Atlanta International Pop Festival (1970)

The second and final Atlanta International Pop Festival took place July 3-5, 1970 at Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia , 90 miles south of Atlanta . Saturday, July 4th, 1970 , was American Independence Day . Over 200,000 spectators came, some estimates go as high as 600,000. Admission was $ 14. The festival organizer was Alex Cooley , who had already been part of the organization team for the first Atlanta International Pop Festival in 1969 .

The artists

Despite some rejections, over 30 groups and performers appeared.

The Allman Brothers Band BB King Ballin 'Jack Bloodrock Bloomsbury People Bob Seger system Cactus Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys Chakra Chambers Brothers Goose Creek Symphony Grand Funk Railroad

Gypsy Hampton Grease Band Handle Hedge & Donna It's a beautiful day Jimi Hendrix John Sebastian Johnny Jenkins Johnny Winter Lee Michaels Mott the Hoople Mountain

Poco Procol Harum radar Rare Earth Richie Havens Rig Savage Grace Spirit Ten Years After Terry Reid US kids Memphis State University cast of "Hair"

Notes about the festival

Jimi Hendrix played his version of the Star-Spangled Banner at midnight on Independence Day , accompanied by the official fireworks. He probably appeared in front of the largest audience of his career; at his Woodstock appearance the year before, the crowd had already clearly thinned when he came on stage. Recordings of his performance were published in 1991 in the box set Stages .

The festival ended in the early morning of July 6, 1970 (Monday) with a performance by the “Anunga Runga Tribe” from the musical Hair . Previously Richie Heavens had the day with his version of Here Comes the Sun begun.

As at the first Atlanta International Pop Festival in 1969, the crowd was cooled down by the fire department with water fountains due to the persistent heat.

The festival helped the Allman Brothers Band achieve their national breakthrough. In 2003, recordings of their performances were released under the title Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival: July 3 & 5, 1970 .

The band Savage Grace wrote a song about the festival, Macon, Georgia , which appeared on their second album, Savage Grace 2 , the following year . Also in 1971 came the album The First Great Rock Festivals of the Seventies , which included recordings from the second Atlanta International Pop Festival and the Isle of Wight Festival .

On September 15, 2012, a plaque was unveiled in memory of the second Atlanta International Pop Festival.

Web links

Commons : Atlanta International Pop Festival  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} The Atlanta International Pop Festival 1970 on the pages of Alex Cooley (English)
2. ^ Atlanta International Pop Festival 1970 on Setlist.com
3. ^ Frank Michels: The hippie festival that changed my life . Salon.com, April 26, 2011 (English)