“The Forgotten Woodstock”, The Seattle Pop Festival, began on July 25, 1969.
Seattle Pop was a music fest at Gold Creek Park in Woodinville, Washington just three weeks before the legendary Woodstock Festival in Bethel, New York.
Seattle Pop Festival
Boyd Grafmyre organized a lineup of 25 acts, including Chuck Berry, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, Santana, Albert Collins, Alice Cooper, The Guess Who, Vanilla Fudge, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Ike & Tina Turner, and the Chicago Transit Authority.
Tickets for the event cost $6 for a day or $15 for the whole weekend. An estimated 50,000-70,000 people attended the festival over the three-day span.
British rock band Led Zeppelin, (left – right): John Paul Jones, John Bonham (1948 – 1980), Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, pose in front of an their private airliner The Starship, 1973.
Seattle Pop was one of the festivals to forgo hiring police or off-duty officers as security. Instead, Grafmyre hired The Black Panthers to keep watch.
It ended up being a much smoother operation than the Hells Angels provided just a few months later for the Rolling Stones at the Altamont Fest. Because the attendance at Seattle Pop ended up being a lot larger than expected, the organizers needed to bring extra food and water for the concert goers.
The Seattle Pop Fest’s lineup was a mix of established acts and groups that were unfamiliar to the Pacific Northwest. The Doors were the most highly-anticipated band to perform on the third and final day. However, it was the relatively new English group, Led Zeppelin, who stole the show right out from under Jim Morrison and the fellas.
1969: The Year of the Music Festival
In 1969, the Denver Pop Festival was followed by the Atlanta Pop Festival, then the Seattle Pop Festival, all leading up to the Woodstock Music & Arts Festival.
Even Atlantic City had a Pop Festival. It took place August 1-3 at the Atlantic City Racecourse in Hamilton, New Jersey. It was a massive lineup featuring Iron Butterfly, Creedence Clearwater Revival, B.B. King, Procol Harum, Santana, Janis Joplin, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Joe Cocker, The Chambers Brothers, Canned Heat, Little Richard, and many others.
A three-day ticket to the AC Pop Fest cost $15, and over 100,000 concert goers attended the weekend festivities.
Massive festivals are fun to attend. However, most times the artist’s sets fall short of time to allow for other bands to perform.
Couple that with all the set changes and moving of equipment and instruments. It is quite an undertaking to have a festival run smoothly and on time. Philadelphia is extremely fortunate to have most bands and tours come through the area while out on the road.
MMR’s Rock Residency is about to kickoff. There are a ton of great shows and events coming through the area. Check out MMR’s Concert Calendar to see all the great shows coming up!