On June 16, 17 & 18th in 1967, 50 years ago to date, the Monterey International Pop Festival was born from the legendary minds of John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas and LA record producer Lou Adler. They saw the festival as a way to garnish more mainstream respect for rock and roll as an art-form, but little did they know it would turn into so much more, including providing the blueprint for rock festivals to come…like Woodstock two years later, catapulting the careers of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Otis Redding as well as becoming one of the most important festivals in rock and roll history.
Lou Adler said, “The Monterey International Pop Festival cannot be duplicated but can be celebrated and will be, by the performers and the attendees at the 50th Anniversary festival.”
So how do you celebrate 50 years? By bringing the festival back to its roots, at the original location, the Monterey County Fairgrounds, which is exactly what organizers are doing, calling it once again Monterey International Pop Festival and enlisting an A-list of performers including Leon Bridges, Jack Johnson, Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band, Gary Clark Jr., Norah Jones, The Head and the Heart, and many others. See the entire lineup HERE.
Gregg Perloff, CEO of Another Planet Entertainment said, “When we set out on this endeavor, we had one goal: not to recreate the original festival but to honor it. How do you put on a show in 2017 with some of the sweetness and innocence of 1967? Of course, we’ll have a great sound system, but we’ll forego large video screens and overwhelming production for a more classic feeling. Lest we forget, it happened in Monterey…”
Tickets are on-sale now: https://montereypopfestival50.com/tickets/
