Notable Festivals

Parts of this are still in the "discovery" phase and, quite frankly, may never be finished. It's just the highlights, except for Monterey and Woodstock (natch). There is a complete line-up and some up-to-date CD info on those two pages. Most of the festivals listed here are in the US. A couple Canadian shows and the Isle Of Wight shows round out this Cliff Notes version of festival history. Researching through band websites, local newspapers (via newspapers.com), setlist.com and Rolling Stone magazine has helped narrow down which days the artists actually performed. The posters shown may have artists listed who never appeared. Quite a few shady promoters who announced groups, but never bothered to actually have a signed contract (NorCal 69?). First up are the summer or fall events held at one location on various days. The Newport Folk & Jazz Festivals, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Big Sur, Rheingold/Schaefer Central Park shows, and the Mississippi River Festival are highlighted. The later two events tried to please everybody and thus featured big bands, jazz, and popular singers in addition to folkers/rockers. To keep the listings manageable, only "our" type of artists are shown. And only the years indicated. Then we get into the real festivals. Even a couple that were cancelled. Details are briefly noted and links for further info. All listings updated in June 2021. For a great article about rock festivals of the late 60s, read this article by How Rock Festivals Helped Change America . June 2021 Update: A couple of website also have info about most of these festivals. The Woodstock Whisperer has a page on 1969 festivals and DJ-Tees has a swell page devoted to rock festivals. Both have more events than are featured here. Some of the appearing artist info may be out-of-date.

 
1963-1971
Newport Folk & Jazz Festivals
Providence, Rhode Island

 
1964-1971
Big Sur Folk Shows
Near Big Sur, California

 
1967-1971
Rheingold/Schaefer Music Festival
Summer long, Central Park, New York

 
1969-1971
Mississippi River Festival
Summers, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Illinois

 
1965-1971
Philadelphia Folk Festival
Old Pool Farm, Schwenksville, Pennsylvania

 
1965
The Acid Tests
Throughout the year, San Francisco, California

 
1966
Trips Festival
January 21-23, San Francisco, California

 
1967
A Gathering Of The Tribes For A Human Be-In
January 14, San Francisco, California