Atlanta Pop Music Festival 1970
Contents
The Atlanta Pop Music Festival was held over four days in July 1970. It was the largest music festival of its time with over 300,000 people in attendance.
Introduction
The Atlanta Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held at the Georgia International Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, about 30 miles (50 km) south of Atlanta, from July 3 to 5, 1970. Billed as “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music”, it was organized by entrepreneur Alex Cooley and others, with the help of the growing counterculture and hippie community centered around Atlanta. The lineup featured some of the biggest names in rock music at the time, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Moody Blues, and Sly and the Family Stone. Estimates of the festival’s size range from 200,000 to 400,000 people in attendance.
The Atlanta Pop Music Festival was held in Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia
The Atlanta Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert held at Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia, on July 3, 4, and 5, 1970. Billed as “An Day in the Country”, the festival was organized by Alex Cooley and Peter Conlon, two local concert promoters. The lineup for the event included some of the biggest names in rock music at the time, such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers Band, and Janis Joplin. With an estimated attendance of over 300,000 people, the festival is considered to be one of the largest music events of all time.
The lineup included some of the biggest names in rock music at the time
The Atlanta Pop Music Festival was held in Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia, about 100 miles south of Atlanta, on July 4–5, 1970. The lineup included some of the biggest names in rock music at the time, including the Allman Brothers Band, B.B. King, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Brave Belt ( later known as Bachman–Turner Overdrive), Chicago, Dan Fogelberg, Doug Kershaw, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends featuring Eric Clapton , Detroit with Mitch Ryder , Grand Funk Railroad , Ike & Tina Turner , Jimi Hendrix , Jose Feliciano , Love Sculpture featuring Dave Edmunds , The Nice featuring Keith Emerson , Procol Harum , Poco , Rotary Connection featuring Mavis Staples , Roxy Music , The Stooges featuring Iggy Pop and Three Dog Night .
The festival was plagued with problems from the start
The Atlanta Pop Music Festival was held in Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia, over the Fourth of July weekend in 1970. The festival was plagued with problems from the start. Bad weather caused the stage to collapse and damage the sound system. This led to a number of bands dropping out, and the festival had to be rescheduled for a later date. When it was finally held, it was marred by more bad weather, which led to more stage collapses and equipment damage. Despite these problems, the festival was a success, and attracted a large crowd of young people.
The festival was a disaster and was shut down early
The Atlanta Pop Music Festival was held on July 4–5, 1970, at the Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia, about 30 miles (50 km) south of Atlanta. It was one of the largest music festivals of its era and featured some of the biggest names in rock music at the time. However, the festival was marred by extremely hot weather, bad trip experiences by some attendees, and overcrowding. By the second day, organizers were forced to shut down the event early.
Aftermath
In the aftermath of the Atlanta International Pop Music Festival, both the state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta began to enforce stricter controls on large public gatherings. Large fines were imposed on promoters who did not have the proper permits, and insurance companies began to refuse coverage for festivals and other large events. As a result, the Atlanta Pop Music Festival was the last large-scale rock concert held in Georgia for several years.
Conclusion
After three days, the Atlanta Pop Music Festival came to a close. An estimated 300,000 people attended the festival, making it one of the largest music festivals in American history. Though it was a resounding success, the Atlanta Pop Music Festival was not without its problems. Traffic jams and overcrowding plagued the event, and there were several reports of violence, theft, and drug use. Still, many attendees considered the festival a life-changing experience, and it cemented Atlanta’s reputation as a music city.
