A time line highlighting American rock music festivals from 1967-2000.
Created by jgurb27 on Apr 14, 2009
Last updated: 11/16/09 at 11:03 PM
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The last attempt at recreating the 1969 classic festival, Woodstock '99 was perhaps most well remembered for the violence, rape, unsanitary conditions and angry concert-goers. What was billed as a celebration of peace and love turned starkly negative when concert goers became fed up with the over-commercialization of the festival. Prices were for food and water were astronomical, and rioting, fires and overall corruption eventually occurred, overshadowing great performances by acts such as Dave Matthews Band, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica. Reviewers criticized Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst for encouraging the crowd to instill chaos during their song "Break Stuff."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1999/07/28/STYLE5820.dtl
Developed by former Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon, Ozzfest was formed in 1996 when Lollapalooza allegedly would not allow Ozzy on the bill. Though it is now an annual, touring festival, Ozzfest started out as a just a two-day stint in in Phoenix, Arizona and Devore, California. Now, Ozzfest has become one of the most internationally recognized American rock tours, and has attracted millions of attendees over it's 13-year year. Ozzfest 2009 was cancelled because Osbourne is working on a new album and does not want to tour before its release.
http://www.ozzfest.com/
Formed by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan in 1996 when she, after deciding there were not enough female musicians on big-name festival lineups. Though the original Lilith Fair in 1996 was a dual-headlined tour by McLachlan and Paula Cole, in 1997, the festival had around 20 women in music signed up. By its last tour in 1999, that number had more than doubled. Lilith Fair's first show was played in Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver.
http://www.lilithfair.com
Sponsored by skate and shoe company Vans, Warped Tour originated as a platform for punk music. A multiple-band, touring festival, Warped has occurred every summer in the last 14 years. The first show of the Warped Tour was played in Salt Air in Salt Lake City, Utah and featured bands like Sublime, No Doubt and Deftones. Since then, the festival has evolved to include more alternative rock and street/post-punk acts.
http://www.warpedtour.com
The sequel to the original festival that would set off a hundred like itself, Woodstock '94 was a collection of music from a number of genres. The festival, however, was probably better known as "Mudstock" due to the severely muddy conditions and a mud fight that broke out during Green Day's performance. Allegedly, the crowd continued to throw mud during Primus' subsequent performance, prompting bassist and lead singer Les Claypool to tell the crowd "whoever threw mud has small genitalia."
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/13/nyregion/woodstock-94-review-trying-to-find-nirvana-in-a-90-s-time-warp.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
Although it is difficult to put a date on the Lollapalooza Festival because it was one of the original traveling rock festivals. Started out by Jane's Addiction lead singer Perry Farrell as a farewell tour with his band, Lollapalooza ran annually until 1997. Then, after a revival in 2003, the tour has run anaully again since 2005 as a fixed-point three-day festival in Chicago. The very first show was played at Compton Terrace, Tempe, Arizona, and featured performances by Jane's Addiction, Ice T and Nine Inch Nails.
http://www.lollapalooza.com
The first event in a series of music festivals that have now spanned 20 years, Farm Aid was created when Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young wanted to emulate the success and social importance of Live Aid a few months prior. It is said that the threesome were inspired by a quote from Bob Dylan at Live Aid, when he wished-out-loud that a combined event could be held for farmers. Attracting over 25 bands and 80,000 people, proceeds from Farm Aid were used to help keep farms open and agriculturalists in business. Since the mid-80s, Nelson has taken over Farm Aid as the staple headliner, along with Dave Matthews and Mellencamp. The festivals today are played almost every year and help raise awareness of the importance of family farms in America.
http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2723673/k.8C39/Past_Concerts.htm
A live event that spanned continents and raised millions of dollars, Live Aid was organized by concert virtuoso Bob Geldoff was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Attracting a number of legendary bands including Queen, The Who, Elton John and David Bowie to London and Judas Priest, The Pretenders and Black Sabbath to Philly, Live Aid stood out as one of the first simulcasted performances that took place in multiple locations. Phil Collins performed at both events, using a Concord jet to fly back and forth between locations. Most recordings done of the event were home-console because millions of people around the world watched the event from their living room.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/01/liveaid.memories/index.html?section=cnn_latest
The second of a pair of technology-friendly 1980s music festivals, US Festival 1983 reworked the formula laid in the place the previous year. Instead of lumping bands from all different genres together, Wozniak separated the event into a four-day celebration categorized by the type of music being played. There was a New Wave Day, a Heavy Metal Day, a Rock Day and a Country Day, all receiving record attendance. The 1983 festival attracted many bands, everyone from Flock of Seagulls to The Clash to Emmylou Harris to Ozzy Osbourne. Heavy Metal Sunday boasted one of the largest single-day crowds (over 375,000 people) in U.S. history.
http://www.usfestivals.com/
The first of a pair of festivals that were put together by former Apple executive Steve Wozniak and was the first major festival in years that wasn't based off charity work. The three-day, genre-transcending gathering of music was set to be a celebration of people, music and technology. Pronounced "US" like the pronoun, the festival attracted artists like The Ramones, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Fleetwood Mac and prompted Showtime to do a 90-minute concert show for each day.
http://www.usfestivals.com/
Played at the then-empty Battery Park in New York, MUSE was a response to the Three Mile Island nuclear incident. Artists, including Crosby, Stills and Nash, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Carly Simon and Chaka Kahn, gathered to raise awareness about the dangers of nuclear energy. An album and film, both titled "No Nukes" was released in 1980, documenting the festival that attracted nearly 200,000 people.
http://www.gmpfilms.com/rollingstone.html
The sequel 1974 event featured such bands as Heart, Aerosmith, Ted Nuget and Santana and was largely created to emulate the festival of four years prior. With special guests Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood, the festival was generally well-received. ABC News taped and aired a highlights reel for a television special, and Columbia records released a two-disc LP of live recordings of the festival's performances.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Jam_II
Held on the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Mo., the Ozark Music Festival was one of the most-attended festivals in U.S. history. With over 350,000 members in the audience, bands such as Jefferson Starship, America, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Charlie Daniels Band. Unfortunately, overcrowded cause massive traffic jams in the small Missouri town. There were reports of hippies sleeping on the lawns of Sedalia residents' homes and thousands of dollars left behind in damage.
http://rodsievers.googlepages.com/ozarkmusicfestival
California Jam was held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, Ca. was a day-long event that included performances from Earth, Wind and Fire, Eagles, Black Sabbath and British rock band Deep Purple. According to some sources, Deep Purple was upset the video cameras from ABC News that were between the band and the crowd. Apparently after the set was finished, Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore destroyed a video camera, lit amplifiers on fire and caused a major explosion.
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/CaliforniaJam/
Less a festival and more a day-long jamfest, the Summer Jam was highlighted by performances from Watkins Glen The Allman Brothers Band, The Band and The Grateful Dead. Held in Watkins Glen, New York, the event attracted 600,000 people and at one point held the Guinness Book of World Records title for the "Largest Audience at a pop festival." According concert-goer Robert Santelli, Summer Jam attracted nearly one in three people aged 17-24 from the New York Tri-State Area.
http://www.chronos-historical.org/rockfest/articles/WG1.html
Touted at first as the "Woodstock of the Midwest," the Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival wound up largely being a failure. 50,000 tickets were sold, but Griffin, Indiana was not prepared when 200,000 people showed up. High-profile bands canceled, there was a water and food and hard drugs were openly displayed in makeshift shopping areas. Performers included Canned Heat and The Eagles, but they were overshadowed by the chaos in the crowd. This is a good example of how festivals can turn ugly.
http://web.courierpress.com/features/150/hist1021.htm
This week-long festival of music and speaking engagements was also known as A Biodegradable Festival of Life. Held in Clackamas County, Oregon, the state-run jamboree was created to insure that antiwar protesters would not bother President Richard Nixon during a planned visit. Though no big name artists showed up, it shows both the power of music as a means of assuaging violence and remains the only state sponsored rock festival in United States history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex_I
Held in Jackson, Michigan, the Goose Lake International Festival did not contain as many big name acts as Woodstock but reflected the counterculture scene through the open use of hard drugs. Though a few bands dropped out before the weekend, Mountain, Rod Stewart, Chicago and Stooges with Iggy Pop highlighted the performers.
Originally billed as "An Aquarian Exposition," Woodstock exemplifies 1960s counterculture and the "hippie" movement. Held in Bethel, New York, about 45 miles from Woodstock, attracted over 200,000 people and around 35 bands. Though sometimes Woodstock is highlighted for its cramped and unsanitary conditions, it is often remembered as the quintessential rock festival.
http://www.woodstock69.com
Held on the the July 4 weekend at the Atlanta International Raceway about a month prior to Woodstock, the Atlanta International Pop Festival attempted to build on the successful summer rock festival concept. During the weekend, temperatures raised to over 100 degrees and a local fire department was needed to literally hose off the crowd. Still, the baking people enjoyed performances from Janis Jopin, Blood Sweat & Tears, Canned Heat, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Led Zeppelin. This video is from the 1970 event, which added Jimi Hendrix to the lineup.
http://www.messyoptics.com/bird/APF_00.html
Promoted by Michael Lang (Woodstock promoter), the Miami Pop Festival was a two-day event in Miami that attempted to recreate the magic found in Monterey. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention were one of two keynote performers, the other being a new artist known as Jimi Hendrix. Fresh off the release of his first studio album, Hendrix was still an obscure and relatively unknown act to the American audience. Still, he would use performances like at the Miami Pop Festival to catapult him to super-stardom.
http://themiamipopfestival.com/
Held in Monetery, Ca., the Monterey Pop Festival is often called the template for rock festivals. Planned in just seven weeks, the festival attracted 20,000 people and embodied the 1960s California counterculture. Besides performances from The Who and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, the festival saw Janis Joplin played her biggest concert to date and Otis Redding play to his largest, most predominantly white crowd; Redding died six months later in a plane crash.
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/06.14.01/montereypop-0124.html
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