebration East of Polo Fields at noon. The day will be a reaffirmation of our desire to live and share together peacefully and harmoniously...

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Vancouver Trips Festival 1966

Vancouver Trips Festival 1966

Authored By John Nicholson

Held in the Garden Auditorium of the Pacific National Exhibition grounds from July 29-31, 1966, the Trips Festival was a multimedia event spearheaded by artist Sam Perry, a pioneer of psychedelic light shows — which may explain why the event was promoted as a multimedia sensorium of music, film, slides, and moving liquid utilizing over fifty projectors and 25,000 square feet of screen. Performers included Big Brother and the Holding Company (with Janis Joplin), the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Daily Flash, and poet Michael McClure.  Perry was interested in the ability of such a psychedelic gig to transform...

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Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival 1972 - Woodstock On The Wabash

Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival 1972 - Woodstock On The Wabash

Authored By Johnny Blogger
This was one of those times in rock history where the sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll cliche was really true. From 67 onwards, every time a festival was proposed anywhere in the world, but especially in North America, the straight folk panicked, fearing that a bunch of long haired freaks would arrive, get [...]
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US Festival San Bernadino, California 1982

US Festival San Bernadino, California 1982

Authored By Johnny Blogger
In 1982, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak hatched an ambitious and very expensive musical plan and committed a sizeable chunk of his sizeable fortune to a musical event, billed as the biggest thing since Woodstock, Wozniak staged a three-day concert in the mountains of San Bernardino County, in Southern California, that featured some of the day's [...]
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The Trips Festival And Acid Tests

The Trips Festival And Acid Tests

Authored By John Nicholson

The Trips Festival happened on January 21-23 1966, a time when LSD was still legal. Up to about 18 ‘Acid Tests’ - a term coined by author and Merry Prankster, Ken Kesey - took place from late ‘65 to the Fall of ‘66, initially at Kesey’s ranch. But the most famous was the Trips Festival at Longshoreman’s Hall in San Francisco. Ramon Sender, a composer and artist, co-produced it with Ken Kesey and Stewart Brand. It was a three-day event that, with the help of The Merry Pranksters - a far out group of freaks and outsiders who toured the...

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Weeley Festival, near Clacton-on-Sea, Essex UK 1971

Weeley Festival, near Clacton-on-Sea, Essex UK 1971

Authored By Johnny Blogger
Weeley Festival - It's 1971, Ted Heath is Prime Minister, Arsenal have done the Double and Britain has just gone decimal. A festival is announced for the August Bank holiday weekend in a little-known Essex town, just outside of Clacton-on-Sea. When people hear the line-up, everyone wants to go. The Weeley festival of August 27 [...]
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CALIFORNIA JAM II 1978

CALIFORNIA JAM II 1978

Authored By Johnny Blogger
In 1974, the first California Jam attracted a quarter of a million people and was broadcast on network TV. You still see a lot of footage from that gig - especially of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. Less well-known is the Cal II in 1978. It was also filmed and broadcast on ABC. Like its [...]
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Man-Pop Festival - Winnipeg 1970

Man-Pop Festival - Winnipeg 1970

Authored By Johnny Blogger
On August 29, Man-Pop Festival - Winnipeg 1970, one of Winnipeg's first outdoor rock festivals, took place at the Winnipeg Stadium. ManPop was part of the youth festivities for the Manitoba Centennial celebrations. Concerts had been held across province all summer long and Man-Pop was the grand finale. The Centennial Corporation budgeted $230,000 for the [...]
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The Who Live At Charlton 1974

The Who Live At Charlton 1974

Authored By Johnny Blogger
The Who played two gigs at Charlton Athletic's football stadium in the mid-Seventies. The second, in 1976, was one of three one-day festivals hosted by the band that summer on their Who Put The Boot In tour (the other being Glasgow and Swansea). But the 1976 gig was spoiled by ticket forgery and gatecrashers, although [...]
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Reading Festival 1973

Reading Festival 1973

Authored By Johnny Blogger
The Reading And Leeds Festivals of today are the UK's longest-running events of their type, and were begat of the National Jazz And Blues Festival, which was born all the way back in 1961. Not much jazz on the bill these days and, in truth, by the early 1970s it was on the out- although [...]
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Isle Of Wight Festival 1970

Isle Of Wight Festival 1970

Authored By Johnny Blogger
600,000 people on an island with a population of just 100,000. Political protesters taking the stage. Jimi, Jim, Joan, Joni and even Mungo Jerry (almost). The last weekend of August in 1970. It was, of course, the Isle of Wight Festival. It would be the third year in a row that the organisers, Fiery Creations, [...]
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Cincinnati Pop Festival 1970

Cincinnati Pop Festival 1970

Authored By Johnny Blogger
"Get in your car, brother, and get down with the people in Cincinnati. A gathering of the people. Celebrate the beginning rites of Summer with the spirits of the Sun, Sky, and Stars." This was the press release for the Cincinnati Pop Festival, June 1970. Apparently, brother was invited to party, but sister wasn't. Funny [...]
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