Culture and Counterculture
Monterey and the other gatherings that made 1967 sound live.
Start here · Essential guide
How the Monterey International Pop Festival of 16-18 June 1967 came together, who organised it, why it was run as a charity, and where it sits in the Summer of Love.
Before Monterey there was the Human Be-In of 14 January 1967 and the Mount Tamalpais Fantasy Fair in June. What these open-air gatherings showed about a new community.
The 1967 festival calendar beyond rock: Newport Folk and Jazz, the Monterey Jazz Festival and British events, with Woodstock (1969) and Isle of Wight (1968) placed.
No World Music Festival existed in 1967. Here is what did happen: Ravi Shankar and Hugh Masekela at Monterey, and the World Festival of performing arts at Expo 67.
Which event was the first rock festival is disputed. This article traces the jazz and folk precedents, early rock shows and the California gatherings of 1966 and 1967.
A day-by-day guide to the Monterey Pop Festival bill, 16-18 June 1967, from the Association on Friday to the Mamas and the Papas closing the Sunday night show.
The moments that made Monterey a legend: Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar alight, Pete Townshend smashing his and the Who's finale, and Otis Redding's celebrated set.
How Monterey set a template for later rock festivals such as Woodstock in 1969, launched Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix in America, and shifted the music business.
The practical side of Monterey Pop: the county fairgrounds, a crowd of around 50,000, volunteer security, unpaid performers and the D. A. Pennebaker film.
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