Atlanta International Pop Festival (1970)
The second and final Atlanta International Pop Festival was held from 3rd to July 5th, 1970 at the Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron (Georgia ) held 90 miles south of Atlanta. Saturday, July 4, was the American Independence Day 1970. Came more than 200,000 spectators, some estimates go up to 600,000. Admission was $ 14. Organizers of the festival was Alex Cooley, who had been part of the organizing team of the first Atlanta International Pop Festival in 1969.
The artist
Despite some rejections occurred more than 30 groups and performers.
- 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 ( band )
- Procol Harum
- Radar
- Rare Earth
- Richie Havens
- Rig
- Savage Grace
- Spirit
- Ten Years After
- Terry Reid
- U.S. Kids
- Memphis State University cast of "Hair"
Notes to the festival
Jimi Hendrix played at midnight on the Independence day, his version of the Star-Spangled Banner, accompanied by the official fireworks. He probably occurred before the largest crowd of his career; at his Woodstock appearance in the year before the crowd had already thinned considerably when he came on stage. Recordings of his performance were published Stages in the box set in 1991.
The festival ended on the morning of 6 July 1970 (Monday) with a performance of " Anunga Runga Tribe " from the musical Hair. Previously Richie Heavens heralded the day with his version of Here Comes the Sun.
As with the first Atlanta International Pop Festival 1969, the crowd was cooled with water fountains because of the persistent heat of the fire department.
The festival helped the Allman Brothers Band to their national breakthrough. 2003 published recordings of their performances 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 the following year on their second album Savage Grace 2. Also in 1971 came out the album The First Great Rock Festivals of the Seventies, which contained recordings of the second Atlanta International Pop Festival and the Isle of Wight Festival.
On September 15, 2012, a commemorative plaque was unveiled to commemorate the second Atlanta International Pop Festival.